Biography of Gumilyov briefly about the main thing. From unwritten memories

Nikolai Stepanovich Gumilyov. Born on April 3 (15), 1886 in Kronstadt - died on August 26, 1921 near Petrograd. Russian poet of the Silver Age, creator of the school of Acmeism, translator, literary critic, traveler, officer.

Born into the noble family of the Kronstadt ship doctor Stepan Yakovlevich Gumilyov (July 28, 1836 - February 6, 1910). Mother - Gumileva (Lvova) Anna Ivanovna (June 4, 1854 - December 24, 1942).

His grandfather - Panov Yakov Fedotovich (1790-1858) - was a sexton of the church in the village of Zheludevo, Spassky district, Ryazan province.

As a child, Nikolai Gumilyov was a weak and sickly child: he was constantly tormented by headaches and could not tolerate noise well. According to Anna Akhmatova (“The Works and Days of N. Gumilyov,” vol. II), the future poet wrote his first quatrain about the beautiful Niagara at the age of six.

He entered the Tsarskoye Selo gymnasium in the fall of 1894, however, after studying for only a few months, due to illness he switched to homeschooling.

In the fall of 1895, the Gumilyovs moved from Tsarskoe Selo to St. Petersburg, rented an apartment in the house of merchant N.V. Shalin on the corner of Degtyarnaya and 3rd Rozhdestvenskaya streets, and the next year Nikolai Gumilyov began studying at the Gurevich gymnasium. In 1900, the elder brother Dmitry (1884-1922) was diagnosed with tuberculosis, and the Gumilyovs left for the Caucasus, to Tiflis. In connection with the move, Nikolai entered the fourth grade for the second time, the 2nd Tiflis Gymnasium, but six months later, on January 5, 1901, he was transferred to the 1st Tiflis Men's Gymnasium. Here, in the “Tiflis Leaflet” of 1902, the poem was first published N. Gumilyov “I fled to the forest from the cities...”.

In 1903, the Gumilyovs returned to Tsarskoye Selo and N. Gumilyov in 1903 again entered the Tsarskoye Selo gymnasium (in the 7th grade). He studied poorly and once was even on the verge of expulsion, but the director of the gymnasium, I. F. Annensky, insisted on leaving the student for the second year: “All this is true, but he writes poetry.” In the spring of 1906, Nikolai Gumilyov nevertheless passed the final exams and on May 30 received a certificate of maturity for No. 544, which included the only five in logic.

A year before graduating from high school, the first book of his poems, “The Path of the Conquistadors,” was published at the expense of his parents. Bryusov, who at that time was one of the most authoritative poets, honored this collection with a separate review. Although the review was not laudatory, the master concluded it with the words “Let us assume that it [the book] is only the “path” of the new conquistador and that his victories and conquests are ahead,” it was after this that correspondence began between Bryusov and Gumilyov. For a long time, Gumilyov considered Bryusov his teacher; Bryusov’s motifs can be traced in many of his poems (the most famous of them is “The Violin,” however, dedicated to Bryusov). Master for a long time patronized the young poet and treated him, unlike most of his students, kindly, almost in a fatherly way.

After graduating from high school, Gumilev went to study at the Sorbonne.

Since 1906, Nikolai Gumilyov lived in Paris: he attended lectures on French literature at the Sorbonne, studied painting - and traveled a lot. Visited Italy and France. While in Paris, he published the literary magazine Sirius (in which Anna Akhmatova made her debut), but only 3 issues of the magazine were published. He visited exhibitions, met French and Russian writers, and was in intensive correspondence with Bryusov, to whom he sent his poems, articles, and stories. At the Sorbonne, Gumilyov met the young poetess Elizaveta Dmitrieva. This fleeting meeting played a fatal role in the poet’s fate a few years later.

In Paris, Bryusov recommended Gumilyov to such famous poets as Merezhkovsky, Gippius, Bely and others, but the masters treated him carelessly young talent. In 1908, the poet “revenged” the insult by anonymously sending them the poem “Androgyne.” It received extremely favorable reviews. Merezhkovsky and Gippius expressed a desire to meet the author.

