“Izmail-Bey” (1832) — as Lermontov himself called it, an “eastern tale,” the most extensive and one of the most important of his early Caucasian poems. The plot of “Izmail-Bey” is based in part on real historical events that took place in the Caucasus in the early 19th century. A number of details included in the poem echoes the biography of the Kabardian prince Izmail-Bey Atazhukin: he served in the Russian army, took part in the war with Turkey, and was awarded for the assault on Izmail.
From the “Lermontov Encyclopedia”