Alexander Kuprin's novelette "Olesya" was written in 1898 and is still considered one of the author's best works.

Ivan Timofeyevich, a young urban nobleman, arrives inthe village of Perebrod in the Volhynian province and plunges into the simplistic atmosphere of a complete fusion of man and nature, where Christianity easily coexists with paganism and the achievements of civilization have never been heard of. Meeting with the village beauty Olesya turns the whole nature of a young man, dipping him into a real whirlpool of feelings. But is their love destined to become a reality?