In 1907, in April, Gumilyov returned to Russia to go through the draft board. In Russia, the young poet met with his teacher, Bryusov, and his lover, Anna Gorenko. In July, he set off from Sevastopol on his first trip to the Levant and returned to Paris at the end of July.

In 1908, Gumilyov published the collection “Romantic Flowers”. With the money received for the collection, as well as with the funds accumulated by his parents, he goes on a second journey.

Arrived in Sinop, where I had to quarantine for 4 days, and from there to Istanbul. After Turkey, Gumilev visited Greece, then went to Egypt, where he visited Ezbikiye. In Cairo, the traveler suddenly ran out of money and was forced to go back. On November 29 he was again in St. Petersburg.

Nikolai Gumilyov is not only a poet, but also one of the largest researchers in Africa. He made several expeditions to East and North-East Africa and brought a rich collection to the Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography (Kunstkamera) in St. Petersburg.

Although Africa attracted Gumilyov from childhood, he was inspired by the exploits of Russian volunteer officers in Abyssinia (later he would even repeat the route of Alexander Bulatovich and partly the routes of Nikolai Leontyev), the decision to go there came suddenly and on September 25 he goes to Odessa, from there to Djibouti, then to Abyssinia. The details of this trip are unknown. It is only known that he visited Addis Ababa for a ceremonial reception at the Negus. Can be considered proven friendly relations mutual sympathy that arose between the young Gumilev and the experienced Menelik II. In the article “Is Menelik Dead?” the poet both described the unrest that took place under the throne and revealed his personal attitude to what was happening.

Gumilyov visits the famous “Tower” of Vyacheslav Ivanov, where he makes many new literary acquaintances.

In 1909, together with Sergei Makovsky, Gumilyov organized an illustrated magazine on issues of fine art, music, theater and literature “Apollo”, in which he began to head the literary criticism department and published his famous “Letters on Russian Poetry”.

In the spring of the same year, Gumilev meets Elizaveta Dmitrieva again, and they begin an affair. Gumilyov even invites the poetess to marry him. But Dmitrieva prefers another poet and his colleague on the Apollo editorial board, Maximilian Voloshin, to Gumilyov. In the fall, when the personality of Cherubina de Gabriac - a literary hoax of Voloshin and Dmitrieva - is scandalously exposed, Gumilyov allows himself to speak unflatteringly about the poetess, Voloshin publicly insults him and receives a challenge. The duel took place on November 22, 1909, and news about it appeared in many metropolitan magazines and newspapers. Both poets remained alive: Voloshin shot - it misfired, again - it misfired again, Gumilyov shot upwards.

In 1910, the collection “Pearls” was published, in which “Romantic Flowers” ​​was included as one of the parts. "Pearls" includes the poem "Captains", one of famous works Nikolai Gumilyov. The collection received laudatory reviews from V. Bryusov, V. Ivanov, I. Annensky and other critics, although it was called “still a student’s book.”

In 1911, under active participation Gumilyov, the “Workshop of Poets” was founded, which, in addition to Gumilyov, included Anna Akhmatova, Osip Mandelstam, Vladimir Narbut, Sergei Gorodetsky, Elizaveta Kuzmina-Karavaeva (the future “Mother Mary”), Zenkevich and others.

At this time, symbolism was experiencing a crisis, which young poets sought to overcome. They declared poetry to be a craft, and all poets were divided into masters and apprentices. In the “Workshop” Gorodetsky and Gumilyov were considered masters, or “syndics”. Initially, “The Workshop” did not have a clear literary orientation.

In 1912, Gumilyov announced the emergence of a new artistic movement - Acmeism, which included members of the “Workshop of Poets”. Acmeism proclaimed materiality, objectivity of themes and images, and precision of words. The emergence of a new trend caused violent reaction, mostly negative. In the same year, Acmeists opened their own publishing house “Hyperborea” and a magazine of the same name.

