Gumilyov Nikolai biography is the most important thing. My meeting with N. S. Gumilyov. post-war years. Doom

Nikolay Gumelev- the great Russian poet, researcher, founder of the movement called " acmeism, literary critic. He also did language translations. Known pseudonym A.S. Gumeleva - Alexander Grant.

Brief biography of Gumelev

Nikolai Stepanovich Gumelev was born April 3, 1886 in Kronstadt, near Petersburg, Russian empire. His father - Stepan Yakovlevich Gumelev- a doctor in the northern fleet. His mother - Anna Ivanovna Gumeleva (Lvova), a descendant of a fairly old noble family.

Nikolai had a brother - Dmitry Gumelev, 2 years older than him. Both brothers were quite painful. Because of this, the Gumelev family was forced to move to Tiflis from St. Petersburg in 1900. They lived in Tiflis for about 3 years.

Studying in high schools

In 1894 Nikolai entered the gymnasium of Tsarskoye Selo, but due to health reasons, just a few months later he was forced to switch to home schooling.

In 1895, his family moved to St. Petersburg, and only a year later Nikolai Stepanovich was enrolled in the Gurevich gymnasium. After moving to the Caucasus, he studied first at the 2nd and then at the 1st gymnasium in Tiflis.

In 1902 this is where it was first published
poem by Nikolai Gumilyov "I fled from the cities to the forest."

Return to Petersburg

Upon returning to St. Petersburg, Nikolai again continued his studies at the Tsarskoye Selo gymnasium. He did not study well, there was even a question of his expulsion, but thanks to the talent of the poet, this did not happen.

In 1905 the first collection of poems by N.S. Gumeleva - "The Path of the Conquistadors". In 1906 Nikolai Gumilyov graduated from the gymnasium with a single "five" (logically) and received a certificate.

Gumilyov in Paris

Immediately after graduation, Nikolai Stepanovich moved to Paris. There he met his compatriots and French artists. He liked to travel - he visited other cities in France during the year, as well as in Italy.

In Paris, Gumilyov tried to publish his own magazine called "Sirius", where he was published both under his own name and under a pseudonym Alexander Grant.

In one of the 3 published issues of Sirius, Anna Gorenko's poems were first published (under the pseudonym Anna Akhmatova). Nikolai met Anna in 1903 and fell in love with her.

In 1908, the second collection of the poet's poems was published, which was completely dedicated to Anna Gorenko and was called "Romantic Poems".

Return to Russia

In the spring of 1908, Gumilyov returned to Russia, made acquaintance with the St. Petersburg literary world, and acted as a constant critic in the newspaper "Speech". In the same publishing house, he subsequently publishes his poems and stories.

Valery Bryusov, whom Nikolai considered his teacher, speaks quite warmly about Gumelev's work during this period, despite criticism of the poet's earlier poems.

Anna Akhmatova and Nikolay Gumelev

In 1910 Nikolai Gumelev and Anna Akhmatova (Gorenko) are getting married. Their marriage actually lasted only about 4 years. But in those days it was impossible to get a divorce with the right to further marriage. According to the documents, the divorce took place only in August 1918 - already in Soviet Russia.

Anna and Nikolai had a son - Lev Gumelev, who left no descendants.

Gumelev - researcher

Gumelev has merits not only in literature and poetry, but also in the studies of Africa - Abyssinia. He made several expeditions eastern and northeastern Africa and brought the richest collection to the Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography (Kunstkamera) in St. Petersburg.

In 1913, the second expedition of Nikolai Stepanovich to Abyssinia took place, which was previously agreed with the Academy of Sciences. Gumelev wrote down all his observations in his diary.

Gumelev - acmeist poet

Between expeditions, Nikolai Gumelev led an active literary activity. In 1910 a collection was published "Pearls", in which, as one of the parts, were included "Romantic Flowers".

The composition of "Pearls" includes a poem "Captains", one of the most famous works of Nikolai Gumilyov. The collection received laudatory reviews from V. Bryusov, V. Ivanov, I. Annensky and other critics.

In 1911 created "Workshop of poets", who manifested his autonomy from symbolism and the creation of his own aesthetic program - acmeism. The Workshop included Anna Akhmatova, Osip Mandelstam, Vladimir Narbut, Sergei Gorodetsky, Elizaveta Kuzmina-Karavaeva (future "Mother Mary"), Zenkevich and others.

In 1912, representatives of acmeism opened their own publishing house "Hyperborea" and began to publish a magazine with the same name in it.

Gumelev - warrior

Poets who lived during the First World War, colorfully and in detail described military operations in their poems. However, only a few independently participated in them. Among these was Nikolai Gumelev.

He went from a private to an ensign, having received many awards throughout the entire period of the war, including insignia George Cross from 1st to 4th degree.

