The film tells about the poet and the Bashkir national hero Salavat Yulaev. In 1773, he had been mobilized to fight against Pugachev, but he and his troops joined the rebels who were conducting a siege of Orenburg. After the rebellion was put down and Pugachev was arrested, Salavat continued to struggle and was captured near the village of Medyash on the 24th of November, 1774. Salavat Yulaev’s works have been passed from one to another by word of mouth.