Nikolai Stepanovich
Gumilev
1866-1921
Nikolai Stepanovich Gumilev was a Russian poet, novelist, literary critic, and translator. He was a representative of the literature of the “Silver Age” and the founder of the Russian acmeist movement. His work and worldview were dominated by the idea of the triumph of spirit over matter. Gumilev was born in Kronstadt on April 3 (old style), 1866, in the family of a naval doctor. He spent his childhood in Tsarskoe Selo and Tiflis, where he developed an interest in literature and poetry. In 1902, he published his first poem, “I Fled from the Cities to the Forest…”, and in 1903 he entered the seventh grade of Tsarskoe Selo Gymnasium. There, he met his future wife, Anna Gorenko, later known as Akhmatova. In 1905, Gumilev’s first collection of poems, “The Path of Conquistadors”, was published. After completing his studies at the gymnasium in 1906, he travelled to Paris and entered the Sorbonne, where he attempted to publish a magazine called “Sirius” in 1907. In 1908, Gumilev published his second collection of poetry, Romantic Flowers, dedicated to Anna Akhmatova. This marked the beginning of his mature work. After returning to Russia, he went abroad again, visiting Sinop, Istanbul, Greece, and Egypt, as well as several African countries on expeditions. In 1909, he entered St. Petersburg University the Law Faculty, but then transferred to the History and Philology Faculty. He actively contributed to the creation of the Apollo magazine. In 1910, his collection Pearls was published, receiving positive reviews from critics. That year, he married Anna Akhmatova in April. Gumilev founded the Workshop of Poets, a poetic association, in 1911. The group included O. Mandelstam, S. Gorodetsky, V. Narbut, M. Zenkevich, and E. Kuzmina-Karavaeva. Gumilev announced the creation of acmeism, a new poetry movement, in 1912. His collection Alien Sky was also published that year. Gumilev returned to the East in 1913. With the outbreak of World War I, Gumilev volunteered for the front, where he was awarded two St. George Crosses for his bravery. In 1917, being Paris, he met Elena du Boucher and dedicated a collection of poems to her, titled “To the Blue Star”. In 1918, he returned to Russia and in the same year he divorced Akhmatova. Between 1919 and 1920, Gumilev worked at the publishing house World Literature, teaching and translating from English and French. In 1919, he married Anna Engelhardt, the daughter of N. Engelhardt. The poems in Gumilev’s collection The Pillar of Fire were dedicated to his second wife. In August 1921, Gumilev was arrested on charges of participating in an anti-government conspiracy. A memorial plaque has been erected in Moscow to honour N.S. Gumilev.
Address: Moscow, Sadovnicheskaya str., 77, building 4