In 1916, a collection of poems by Gumelev was published. "Quiver", which included poems on a military theme.

Last years

In 1918 a collection was published "Bonfire", as well as an African poem "Mick". In 1919, Nikolai Stepanovich married Anna Nikolaevna Engelhardt. They had a daughter, Anna.

In 1918-20, Gumilyov lectured on poetic creativity at the Institute of the Living Word. In 1921, two of his collections of works were published - "Tent" and "Pillar of Fire".

Arrest and execution of Gumelev

In early August, Nikolai Gumelev was arrested and accused of participating in the "Petrograd Combat Organization of V.N. Tagantsev", which was plotting a political conspiracy.

Modern historians are more and more inclined to believe that, as such, the “Tagantsev organization” did not exist at all and that all cases were fabricated by the Chekists.

On the night of August 26, 1921 Nikolai Stepanovich Gumelev was shot along with 56 others accused of treason. Until now, the exact places of both the execution and the burial of all the bodies are unknown.

In 1992, the name of Nikolai Gumelev was rehabilitated.

Nowadays, in Krasnoznamensk, Kaliningrad region, an evening is held annually "Gumilyov autumn", which attracts poets and famous people from all over Russia to honor the memory of the great poet.

The life and work of the famous Russian poet Nikolai Stepanovich Gumilyov proceeded in difficult historical and social conditions. As a representative of the literary trend of acmeism, Gumilyov released several collections of poems, the most famous of which are "The Way of the Conquistadors", "Romantic Flowers", "Pearl", "Alien Sky", "Quiver", "Bonfires" Pillar of Fire entered the treasury of the "Silver Age"


By the beginning of the 1910s, a new trend emerged in the literary process, reflecting new aesthetic trends in the art of the “Silver Age” and called “acmeism” (from the Greek akme - highest degree something; heyday; vertex; point). Acmeism arose in a circle of young poets, at first close to symbolism. The impetus for their rapprochement was the opposition to symbolist poetic practice, the desire to overcome the speculation and utopianism of symbolist theories. The most prominent representatives of the new trend included N.S. Gumilyov, A.A. Akhmatova, O.E. Mandelstam, S.M. Gorodetsky, M.A. Zenkevich, V.I. Narbut.

In October 1911, a new literary association was founded - the “Workshop of Poets”, headed by N.S. Gumilyov and S.M. Gorodetsky. The name of the circle indicated the attitude of the participants to poetry as a purely professional field of activity. The "workshop" was a school of formal craftsmanship, indifferent to the peculiarities of the worldview of the participants.

The work of an outstanding poet, one of the founders of the "Poets' Workshop" became an example of overcoming the aesthetic doctrine of acmeism.

Nikolai Stepanovich Gumilyov was born on April 3, 1886 in Kronstadt in the family of a naval doctor. Earlier, the future poet spent his childhood in Tsarskoye Selo, where his parents moved after his father's dismissal from military service. There he studied at the Tsarskoye Selo gymnasium, the director of which was I.F. Annensky. At this time, Nikolai's friendship is established, first with Andrei Gorenko, and then with his sister Anna, the future poetess Akhmatova, to whom he begins to dedicate his lyrical poems.

Gumilyov began to write poetry at the age of twelve and placed his first story in the gymnasium handwritten journal. When his family moved to the Caucasus in 1900, he enthusiastically wrote poetry about Georgia and early love. Gumilyov's first poem, published in a Tiflis newspaper (1902), is of a romantic nature and depicts a lyrical hero rushing from "cities into the desert", who is attracted to himself by restless "people with a fiery soul" and with a "thirst for good" ("I ran into the forest from the cities...).

Gumilyov began his journey in literature at the time of the heyday of symbolist poetry. It is not surprising that in his early lyrics there is a very palpable dependence on symbolism. It is interesting that the future acmeist in his work did not follow the chronologically closest generation of young symbolists, but was guided by the poetic practice of older symbolists, primarily K.D. Balmont and V.Ya. Bryusov. From the first in Gumilyov's early poems - the decorativeness of landscapes and the general craving for catchy external effects, the apology brought the novice poet closer to the second strong personality, reliance on solid qualities of character.

However, even against the background of Bryusov's lyrical heroism, the position of the early Gumilyov was distinguished by special energy. For his lyrical hero there is no abyss between reality and dream: Gumilyov affirms the priority of bold dreams, free fantasy. His early lyrics are devoid of tragic notes, moreover, Gumilyov is characterized by restraint in the manifestation of any emotions: at that time he assessed a purely personal, confessional tone as neurasthenia. The lyrical experience in his poetic world is certainly objectified, the mood is conveyed by visual images, ordered into a harmonious, “picturesque” composition.

