It told the story of a young Russian girl belonging to a noble family who joined a group of radical youth fighting against the repressive state.
[1] Initially the target of Maykov's satire was serfdom, and in the poem's early versions, the heroine was a young conservative woman.
I cannot deny - I even agree - that the principles professed by this girl and the generation she belongs to... mark the end of the old times.
[1] In the finale of the poem's original version Zhenya was departing to the front lines of the Russo-Turkish War as a sister of mercy.
The article "Mr. Maykov as a Judge of the New Generation of Women", by M.Artemyeva, written for Vospitaniye i Obrazovaniye magazine was banned by censors.