Photo: Anna Akhmatova portrait by Nathan Altman (1915)
Anna Akhmatova 130th anniversary is marked today, June 23th, Rossiyskaya Gazeta writes. She is thought to be one of the most significant Russian poets of the 20th century.
The Silver Age poet was born in Odessa, but in a short her family moved to Saint Petersburg, which became her favourite city for the rest of her life.
Akhmatova started writing poetry at the age of 11, and was published in her late teens. At the age of 19 she organised the Guild of Poets. together with famous poets of the time, such as Osip Mandelstam and Sergey Gorodetsky. Over the years they developed the influential Acmeist anti-symbolist school, concurrent with the growth of Imagism in Europe and America. Several years before she met her future husband, poet Nikolay Gumilyov who was also part of the group.
Anna Akhmatova has inspired and advised a large circle of key young Soviet writers and poets. Yevgeny Rein and Joseph Brodsky are among them. She lived through two world wars and two revolutions. Nikolay Gumilev was arrested and killed by Stalin regime. Her only son, renowned Neo-Eurasianist historian Lev Gumilyov was arrested two times and was kept several years in labor camp in Eastern Siberia. .
Museum of Silver Age in Moscow has opened exhibition dedicated to the poet. Many events praising Anna Akhmatova take place in Str. Petersburtg as well.
Russkliy Mir