Gumilyov and the poets of his generation trusted much more sensory perception, primarily visual. The evolution of the early Gumilyov is the gradual consolidation of precisely this stylistic quality: the use of the visual properties of the image, the rehabilitation of a single thing, important not only as a sign of spiritual movements or metaphysical insights, but also (and sometimes in the first place) as a colorful component of the overall scenery.

In 1905, in St. Petersburg, Gumilyov published the first collection of poems "The Path of the Conquistadors" . This youthful collection perfectly reflected the romantic mood and the emerging heroic character of the author: the book was dedicated to brave and strong heroes, cheerfully walking towards dangers, "leaning towards abysses and abysses." The poet glorifies a strong-willed personality, expresses his dream of a feat and heroism. He finds for himself a kind of poetic mask - a conquistador, a bold conqueror of distant lands. ("Sonnet") . The author considered this poem programmatic. In it, he likens himself to the ancient conquerors, mastering new earthly spaces: "Like a conquistador in an iron shell, / I set out on a journey ...". The poem glorifies the courageous duel with death and the relentless movement towards the intended goal. Written in the form of a sonnet, it is interesting in glorifying bold risk, courage, overcoming obstacles. At the same time, Gumilyov's hero is devoid of gloomy seriousness, formidable concentration: he walks "merrily", "laughing" adversity, resting "in a joyful garden."

But another theme is also revealed in the poem, its other plan is revealed in it. Gumilyov referred to the "conquistadors" and the conquerors, "filling the treasury of poetry with gold bars and diamond tiaras." The poem speaks, therefore, of the discovery of new poetic continents, of courage in mastering new themes, forms, and aesthetic principles.

The collection was noticed by the most prominent symbolist poet V. Bryusov, who published a review of the first experience of the novice author in his journal Scales. This review, which inspired the young man, became the reason for the beginning of an active correspondence of poets, and Gumilyov's further growth was largely determined by the influence of V. Bryusov, whom the young author called his teacher.

In 1906, Gumilyov graduated from the gymnasium and then spent about three years in Paris, where he publishes the Sirius magazine, writes a number of short stories (Princess Zara, The Golden Knight, Stradivarius Violin) and publishes a collection of poems "Romantic Flowers" (1908) . There was still a lot of poetic variegation in the collection, a lot of prettiness, artificial flowers (“gardens of the soul”, “secrets of moments”), but there was also what was stated in the first word of the title - romance. The inspirer of the poet is the Muse of Far Wanderings. The lyrical hero of the poem wanders “following Sinbad the Sailor”, wandering through unfamiliar waters, and he sees an eagle with red plumage, throwing the traveler onto a stone. He dreams of the "secret cave" of Lucifer, where there are high tombs. The poet contrasts the modern dullness with the colorful world of the past. Hence the appeal to the distant Romulus and Remus, Pompey, surrounded by pirates, the emperor "with the profile of an eagle." There is a lot of "neo-romantic fairy tale" here. No wonder this is the name of one of the poems in the collection. Colorfulness is conveyed by numerous definitions denoting colors.

However, among these images, born of an ardent imagination, there are pictures peeped into reality itself. Many exotic characters were seen by the poet during his first African trip. So, in the collection there are poems dedicated to Cairo sailors and children, Lake Chad, rhinoceros, jaguar, giraffe. But what is especially important, the poet learns to portray these heroes of his lyrics objectively, voluminously, convexly (“Hyena”, “Giraffe”). V. Bryusov, highly appreciating the collection, noted Gumilev's readiness to "definitely draw his images", to be precise, objective, attentive to form.

Upon his return to Russia (1908), Gumilyov entered St. Petersburg University, actively collaborated in newspaper and magazine periodicals, founded the "Academy of Verse" for young poets. In 1909-1913 he made three trips to Africa. In 1910 he married A.A. Gorenko (the break with her occurred in 1913, the official divorce - in 1918).

Gumilyov continued his poetic development in the following collection - "Pearl" (1910) , - dedicated to V. Bryusov. This is also a book of romantic poetry. The author emphasized continuity with the previous collection by introducing poems from the previous collection into the structure of the new book. The poet's favorite heroes reappear. This is a conquistador wandering without food in the mountains, now aged, seeking refuge in a cozy home, but still impudent and calm (“Old Conquistador”), another conqueror of spaces, wandering along the rocks (“Knight with a Chain”), exotic animals ( "Kangaroo", "Parrot"). Enhancing the picturesqueness of poetry, Gumilyov often repels from the works visual arts("Portrait of a Man", "Beatrice"), prompting him to be descriptive. Literary plots (“Don Juan”), motifs of symbolist poems (Balmont, Bryusov) become another source of imagery.

