Ruslan's book, Awakened by the Prince's Passion, grapples with the storyline of the immigrant's return home. Ruslan's mission focuses on returning a lost princess to the throne of Kuban and it requires him to return with her--something he never thought he'd do. When he left Kuban, he thought he'd left for good. If you've followed the series, you know already that Kuban is a real region in Russia with some historical significance, and you know that the Kingdom of Kuban itself is fictional. But what kind of place is Kuban in truth? Kuban is located in Southern Russia. It is the area depicted in red on the map below. The Kuban River is noted on the map too, the river that Ruslan and Dasha sail up to reach the capital. On the river is also the city of Krasnodar on the map. This is the city of Ekaterinador (sometimes spelled with a Y) mentioned in the story as well. The city was renamed Krasnodar in 1920. Political Geography of Kuban The region