Bashkir poet-improviser Salavat Yulaev was mobilized in the war against Pugachev in October 1773. He went over, with his battalion, to the side of the insurgents who were besieging Orenburg. Pugachev gave him the rank of major. After Pugachev's arrest, he continued the fight until November 1774 when he was taken prisoner.
His work was transmitted orally.