It is impossible not to note in the collection the greater elasticity of the verse, the refinement of poetic thought, which will later be felt in The Captains. Gumilyov timidly outlined the paths that would lead him to the collections Alien Sky and Bonfire.

In the early 1910s Gumilyov became the founder of a new literary movement - acmeism. The principles of acmeism were largely the result of Gumilyov's theoretical understanding of his own poetic practice. The key categories in acmeism were the categories of autonomy, balance, concreteness. "The place of action" of the lyrical works of acmeists - earthly life, the source of eventfulness is the activity of the person himself. The lyrical hero of the acmeist period of Gumilyov's work is not a passive contemplator of life's mysteries, but the organizer and discoverer of earthly beauty.

From the lush rhetoric and decorative flamboyance of the first collections, Gumilyov gradually moves to epigrammatic rigor and clarity, to a balance of lyricism and epic descriptiveness.

For 1911-1912. the period of organizational unity and creative flourishing of acmeism came. Gumilyov published at that time his most "acmeistic" collection of poems - "Alien Sky" (1912) . Moderation of expression, verbal discipline, balance of feeling and image, content and form are felt here. The book includes poems of the poet, published in 1910-1911 in Apollo.

I must say that romantic motives are still noticeable in the collection. The poet makes extensive use of contrasts, opposing the sublime and the base, the beautiful and the ugly, good and evil, West and East. The dream sharply opposes rough reality, exceptional characters - ordinary, ordinary characters ("By the Fireplace"). In another poem of the collection - "On the Sea" - a romantic landscape is vividly drawn in the stable traditions of Russian seascape poets. By sunset, the expanse of the sea gradually changes its violent appearance, the waves lose their “angry combs”. And yet, the stubborn militant breaker (a wave breaking on surface or underwater obstacles far from the coast) rebelliously rises up, and the poet finds apt definitions for his description: he is “violent”, “crazy”. But the shuttle, equipped with a sail, is distinguished by the same rebelliousness. He is just as "jolly" as Gumilev's conquistador, he also conquers the sea.

In the book as a whole, the acmeistic features of N. Gumilyov's poetry were clearly reflected: vivid depiction, narrative, inclination to reveal the objective world, weakening of musical and emotional principles, impassivity, expressiveness of descriptions, the multiplicity of faces of the lyrical hero, a clear view of the world, adamistic worldview, classical rigor of style, balance of volumes, precision of detail. In order to support and strengthen the acmeist tendency of his collection, N. Gumilyov included in it translations of five poems by Theophile Gautier. The book also includes the cycle "Abyssinian Songs", which shows how Gumilyov's approach to the transfer of the exotic world has changed significantly. The poems "The Discovery of America" ​​and "The Prodigal Son", as well as the one-act play "Don Juan in Egypt" stand apart in the collection.

The collection shows the author's obvious departure from Russian theme. However, Gumilyov devoted one of the sections of the book to his compatriot Anna Akhmatova, who in 1910 became the poet's wife. To the seventeen poems of this section, one more can be added - "From the Lair of the Serpent", with which the first part of the collection ends. This work is very typical for the love lyrics of the poet of that period - it creates a very conditional and ironically colored image of a woman. It would seem that the lyrical hero should be glad that next to him is a "merry songbird", but he woefully complains about his ill-fated fate.

The Alien Sky collection received many positive responses, making the name of its author widely known and earning him a reputation as a master.

One of the main characteristics of Gumilyov's work can be called cult of courageous risk, which found its embodiment in his works of many genres. These are essays on a trip to Africa (1913-1914), "African Diary" (1913), stories " African hunting" (1916) and "Forest Devil" (1917).

With the outbreak of World War I, the poet volunteered for the Lancers Regiment, and was awarded two St. George Crosses for participation in hostilities. The poet spoke about his participation in the battles in the Notes of a Cavalryman (1915-1916).

Life-affirming pathos lives in a new collection of poems "Quiver" (1916) published at the height of the First World War. Here, like many poets of those children, the trumpet calls of a victorious battle sound, participation in which the author perceives as the highest destiny and good (poems "War", "Offensive"). But along with this pathos, terrible sketches of a military meat grinder, human mess, decay appear in Gumilyov's collection. At the same time, there were not only militant “arrows” in the Quiver. Here there are verses that convey the life of the soul (“I did not live, I languished ...”), close to the intimate diary of the poet; there are many works that recreate the milestones of world culture, which was important and significant for acmeism.

