23 pages • 46 minutes read
Anna AkhmatovaRequiem
Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 1963A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Further Reading & Resources
Related Poems
“Leningrad” by Osip Mandelstam (1930)
One of the victims of Stalin’s Terror was Osip Mandelstam, a close friend of Akhmatova’s and a famous poet in his own right. “Leningrad” is one of his most famous works and describes the mental state of someone who fears he is about to become one of Stalin’s victims.
“It’s After One” by Vladimir Mayakovsky (1930)
Mayakovsky was a famous avant-garde poet, someone who had embraced the Bolshevik Revolution from the outset and explicitly praised the aims and actions of the Soviet State. By 1930, however, Mayakovsky had grown increasingly disillusioned by Stalin’s power and became depressed. This is the last poem he wrote before committing suicide in 1930—a death that sent shockwaves throughout Soviet Russia.
“Poem Without a Hero”, by Anna Akhmatova (circa 1940’s – 1960’s)
Alongside Requiem, Poem Without a Hero is Akhmatova’s other masterwork. Written as another cycle over twenty years, it centers upon her experiences before, during, and after the Bolshevik Revolution. This link features only an excerpt from the cycle, but full translations are available in various print editions and anthologies of her work.
Further Literary Resources
“Anna Akhmatova: 1889–1966” by the Poetry Foundation
An introduction to Akhmatova’s life and work, with links to the full texts of some of her lyric poems.
“The Great Purge” by History.com
An overview of the years of Stalin’s Terror. It provides readers with a general understanding of what led to the Terror, what took place during, and the Gulag labor camp system that was rapidly expanded during this era.
“What Makes the Silver Age of Russian Poetry So Important” by Alexandra Guzeva, Russia Beyond
An article about the literary culture that surrounded Akhmatova in the years before and during the Bolshevik Revolution, until Mayakovsky’s suicide in 1930. It offers brief snapshots of some major movements and figures, including Akhmatova and her peers. It also contains several photographs and paintings.
Listen to Poem
A reading of Akhmatova’s Requiem cycle, illustrated by a photographic montage of the forced labor camps (the Gulag) and other scenes from the Soviet time period.