Gumilev enters the Faculty of History and Philology of St. Petersburg University, where he studies Old French poetry.

In the same year, the poetry collection “Alien Sky” was published, in which, in particular, the first, second and third cantos of the poem “The Discovery of America” were published.

The second expedition took place in 1913. It was better organized and coordinated with the Academy of Sciences. At first, Gumilyov wanted to cross the Danakil desert, study little-known tribes and try to civilize them, but the Academy rejected this route as expensive, and the poet was forced to propose a new route.

His nephew Nikolai Sverchkov went to Africa with Gumilyov as a photographer.

First, Gumilyov went to Odessa, then to Istanbul. In Turkey, the poet showed sympathy and sympathy for the Turks, unlike most Russians. There, Gumilyov met the Turkish consul Mozar Bey, who was traveling to Harar; they continued their journey together. From Istanbul they headed to Egypt, and from there to Djibouti. The travelers had to go inland along railway, but after 260 kilometers the train stopped due to the fact that the rains washed out the track. Most of the passengers returned, but Gumilyov, Sverchkov and Mozar Bey begged the workers for a handcar and drove 80 kilometers of damaged track on it. Arriving in Dire Dawa, the poet hired a translator and set off in a caravan to Harar.

In Harar, Gumilyov bought mules, not without complications, and there he met Ras Tefari (then the governor of Harar, later Emperor Haile Selassie I; adherents of Rastafarianism consider him the incarnation of the Lord - Jah). The poet gave the future emperor a box of vermouth and photographed him, his wife and sister. In Harare, Gumilyov began collecting his collection.

From Harar the path lay through the little-explored Galla lands to the village of Sheikh Hussein. On the way, we had to cross the fast-water Uabi River, where Nikolai Sverchkov was almost dragged away by a crocodile. Soon problems with provisions began. Gumilyov was forced to hunt for food. When the goal was achieved, the leader and spiritual mentor of Sheikh Hussein Aba Muda sent provisions to the expedition and warmly received it.

There Gumilyov was shown the tomb of Saint Sheikh Hussein, after whom the city was named. There was a cave there, from which, according to legend, a sinner could not escape.

Gumilyov climbed there and returned safely.

Having written down the life of Sheikh Hussein, the expedition moved to the city of Ginir. Having replenished the collection and collected water in Ginir, the travelers went west, on a difficult journey to the village of Matakua.

Further fate expedition is unknown, Gumilyov’s African diary is interrupted at the word “Road...” on July 26. According to some reports, on August 11, the exhausted expedition reached the Dera Valley, where Gumilyov stayed in the house of the parents of a certain Kh. Mariam. He treated his mistress for malaria, freed a punished slave, and his parents named their son after him. However, there are chronological inaccuracies in the Abyssinian's story. Be that as it may, Gumilyov safely reached Harar and in mid-August was already in Djibouti, but due to financial difficulties he was stuck there for three weeks. He returned to Russia on September 1.

The beginning of 1914 was difficult for the poet: the workshop ceased to exist, difficulties arose in his relationship with Akhmatova, and he became bored with the bohemian life he led after returning from Africa.

After the outbreak of the First World War in early August 1914, Gumilev volunteered for the army. Together with Nikolai, his brother Dmitry Gumilyov, who was shell-shocked in battle and died in 1922, went to war (by conscription).

It is noteworthy that although almost all the famous poets of that time composed either patriotic or military poems, only two volunteered to take part in hostilities: Gumilyov and Benedict Livshits.

Gumilyov was enlisted as a volunteer in the Life Guards Ulan Regiment of Her Majesty. In September and October 1914, exercises and training took place. Already in November the regiment was transferred to Southern Poland. On November 19, the first battle took place. For night reconnaissance before the battle, by Order of the Guards Cavalry Corps of December 24, 1914 No. 30, he was awarded the insignia of the Military Order (St. George Cross) 4th degree No. 134060 and promoted to the rank of corporal. The insignia was awarded to him on January 13, 1915, and on January 15 he was promoted to non-commissioned officer.