In the collection "Bonfire" (1918) , which includes poems created in 1916-1917, the poet continues to explore the layers of world culture. This time he turns to ancient art, creating a hymn to Nike of Samothrace, located in the Louvre, presenting her "with outstretched arms." In the same book of poems, Gumilyov recreates Norway in his imagination, correlating its people and landscapes with the images of Ibsen and Grieg; Sweden and its "confused, discordant Stockholm". But here the Russian theme also matures. Many features of this collection can be found in the poem "Autumn": "Orange-red sky ... / gusty wind shakes / A bloody bunch of mountain ash. Naturally, among the poems about native expanses, rowan autumn, “meadows smelling of honey” of childhood, there are lines about the art of monks and the insights of Andrei Rublev, his icons and frescoes.

The revolutionary events in Russia found N. Gumilyov in France. From there he moved to England, to London, where he worked on the story "Merry Brothers". During this period, he approaches the issues of literature in a new way, believing that Russian writers have already overcome the period of rhetorical poetry and now the time has come for verbal economy, simplicity, clarity and reliability.

Returning in 1918 through Scandinavia to Petrograd, Gumilyov energetically joined the then stormy literary life, from which he had been torn off by the war for a long time. He openly spoke about his monarchical predilections and did not seem to notice the dramatic changes in the country. He had a hard time with the collapse of the first family, but the most intense creative work helped him heal his spiritual wound. The poet publishes a new poem - "Mick" - on an African theme, re-publishes early collections of poems, works enthusiastically at the publishing house "World Literature", where Gorky was attracted and where he is in charge of the French department; he organizes several publishing houses himself, recreates the "Poets' Workshop", manages its branch - the "Sounding Shell"; creates the Petrograd branch of the "Union of Poets", becoming its chairman.

The last three years of the poet's life (1918-1921) were unusually fruitful in creative terms. Gumilyov translates a lot, speaks at evening parties with the reading of his poems, theoretically comprehends the practice of acmeism, publishes the collection "Tent" in Sevastopol, again devoted to the African theme (it was latest book, published during the life of the author), creates the "Poem of the Beginning" (1919-1921), in which he refers to the philosophical and cosmogonic theme.

The poet is also preparing for publication a new significant collection of poems - "Pillar of Fire" . It includes works created during the last three years of the poet's life, mostly of a philosophical nature ("Memory", "Soul and Body", "The Sixth Sense", etc.). The name of the collection, dedicated to Gumilyov's second wife Anna Nikolaevna Engelhardt, goes back to the biblical imagery, the Old Testament "Book of Nehemiah".

Among best poems new book - "Lost Tram" , the most famous and at the same time complex and mysterious work. There are three main plans in this poem. The first of them is a story about a real tram that makes its unusual way. Cars rush along the rails non-stop and the fast run of the tram turns into flight - reality is replaced by fantasy. It is already unusual that the tram "lost". The symbolism of this "wandering" becomes clear when we comprehend the second plan of the poem. This is a poetic confession of a lyrical hero about himself. Both the lyrical hero and the author prophesy their imminent death. Both plans are coming together. In my spiritual quest and in my family life the poet is as lost as his tram, on the running board of which he jumps.

The third plan of the poem is philosophically generalized. Life appears either in everyday life, or in a festive radiance, then it looks beautiful, then ugly, then it goes along straight rails, then it rotates in a circle and returns to its starting point. All three plans of this poetic masterpiece are surprisingly intertwined into a single whole.

Gumilyov's prediction of "his own" is amazing unusual death: "And I will not die in bed, / With a notary and a doctor, / But in some wild crack, / Drowned in thick ivy ..." was confirmed.

On August 3, 1921, he was arrested by the Cheka, accused of participating in the counter-revolutionary Tagantsev conspiracy, and on August 24 he was shot along with sixty others involved in this case. However, no documentary evidence of this participation was found in the surviving materials of the investigation.

After the death of the poet, his lyrical collection "To the Blue Star" (1923), the book of Gumilev's prose "The Shadow from the Palm Tree" (1922), and much later - collections of his poems, plays and stories, books about him and his work.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that Gumilyov made a huge contribution to the development of Russian poetry. His traditions were continued by N. Tikhonov, E. Bagritsky, V. Rozhdestvensky, V. Sayanov, B. Kornilov, A. Dementiev.

Conquistadors - participants in the Spanish campaigns of conquest in South and Central America.

The article uses materials from the books “Literature. Applicant's Handbook, edited by V.E. Krasovsky and "Russian literature of the XX century" by E.S. Rogover

Nikolai Stepanovich Gumilyov, a significant figure of the Silver Age, Russian acmeist poet, was born on April 15, 1886 in Kronstadt. Gumilyov grew up in Tsarskoye Selo, then his father, a military naval doctor, moved his family to Tiflis, where in 1902 the first poem of the young poet was published. In 1903 the Gumilyovs returned to Tsarskoye Selo. Here Nikolai studied at the gymnasium, and in 1906, after graduating from an educational institution, he left for Paris. Until that time, he had already managed to publish his debut collection of poems, The Way of the Conquistadors.

