The setting is the east shore of the Caspian Sea (modern Turkmenistan) where the Red Army soldier Fyodor Sukhov has been fighting the Russian Civil War in Russian Asia for a number of years. The movie opens with a panoramic shot of a bucolic Russian countryside. Katerina Matveyevna, Sukhov's beloved wife, is standing in a field. Awakening from this daydream, Sukhov is walking through the Central Asian desert – a stark contrast to his homeland.<ref name=script3/> He finds Sayid buried in the sand. Sayid, an austere Central Asian, will come to Sukhov's rescue in sticky situations throughout the movie. Sukhov frees Sayid, and they strike a friendly but reticent relationship. While traveling together they are caught up in a desert fight between a Red Army cavalry unit and Basmachi movement. The cavalry unit commander, Rakhimov, leaves to Sukhov the harem, which was abandoned by the Basmachi leader Abdullah, for temporary protection. He also leaves a young Red Army soldier, Petrukha, to assist Sukhov with the task, and proceeds to pursue the fleeing Abdullah.