Medieval themes were very popular in Russia in the late 19th century. Composer Alexander Glazunov also showed great interest in that era. Despite working on the Sixth Symphony, he enthusiastically took on the creation of music for the ballet Raymonda, commissioned by the director of the imperial theaters, Ivan Vsevolozhsky.

The world premiere of Raymonda, staged by the outstanding choreographer Marius Petipa, took place on January 7, 1898, at the Mariinsky Theater. For composer Alexander Glazunov, it was his first experience with the ballet genre, and for Marius Petipa, it was his last major work.

In 1900, choreographer Alexander Gorsky, together with Ivan Khlyustin, based on Petipa's choreography, presented the premiere of Raymonda at the Bolshoi Theater, and in 1908 he created his own original production of the ballet.

In 2024, the production of Raymonda by the Samara Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre was awarded the Samara Theatre Muse prize as the best performance.