The Tale of Fedot, the Shooter

The Tsar tasks Fedot with providing game for a dinner with an English envoy, thrusting him into courtly pressure. A chance encounter with a dove that becomes Marusya signals a sudden, transformative shift in Fedot’s life. The event sets in motion a test of loyalty to his wife and to the people.

Marusya arrives as a dove and, with the help of Tit Kuzmich and Frol Fomich, fills the royal table using hidden talents. She protects Fedot’s honor by outwitting the Tsar and keeping their bond intact. The magical display introduces a new regime where cunning and care redefine power at court.

The Tsar announces a plan to marry his realm to the English princess, chasing splendor rather than warmth. Ambassadors from Spain, Japan, the East, and Germany watch and weigh private agendas against official diplomacy. The court becomes a theatre of duty, desire, and political calculation.

The General arrives with a growing appetite for control and the sense that Fedot’s happiness threatens the Tsar’s authority. He hatches a trap that would punish failure as grounds to remove Fedot from power. He seeks Baba Yaga’s counsel to bend fate and magic to their scheme.

Baba Yaga’s guidance yields a sequence of escalating tasks designed to stretch Fedot beyond his limits. Each task tests loyalty to Marusya, to the people, and to his own honor. The challenges fuse magic with danger and heighten the stakes of the court’s clumsy morality.

The first assignment asks Fedot to retrieve a magic carpet that reveals all of Russia at a glance. Marusya, Tit Kuzmich, and Frol Fomich deliver the carpet by morning, navigating risk with speed. The Tsar is both impressed and irritated by the display of magical leverage.

The second task demands a golden-horned deer, a creature many say does not exist. Once again, Marusya and her aides source the mythical beast, keeping Fedot in the hunt and the Tsar in check. The episode deepens the strain on Fedot’s loyalty and his bond with Marusya.

The final task asks for Something That Could Not Be in the World, a concept that defies easy definition. Fedot presses forward driven by loyalty to Marusya and to the people, not the court. The challenge stretches the boundary between magic and reality while testing resolve.

On the day of the final assignment, the Tsar arrives with wedding gifts for Marusya. She refuses to betray Fedot and, in a tender yet bold moment, transforms into a dove and escapes. Fedot faces the consequences of the court’s schemes as his wife vanishes into flight.

Fedot becomes a pilgrim, leaving the capital to search for justice. He is shipwrecked on a lonely island where a Voice, a powerful spirit, awaits companionship. Their bond strengthens as the spirit agrees to return with him to confront the Tsar’s injustice.

Fedot returns to find his home ruined by the Tsar’s harassment. He calls the Russian people to reclaim dignity and justice, and a chorus of ordinary citizens answers. They march on the Tsar’s palace, signaling a dramatic shift of power toward the people.

The Tsar, the General, and Baba Yaga become entangled in mutual accusations, and the people exile them—sailing away in a bucket. This moment embodies collective justice triumphing over tyrannical whim. It redefines the empire’s balance of power.

After the upheaval, Fedot rejects the English Princess’s marriage proposal and promises to help her find another match in due time. He remains devoted to Marusya’s memory and to the idea of a just feast that belongs to all. The magic of Something That Could Not Be continues to nourish the communal feast.

The tale closes with the feast prepared by the magic of Something That Could Not Be. The people remember their earned justice and celebrate a rebuilt balance. The film ends on a note of communal courage and shared celebration.