In the Dove Book and other medieval Russian books, Buyan (Russian: Буя́н, sometimes transliterated as Bujan[1]) is described as a mysterious island in the ocean with the ability to appear and disappear with the tide. Three brothers—Northern, Western, and Eastern Winds—live there, and also the Zoryas, solar goddesses who are servants or daughters of the solar god Dazhbog.[2]
The island of Buyan features prominently in many famous myths; Koschei the Deathless keeps his soul of immortality hidden there, secreted inside a needle placed inside an egg in the mystical oak-tree; other legends call the island the source of all weather, generated there and sent forth into the world by the god Perun. Buyan also appears in The Tale of Tsar Saltan, of His Son the Renowned and Mighty Bogatyr Prince Gvidon Saltanovich, and of the Beautiful Princess-Swan (an opera by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, set partially in Tmutarakan and in Buyan's magical city of Ledenets (Russian: Леденец, "sugary")) and in many other Slavic skazkas. Furthermore, Buyan has the mythical stone with healing and magic powers, known as the Alatyr (Russian: Алатырь), which is guarded by the bird Gagana and by Garafena the serpent.[3]
Some scholars (such as V. B. Vilibakhov) assert that Buyan is actually a Slavic name for some real island, most likely Rügen in the Baltic Sea.