At the end of February, as a result of continuous hostilities and travel, Gumilyov fell ill with a cold. The poet was treated for a month in Petrograd, then was returned to the front again. In 1915, from April to June, although there were no active hostilities, Gumilyov participated in reconnaissance trips almost every day.

In 1915, Nikolai Gumilyov fought in Western Ukraine(Volyn). Here he passed the most difficult military trials, received the 2nd insignia of the military order (St. George's Cross), of which he was very proud.

On July 6, a large-scale enemy attack began. The task was set to hold positions until the infantry approached, the operation was carried out successfully, and several machine guns were saved, one of which was carried by Gumilyov. For this, by Order of the Guards Cavalry Corps of December 5, 1915 No. 1486, he was awarded the insignia of the Military Order of the Cross of St. George, 3rd degree No. 108868.

In September, the poet returned to Russia as a hero, and on March 28, 1916, by order of the Commander-in-Chief of the Western Front No. 3332, he was promoted to ensign and transferred to the 5th Hussar Regiment of Alexandria. Using this respite, Gumilyov was active in literary activity.

In April 1916, the poet arrived in the hussar regiment stationed near Dvinsk. In May, Gumilev was again evacuated to Petrograd. The night jump in the heat described in “Notes of a Cavalryman” cost him pneumonia. When the treatment was almost over, Gumilyov went out into the cold without permission, as a result of which the disease worsened again. Doctors recommended that he undergo treatment in the south. Gumilev left for Yalta. However, on this military life the poet did not end. On July 8, 1916, he again went to the front, again for a short time. On August 17, by order of regiment No. 240, Gumilev was sent to the Nikolaev Cavalry School, then again transferred to the front and remained in the trenches until January 1917.

In 1916, a collection of poems, “Quiver,” was published, which included poems on a military theme.

In 1917, Gumilyov decided to transfer to the Thessaloniki Front and went to the Russian expeditionary force in Paris. He went to France along the northern route - through Sweden, Norway and England. In London, Gumilyov stayed for a month, where he met with local poets: Gilbert Chesterton, Boris Anrep and others. Gumilyov left England in an excellent mood: paper and printing costs turned out to be much cheaper there, and he could print Hyperborea there.

Arriving in Paris, he served as an adjutant to the commissar of the Provisional Government, where he became friends with the artists M. F. Larionov and N. S. Goncharova.

In Paris, the poet fell in love with the half-Russian, half-French Elena Karolovna du Boucher, the daughter of a famous surgeon. He dedicated the collection of poems “To the Blue Star” to her, the pinnacle of the poet’s love lyrics. Soon Gumilyov moved to the 3rd brigade. However, the decay of the army was felt there too. Soon the 1st and 2nd brigades mutinied. He was suppressed, many soldiers were deported to Petrograd, the rest were united into one special brigade.

On January 22, 1918, Anrep got him a job in the encryption department of the Russian Government Committee. Gumilyov worked there for two months. However, bureaucratic work did not suit him, and on April 10, 1918, the poet left for Russia.

In 1918, the collection “Bonfire” was published, as well as the African poem “Mick”. The prototype of Louis, the monkey king, was Lev Gumilyov. The time for the release of the fairy-tale poem was unfortunate, and it was received coolly. His fascination with the Malay pantun dates back to this period - part of the play “Child of Allah” (1918) was written in the form of a stitched pantun.

On August 5, 1918, a divorce from Anna Akhmatova took place. Relations between the poets went wrong a long time ago, but it was impossible to divorce with the right to remarry before the revolution.

In 1919, he married Anna Nikolaevna Engelhardt, the daughter of the historian and literary critic N.A. Engelhardt.

