Anna Ahmatova

Anna Akhmatova is a famous poetess, or as she is commonly called, the poet of the Silver Age period in Russian literature. Contrary to the widespread opinion that Akhmatova's poetry was exclusively about love, she often touched on other topics - the homeland, patriotism, the poet and society. Akhmatova's writing style was distinguished by the simplicity, clarity and realism inherent in the Russian literary classics of the 19th and 20th centuries.

Akhmatova's lyrics are characterized by their dramaturgy, tension, which is achieved by a gradual increase in the intonation of the verse. The alternation of dialogues with monologues almost cinematically enlivens the action described.

Anna Akhmatova's real last name was Gorenko. She became Akhmatova because her father did not want his surname to be constantly on everyone's lips because of his daughter's literary hobbies. Akhmatova was the surname of her great-grandmother, who had Horde roots.

Anna Andreyevna Akhmatova was born June 11, 1889 in one of the districts of Odessa. Her father, Andrei Gorenko, had noble roots and had previously served as a mechanical engineer in the Navy. Akhmatova's mother, Inna Erasmovna, was the heiress to a huge fortune, raising six children.

In 1990 her father received a new assignment in the service, and the Gorenko family moved to Tsarskoe Selo. Anna spent her childhood and adolescent years in a place where the spirit of the young Pushkin still hung.

According to Akhmatova's own recollections, she learned to read from Tolstoy's alphabet, and to learn French by observing the lessons of older children. In 1900 Anna entered the Mariinsky Gymnasium. Her first poem was written in the same period. At the same time her acquaintance with Nikolai Gumilev - her future first husband - took place. After her parents' divorce, the sixteen-year-old Anna and her mother go to Evpatoria. But the family does not stay there long and moves to Kiev. In this city, Anna finishes her grammar school education.

In 1908 Anna was carried away by the law, and she continued her education at the Higher Women's Courses. Soon realizing she had made the wrong choice, she left the boring law school and went to St. Petersburg. Here she begins her studies at the historical and literary courses of N.P. Rayev.

All these years, the correspondence with N. Gumilev, whose name was already shining in the literary community, did not stop. In 1910, the young people got married and went to Paris.

Returning to St. Petersburg, Gumilev introduced his wife to famous writers. In 1911, with his assistance, Akhmatova's first works are published. She writes in the style of a new trend - Acmeism.

In 1912 Anna Andreevna's only son Lev Gumilev, a future Soviet scholar, ethnographer and translator, was born. In the same year a collection of her poems "The Evening" was published. Despite its small volume, it brought the first recognition to Akhmatova.

In 1914 the collection "The rosary" was published. Positive reviews from critics and readers gave Anna Akhmatova the fame that left her husband behind. Now the poet no longer needed his patronage. After the next book "The White Pack" was published, the couple separated.

In 1921, Nikolai Gumilev was shot. Despite the divorce, Anna experienced this loss very hard. She was grateful to Nikolai for the help he gave her in the early stages of creativity. In the same year, a collection of poems "Roadside" is published. The theme of N. Gumilev's death was reflected in the collection "Anno Domini. MCMXXI".

Since the mid-twenties, Anna became interested in the NKVD. Her poems are subjected to strict censorship, and then stopped being published altogether. The poetess is accused of spreading provocative concepts, and is branded an anti-communist.

Persecution intensified after the arrest of her son in 1935. By 1937, an impressive dossier was collected on Akhmatova with evidence of her counterrevolutionary activities. In 1938, Lev is arrested again. This difficult period in life was embodied in the poems in the Requiem cycle. For 20 years this collection remained unpublished for fear of more persecution.

In 1940, Anna, prompted by help and compassion for her son, publishes a collection of "correct" poems previously approved by the censors. It is called "Of Six Books" and receives the approval of the party authorities.

Akhmatova spent the entire war in Tashkent. During the evacuation a collection of her poems was published. In 1945, Anna Andreevna returned to Leningrad and after a while moved to Moscow.

The poet gradually recovered from the blows of fate and trying to make a new life. She was beginning to publish, another joyful event was the release of her son. But in 1946, the Union of Writers again condemned her work, and in 1949 - was arrested again, receiving a ten-year prison camp.

Desperate Akhmatova published a collection of poems "Glory to the World" (in fact, "Glory to Stalin"). It was supposed to show the poetess' loyal attitude to the Soviets and became a kind of petition to help her son.

Many of the poems of the poetess have received worldwide recognition. Almost every poem was written about an event in her own life.

The collection of poems "Evening" was published in 1912 before the birth of her son. Poems included in it: "Love", "Muse", "Gray-eyed King" at that time already made famous the name Akhmatova.

Before the outbreak of World War I came out a collection of "The rosary". Critics amiculously noted the growth of creative skill of the author. Particularly their attention was attracted by the peculiar style, successfully built on the use of literary techniques. The collection includes poems: "Evening," "To Alexander Blok" and many others.

A month before the October Revolution, the collection "White Flock" was published. Here there is much less personal feelings, the author's poetry becomes more rigorous and patriotic. Tragicism permeated "Your spirit is darkened by arrogance", "In memory of July 19, 1914.

Collection of "Roadside" was a reflection of the three tragedies that happened in the life of Akhmatova - the suicide of her brother, the death of Nikolai Gumilev and the death of Alexander Blok. The poems "And now I am alone", "Immediately it became quiet in the house" reflect the oppressed state of the author.

In the collection "Anno Domini MCMXXI" there are almost no positive notes. All the upheavals and the despair associated with them are embodied in "Kleveta", "Prediction" and other poems.

The poem Requiem is a response to the repression. It contains both the tragedy and suffering of the mother and the grief of all the people, subjected to grinding by the ruthless state machine.

In 1951 Akhmatova was restored to the Union of Writers. In 1962, twenty-two years of work on A Poem Without a Hero was completed. In 1964 the poetess was awarded the Italian Prize, and in 1965 she received an honorary doctorate from the University of Oxford.

Anna Akhmatova died at the age of 76, on March 5, 1966, while in Domodedovo. Chronic tuberculosis and prolonged treatment undermined her health. The great poetess was buried in the Komarovsky necropolis near Leningrad

• Akhmatova A. Selected Works. N. Bannikov. - Moscow: Art Literature, 1974.

• Akhmatova A. Poems and Prose / Compiled by B. G. Druyan. B. G. Druyan; preface by D. T. Khrenkov; text by E. G. Gerstein and B. G. Druyan. G. Druyan. - L.: Lenizdat, 1976. - 616 с.

• Akhmatova A. Poems and poems / Compiled by V. M. Zhirmunsky, text preparation and notes. - L.: Sov writer, 1976. - 558 с. Circulation of 40,000 copies. - (The Poet's Library. Large series. Second edition).

• Akhmatova A. Poems / Compiled by N. Bannikov. N. Bannikov. - М.:: Sov. Rossiya, 1977. - 528 с. - (Poetic Russia)

• Akhmatova A. Poems and poems / Compiled by A. S. Kryukov. - Voronezh: Central. -Chernozem. knid voiture, 1990. - 543 с.

• Akhmatova A. Works: In 2 vols. / Compiled and prepared text by M. M. Kralin. Editor N. I. Skatov. - М.:: Pravda, 1990. - 448 + 432 с.

• Akhmatova A. Collected Works: In 6 vols. / Compiled and prepared text by N. V. Koroleva. - М.:: Ellis Luck, 1998-2002.

• Akhmatova A. Notebooks. 1958-1966. - M. - Torino: Einaudi, 1996.