In France, the poet was engaged in the publishing of the Sirius magazine, listened to lectures at the Sorbonne, corresponded with Bryusov, who published his poems in the Russian symbolist magazine Libra. From Paris, Nikolai traveled twice to Africa, which was reflected in his new collections "Romantic Flowers" and "Pearls", published in 1908 and 1910.

After returning to St. Petersburg in 1908, Gumilyov joined the Russian literary community and became one of the founders of the Apollon magazine, the most popular publication on art and literature.

In 1910, Nikolai Gumilyov married the poetess Anna Akhmatova. Their marriage was difficult, and despite the birth of their son Leo in 1912, the couple soon parted, and in 1918 Gumilev and Akhmatova divorced.

A highlight in creative life the poet was his participation in the creation of the "Workshop of poets", which united such masters as Mandelstam, Gorodetsky, Akhmatova. In 1911, Gumilyov announced the emergence of a new trend in poetry - acmeism, and, together with like-minded people, began publishing the Hyperborea magazine.

As soon as Russia enters the First World War, Gumilyov voluntarily goes to the front, takes an active part in hostilities, which twice earns him the St. George Cross of the 2nd and 3rd degree. Per war time two collections of his poems were published - "Quiver" in 1916 and "To the Blue Star" in 1917.

After returning from the front, the poet works at the World Literature publishing house, translates, publishes and teaches.

In August 1921, Gumilyov was arrested on charges of plotting against the government. Three weeks later he was sentenced to death. According to archival documents, on the night of August 26, the sentence was carried out. The exact place of execution and burial of Nikolai Gumilyov is still not known.

Biography 2

The future poet was born on April 3 (April 15), 1886 in the city of Kronstadt in the family of naval doctor Stepan Yakovlevich Gumilyov and Anna Ivanovna, maiden name Lvovna. As a child, the future classic did not differ in good health, but on the contrary, he was constantly ill: he suffered from headaches and other things. Poetry began to write as a child, the first poem dates back to 6 years of age.

In 1894 he entered the famous Tsarskoye Selo gymnasium, but due to poor health he switched to home schooling.

In 1903, after long trips with his family, Gumilyov returned to the gymnasium and entered the 7th grade, where he met his future love Anna Akhmatova. The study was hard, and the poet was on the verge of expulsion, but he was always helped by another poet and part-time director of the gymnasium, Innokenty Annensky. He saw talent in the boy.

In 1905, the first collection of poems, The Path of the Conquistador, was published.

In 1906, having received a matriculation certificate, Nikolai went to Paris. In 1907, the 2nd collection of poetry "Romantic Flowers" was published, dictated by the feeling of love inspiration and the beauty of Anna Akhmatova. From this moment, Gumilyov enters the phase of his mature creativity.

After long wanderings in the East and Africa, in 1909 Gumilyov entered St. Petersburg University. In 1910, the collection "Pearls" was published.

In the same year, the poet's marriage to the poetess Anna Akhmatova takes place.

In 1911, Gumilyov, together with Osip Mandelstam and Sergei Gorodetsky, founded the poetic society "Poets' Workshop".

In 1912, Gumilyov proclaims the emergence of a new poetic trend "Acmeism".

The poet himself conceived this trend as a counterbalance to the dominant symbolism at that time. Acmeism declares the supremacy of materiality, the elegant precision of words and materialism.

Before the First began to rumble in Europe World War, Gumilyov spends time wandering in the east, but at first the world catastrophe returns to Russia and enters the front as a volunteer. On the front line, Gumilyov was awarded two St. George crosses for heroic service. The war had a positive effect on his inspiration; at the front, Gumilyov would write many of his beautiful poems. In 1917, the poet went to the Russian Expeditionary Force in France, where he fell in love with the daughter of a famous surgeon, Elena du Boucher, and dedicated a collection of poems to her.

Nikolai Stepanovich returned to his homeland in 1918. Divorces Anna Akhmatova. A year later, in 1919, he marries for the second time, Anna Engelhardt.

At the end of the summer of 1921, Gumilyov was taken into custody due to suspicion of participation in the Tagantsev conspiracy. Almost a month later, he was sentenced to death. It was carried out the next day. Gumilyov Nikolai Stepanovich was 35 years old. The burial place of the poet is still unknown.

In 1903, the family returned to Tsarskoye Selo, the poet entered the gymnasium, the director of which was the poet Innokenty Annensky.

In 1906, Gumilev graduated from high school and entered the Sorbonne in Paris.

In Paris, Gumilyov published the Sirius magazine, corresponded with Bryusov, to whom he sent his poems, articles and stories, some of them were published in the Symbolist magazine Libra.

