Oponskoye Kingdom
In Russian folklore the Oponskoye Kingdom, or as some English-language sources have it, Kingdom of Opona, is a mythical kingdom, envisioned by Russian peasants as lying at the edge of the flat Earth. Here, they believed, the peasants lived happy lives undisturbed by the state or the gentry, under a "White Tsar" who ruled truly and justly. Other names in legend include the Golden Land
the Land of Chud
and .
History
The myth of the Utopian kingdom of old Russia is similar to other myths of "earthly paradises", - out of sight but possibly reachable - like Shambhala, El Dorado, etc. - by the right courageous explorer.Initially some Russians treated the tale of as hearsay about a real place.
Groups of peasants from various regions of Russia wandered in the far north of Russia trying to find the mythical utopia. There was strain of Old Believers called or "Wanderers", since they spent their lives wandering, and some researchers asserted that they were instrumental in the propagation of the legend. However other researchers have arguments against this hypothesis. About 1900 the tale gradually transformed from a "real thing" into an element of Russian folklore.