In 1920, the Petrograd department of the All-Russian Union of Poets was established, and Gumilyov also joined it. Formally, Blok was elected head of the Union, but in fact the Union was ruled by a “more than pro-Bolshevik” group of poets led by Pavlovich. Under the pretext that a quorum was not reached in the election of the chairman, re-elections were called. The Pavlovich camp, believing that this was a simple formality, agreed, but in the re-election Gumilyov was unexpectedly nominated, who won by one vote.

He took a close part in the affairs of the department. When Gorky’s plan “The History of Culture in Pictures” arose for the publishing house “World Literature,” Gumilyov supported these endeavors. His “Poisoned Tunic” could not have come at a better time. In addition, Gumilyov gave sections of the play “Gondla”, “Hunting the Rhinoceros” and “The Beauty of Morni”. The fate of the latter is sad: its full text has not survived.

In 1921, Gumilyov published two collections of poems. The first is “Tent,” written based on impressions from traveling in Africa. “The Tent” was supposed to be the first part of a grandiose “geography textbook in verse.” In it, Gumilyov planned to describe the entire inhabited land in rhyme. The second collection is “Pillar of Fire,” which includes such significant works as “The Word,” “The Sixth Sense,” and “My Readers.” Many believe that “Pillar of Fire” is the poet’s pinnacle collection.

Since the spring of 1921, Gumilyov headed the Sounding Shell studio, where he shared his experience and knowledge with young poets and gave lectures on poetics.

Living in Soviet Russia, Gumilev did not hide his religious and political views- he openly baptized himself in churches and declared his views. So, at one of the poetry evenings, he answered a question from the audience - “what are your political beliefs?” replied, “I am a convinced monarchist.”

On August 3, 1921, Gumilyov was arrested on suspicion of participation in the conspiracy of the “Petrograd Combat Organization of V.N. Tagantsev.” For several days, Mikhail Lozinsky and Nikolai Otsup tried to help their friend, but despite this, the poet was soon shot.

On August 24, the Petrograd GubChK issued a decree on the execution of participants in the “Tagantsevsky conspiracy” (61 people in total), published on September 1, indicating that the sentence had already been carried out. Gumilyov and 56 other convicts, as established in 2014, were shot on the night of August 26. The place of execution and burial is still unknown; this is not indicated in the newly discovered documents. Only in 1992 was Gumilyov rehabilitated.

Family of Nikolai Gumilyov:

Parents: mother Gumilyov Anna Ivanovna (June 4, 1854 - December 24, 1942), father Gumilyov Stepan Yakovlevich (July 28, 1836 - February 6, 1910).

Akhmatova's first wife Anna Andreevna (June 11 (23), 1889 - March 5, 1966) - their son Gumilyov Lev (October 1, 1912 - June 15, 1992);

Second wife Engelhardt Anna Nikolaevna (1895 - April 1942) - their daughter Elena Gumileva (April 14, 1919, Petrograd - July 25, 1942, Leningrad);

Anna Engelhardt and Elena Gumilyova died of starvation in besieged Leningrad.

Lev and Elena Gumilyov did not leave any children.

Nikolai Stepanovich Gumilyov (1886-1921) was born in Kronstadt near St. Petersburg. His father was a Kronstadt ship's doctor. At the age of 8, Nikolai was sent to the Tsarskoye Selo gymnasium, but due to health reasons he was transferred to home schooling. When Nikolai was 9 years old, the family moved to St. Petersburg. At the age of 10, Gumilyov entered the Gurevich gymnasium. When Gumilyov was in 4th grade, due to his brother’s illness, the family moved to the Caucasus, to Tiflis. Nikolai lost a year, having studied in the 4th grade twice.

Once again he stayed for a second year at the Tsarskoye Selo gymnasium (returned in 7th grade), from which he was almost expelled. The director, Innokenty Annensky, stood up for the young poet. Gumilyov graduated from high school only at the age of 20 and went to Paris, studied at the Sorbonne, where he published the literary magazine Sirius.

At the age of 26, in 1912, Gumilyov entered St. Petersburg University at the Faculty of History and Philology.