Since 1907, Gumilyov traveled a lot, was three times in Africa. In 1913, as the head of the African expedition on a business trip of the Academy of Sciences, he traveled to the Somali Peninsula.

In 1908 he returned to Russia and was enrolled in the Faculty of Law of St. Petersburg University, from 1909 he listened to lectures at the Faculty of History and Philology, but did not complete the course.

Since the spring of 1909, Nikolai Gumilev participated in the preparations for the publication of the Apollo magazine, where he became one of the main employees. In the same year, he became one of the founders of the poetic society "Academy of Verse" (Society of Zealots of the Artistic Word), which included poets Innokenty Annensky, Vyacheslav Ivanov and others.

In the autumn of 1911, Gumilyov, together with the poet Sergei Gorodetsky, created the literary association "Poets' Workshop", as well as a program for a new literary direction- acmeism.

In October 1912, the first issue of the journal "Hyperborey" was published, with Gumilyov as its editor.

During these years, the poet released several collections - "Romantic Flowers" (1908), "Pearls" (1910) and "Alien Sky" (1912), in which, in addition to his works, Gumilyov included translations of Theophile Gauthier's poems.

With the outbreak of World War I (1914-1918), despite being exempted from military service, Nikolai Gumilyov volunteered for the front, enlisting as a volunteer in the Life Guards Lancers Regiment. By the end of 1915, he was awarded two St. George's Crosses (III and IV degrees). In March 1916, Gumilyov was promoted to ensign and transferred to the 5th Alexander Hussar Regiment. In 1917 he left for Paris in connection with the transfer to the Thessaloniki front. In January 1918, after the dissolution of the office of the military commissar, to which he was assigned, Gumilyov went to London, and then in April 1918 returned to Russia.

During the years of the war, Gumilyov did not stop literary: the collection "Quiver" (1916) was published, the plays "Gondola" (1917) and "Poisoned Tunic" (1917), a series of essays "Notes of a Cavalier" (1915-1916) were written.

In 1918-1921, the poet was a member of the editorial board of the publishing house "World Literature", led the recreated "Workshop of Poets", and in 1921 - the Petrograd branch of the Union of Poets.

From 1919 led teaching activities at the Institute of Art History, at the Institute of the Living Word and in many literary studios.

Under the leadership of Gumilyov, a translation studio worked, he was a mentor to young poets from the "Sounding Shell" studio.

In August 1921, collections of his poems "Tent" and "Pillar of Fire" were published.

On August 3, 1921, Gumilyov was arrested on charges of anti-Soviet activities. On August 24, a resolution was issued by the Petrograd Provincial Extraordinary Commission on the execution of 61 people for participating in the "Tagantsevo counter-revolutionary conspiracy", among those sentenced was Nikolai Gumilyov. For a long time the exact date of the poet's death was unknown. In 2014, while working with documents on executions in the period from 1918 to 1941, historians managed to find marks about the extradition of the poet for the execution of a death sentence. Gumilyov was shot on the night of August 26, 1921. In 1992, the poet was officially rehabilitated.

Gumilyov was married twice. In 1910-1918, his wife was the poetess Anna Akhmatova ( real name Gorenko, 1889-1966), in 1912 their son Lev Gumilyov (1912-1992) was born - a well-known historian-ethnologist, archaeologist, orientalist, writer, translator. The second wife of Nikolai Gumilyov was Anna Engelhardt (1895-1942), daughter of the historian and literary critic Nikolai Engelhardt. From this union, a daughter, Elena, was born in 1919, who died of starvation during the siege of Leningrad in 1942.

Nikolai Gumilyov had a son, Orest Vysotsky (1913-1992), from actress Olga Vysotskaya. His memoirs about his father were published under the title "Nikolai Gumilyov through the eyes of his son."

The only museum of Nikolai Gumilyov in Russia is open in the city of Bezhetsk, Tver Region, in the village of Slepnevo in the preserved family estate of the Gumilyov family.

There, in Bezhetsk, there is a monument to the poet and his family - his first wife Anna Akhmatova and son Lev Gumilyov. Monuments to Nikolai Gumilyov were opened in Koktebel (Crimea) and in the village of Shilovo, Ryazan Region.

The material was prepared on the basis of information from RIA Novosti and open sources

Nikolai Stepanovich Gumilyov- Russian poet of the Silver Age, founder of the school of acmeism, translator, literary critic, officer.

N.S.Gumilyov Born April 15 (3), 1886 in Kronstadt in a noble family. Father - Stepan Yakovlevich Gumilyov worked as a ship's doctor. Mother - Anna Ivanovna Gumileva, nee Lvova, was younger than husband more than 20 years. She gave birth to two sons and a daughter. Nikolai Gumilyov was a weak and sickly child. Gumilyov spent his childhood in Tsarskoye Selo.

