Unlike his writings inspired by Georgia, late Lermontov's works dealing with the Muslim tribes conveyed a suspicion that the conquest was a spiritually losing proposition for Russia. Bestuzhev-Marlinsky's vision of the “angel of death” in Eden hinted as much about the war. It was Lermontov, however, who most memorably illuminated the Caucasus' contradictory character as a redemptive space and a killing field. The autobiographical foundation was compelling. During his relatively brief exile in 1837 Lermontov did not see action. But after a duel with the son of the French ambassador in St. Petersburg in 1840, he was sent to a perilous area of the front by express orders from Nicholas I. A commissioned officer, the poet participated in combat and twice won recommendations for awards for bravery, which the government refused to approve, however, so that he could not demand a discharge for distinguished service. During his first exile Lermontov had decided to request retirement from the army in order to devote himself exclusively to writing. The wish to remain a civilian poet was already symptomatic of tensions inscribed in late works.

Lermontov's letters often struck notes of heroic adventure in the Caucasus. On the eve of his first exile, for example, the writer mused about his prospects with a self-mocking reference to Napoleon's claim: “Les grands noms se font a 1'Orient”. While heavily ironic, the comment none the less indicated the author's real interest in Napoleon's Egyptian campaign as an imperial venture with avowed scientific, as well as military objectives.