The beginning of creativity

According to Akhmatova, Gumilyov composed his first poem at the age of 6. The poem by high school student Gumilyov was published in the Tiflis Leaflet.

The first collection of poems, “The Path of the Conquistadors,” was published with the Gumilevs’ money when the poet was 19 years old. This collection attracted the attention of Bryusov, who became the mentor of the young poet.

The second collection, “Romantic Flowers,” was published by 22-year-old Gumilyov.

From 1908 to 1910 Gumilyov was a frequent guest at Vyacheslav Ivanov’s “Tower”, listened to lectures at Society of Zealots artistic word , headed the criticism department in the Apollo magazine (editor S. Makovsky), where he published “Letters on Russian Poetry.”

Gumilyov the traveler

While still studying at the Sorbonne, Gumilyov traveled around Italy and France. Gumilyov made his first trip to the East, to the Levant, in 1907.

Having received money for the second collection, the poet set off on a second journey. After traveling through Turkey and Greece, he ended up in Egypt, where he ran out of money. Gumilyov returned to St. Petersburg.

Gumilyov's next expeditions were organized to Africa. The result of these expeditions was the replenishment of the Kunstkamera with valuable exhibits.

In 1908, Gumilyov visited Abyssinia, made acquaintance with Negus Menelik 2 and explored the life of the people in the article “Did Menelik Die?”

The second trip to Abyssinia took place in 1913. Gumilev set himself the goal of studying and civilizing the wild tribes in the Danakil desert. The Academy of Sciences adjusted his route. Gumilyov with his companions (nephew Nikolai Sverchkov and the Turkish consul Mozar Bey, whom he met in Istanbul) did full of dangers path.

Lyubov Gumileva

At the age of 20, in Paris, Gumilyov met Elizaveta Dmitrieva, to whom he proposed in 1909. But she preferred Maximilian Voloshin, although she subsequently did not marry him. But because of her, Gumilyov and Voloshin fought in a duel, in which no one was hurt.

In 1910, Gumilyov married Akhmatova. In 1912, their son Lev was born. The couple were like-minded people. But gradually the relationship faded away. Divorce became possible in 1918 in Soviet Russia.

In 1919, Gumilyov married Anna Engelhardt.

Mature creativity. Gumilyov-master

In 1910, Gumilyov’s third collection “Pearls” was published, which included the poem “Captains” and the previous collection “Romantic Flowers”. Some critics still called the new collection of the 26-year-old master a student's collection.

In 1911, the association “Workshop of Poets” was created (including Mandelstam, Gorodetsky, Akhmatova), in which Gumilyov had the title of “syndic” (master). It was in the “Workshop of Poets” that a new direction was born - Acmeism, which, as opposed to symbolism, advocated for the accuracy and objectivity of images. Members of the association founded the publishing house and magazine "Hyperborea". The “workshop” existed until 1914.

In 1912, the collection “Alien Sky” was published, in which the first songs of the poem “The Discovery of America” were published.

The theme of the First World War is reflected in the collection “Quiver” (1916).

The collection “To the Blue Star” (poems 1918, published in 1923) is dedicated to Gumilyov’s love for Elena du Boucher, a Parisian woman whom he met in 1917.

In 1918, the collection “Bonfire” was published.

In Soviet Russia, Gumilev took an active social and literary position. He gave lectures on poetic creativity, was a member and then chairman of the Petrograd department of the All-Russian Union of Poets, and participated in Gorky’s project “History of Culture in Pictures,” offering his poems and plays.

As the head of the Sounding Shell studio, Gumilyov taught the craft to young poets.

Gumilyov-military

In 1914, Gumilev volunteered for the front. During the years of the First World War, Gumilyov proved himself to be a brave intelligence officer and officer, and was awarded three Crosses of St. George. In between military service, Gumilyov studied literary activity, traveled around Europe.