In the autumn of 1894, N. S. Gumilyov entered the gymnasium of Tsarskoye Selo, but after studying for only a few months, due to illness, he switched to home schooling.

Autumn 1895 The Gumilyovs moved from Tsarskoye Selo to St. Petersburg. Nikolai Stepanovich Gumilyov began to study at the Gurevich gymnasium.

In 1900 tuberculosis was discovered in the elder brother Dmitry, and the whole family moved to the Caucasus, to Tiflis.

January 5, 1901 Gumilyov enters the 1st Tiflis Men's Gymnasium. In 1902, N. Gumilyov's poem "I fled from the cities to the forest ..." was first published in the "Tiflis List" for the first time.

In 1903 The Gumilyovs returned to Tsarskoye Selo, and Nikolai Stepanovich again became a student of the Tsarskoye Selo gymnasium. The writer studied poorly and was on the verge of expulsion.

In 1905 the first book of his poems was published at the expense of his parents "The Path of the Conquistadors".

May 30, 1906 Nikolai Gumilyov after all, he passed the final exams and received a matriculation certificate for No. 544.

Since 1906 Nikolai Gumilyov lived in Paris, listened to lectures on literature, studied painting, traveled a lot and published the literary magazine Sirius.

In April 1907 Gumilev returned to Russia to pass the draft board.

In 1908 Gumilyov's collection is published "Romantic Flowers". With the money of his parents and received for the collection, Nikolai Stepanovich sets off on a second journey. During the trip he visited Turkey, Greece, Egypt.

N.S. Gumilyov made several expeditions to eastern and northeastern Africa and brought the richest collection to the Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography in St. Petersburg.

In 1909 Nikolai Gumilyov together with Sergei Makovsky organizes the illustrated magazine "Apollo" for fine arts, music, theater and literature. The writer is in charge of the literary-critical department, publishes his famous Letters on Russian Poetry.

In the spring of 1909, Nikolai Gumilyov meets the young poetess Elizaveta Dmitrieva, an affair begins between them and the writer even offers to marry him. But Dmitrieva chooses Gumilyov's friend Maximilian Voloshin. N.S. Gumilyov allows himself to speak badly about the poetess E. Dmitrieva, for which he receives a duel challenge from M. Voloshin.

In 1910 Gumilyov releases a collection "Pearls", one of the parts of which included "Romantic Flowers". The composition of "Pearls" includes a poem "Captains".

April 25, 1910 year in the Nikolaevskaya church in the village of Nikolskaya Slobidka, Nikolai Gumilyov married Anna Andreevna Gorenko (Akhmatova).

In 1911, N. Gumilyov founded the "Workshop of Poets", which included Anna Akhmatova, Vladimir Narbut, Osip Mandelstam, Sergei Gorodetsky, Kuzmina-Karavaeva and others.

In 1912, Nikolai Stepanovich Gumilyov announced the emergence of a new artistic movement - acmeism. Members of the "Workshop of Poets" belonged to acmeism. Acmeism proclaimed materiality, objectivity of themes and images, the accuracy of the word. Acmeism caused a mostly negative reaction in society. Acmeists open their own publishing house and the journal "Hyperborey".

Nikolai Gumilyov enters the Faculty of History and Philology of St. Petersburg University.

At this time, a collection of poetry was published "Alien Sky".

Spring 1913 years as the head of the expedition from the Academy of Sciences N.S. Gumilyov leaves for six months in Africa.

At the beginning of the First World War, Nikolai Gumilyov volunteered for the Lancers Regiment and deserved two St. George Crosses for bravery.

In 1915 in "Birzhevye Vedomosti" publishes his "Notes of a Cavalryman".

At the end of 1915 a compilation is coming out "Quiver".

During the war Gumilev did not stop writing. Working on a dramatic poem "Gondola".

In 1916 goes on vacation to Massandra, publishes his prose work "African hunting (From a travel diary)".

Spring 1917 the poet goes on a business trip to Thessaloniki, before reaching Paris, then to London. In Paris, Gumilyov falls in love with Elena Karolovna du Boucher, the daughter of a famous surgeon. During this period, he writes a cycle of love poems, which compiled the posthumously published book "Kenya Star".

In 1918 collection was published "Bonfire" and an African poem "Mick".

In 1919 N.S. Gumilyov married Anna Nikolaevna Engelhardt, daughter of the historian and literary critic N. A. Engelhardt. On April 14 of the same year, their daughter Elena was born.

In 1921 Gumilyov publishes two collections of poetry "Tent" and "Pillar of Fire".

August 3, 1921 Nikolai Stepanovich Gumilyov was arrested on suspicion of participating in the conspiracy of the "Petrograd military organization of V. N. Tagantsev" and soon the poet was shot.