Arrest and execution

Gumilyov did not hide his monarchist convictions in Soviet Russia. At the beginning of August 1921, he was arrested as a participant in the anti-Soviet Tagantsev conspiracy. On August 24, Gumilyov was sentenced to death, and on August 26, he was executed. The place of execution and burial is unknown. Gumilev was rehabilitated in 1992, but it remains a mystery whether he participated in the conspiracy, simply knew about it, or there was no conspiracy at all.

The life and work of the famous Russian poet Nikolai Stepanovich Gumilev took place in difficult historical and social conditions. Being a representative of the literary movement of Acmeism, Gumilev published several collections of poems, the most famous of which are “The Path 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 movement emerged in the literary process, reflecting new aesthetic trends in the art of the “Silver Age” and receiving the name “Acmeism” (from the Greek akme - the highest degree of something; flowering; peak; edge). Acmeism arose in a circle of young poets who were initially close to symbolism. The impetus for their rapprochement was opposition to symbolist poetic practice, the desire to overcome the speculativeness and utopianism of symbolist theories. The most prominent representatives of the new trend included N.S. Gumilev, 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”, whose leaders were N.S. Gumilev and S.M. Gorodetsky. The name of the circle indicated the attitude of the participants towards poetry as a purely professional field of activity. “The Workshop” was a school of formal mastery, indifferent to the peculiarities of the worldview of the participants.

Creation outstanding poet, one of the founders of the “Workshop of Poets”, became an example of overcoming the aesthetic doctrine of Acmeism.

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

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

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 noticeable dependence on symbolism. It is interesting that the future Acmeist did not follow in his work the chronologically closest generation of Young Symbolists, but was guided by the poetic practice of the older Symbolists, primarily K.D. Balmont and V.Ya. Bryusova. From the first in Gumilyov’s early poems - the decorativeness of landscapes and the general craving for catchy external effects, the aspiring poet was brought closer to the second by the apology strong personality, reliance on solid qualities of character.

However, even against the background of Bryusov’s lyrical heroics, the position of early Gumilyov was distinguished by special energy. For his lyrical hero there is no gap between reality and dreams: Gumilyov asserts the priority of daring dreams and free imagination. His early lyrics are devoid of tragic notes; moreover, Gumilev is characterized by restraint in the manifestation of any emotions: he assessed a purely personal, confessional tone at that time 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 sensory perception, primarily visual, much more. The evolution of early Gumilev 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 mental movements or metaphysical insights, but also (and sometimes primarily) as a colorful component of the overall decoration.

In 1905, in St. Petersburg, Gumilyov published the first collection of poems "The Way of the Conquistadors" . This youthful collection perfectly reflected the romantic mood and 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 feat and heroism. He finds for himself a kind of poetic mask - a conquistador, a brave conqueror of distant lands ("Sonnet") . The author considered this poem programmatic. In it, he likens himself to the ancient conquerors exploring new earthly spaces: “Like a conquistador in an iron shell, / I set out on the road...”. The poem glorifies a courageous duel with death and tireless movement towards the intended goal. Written in the form of a sonnet, it is interesting because it glorifies bold risks, courage, and overcoming obstacles. At the same time, Gumilyov’s hero is devoid of gloomy seriousness and menacing concentration: he walks “merrily,” “laughing” at adversity, resting “in a joyful garden.”

But another theme is also revealed in the poem, its other plan is revealed in it. Gumilyov also referred to the “conquistadors” as conquerors who “filled the treasury of poetry with gold bars and diamond tiaras.” The poem, therefore, speaks 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 magazine “Scales”. This review, which inspired the young man, became the reason for the active correspondence between the poets, and Gumilyov’s further growth was largely determined by the influence of V. Bryusov, whom the young author called his teacher.

In 1906, Gumilev graduated from high school and then spent about three years in Paris, where he published the magazine Sirius, wrote a number of short stories (Princess Zara, The Golden Knight, The Violin of Stradivarius) and published a collection of poems "Romantic Flowers" (1908) . The collection also contained a lot of poetic diversity, a lot of beauty, 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 poet's inspiration is the Muse of Distant Journeys. The lyrical hero of the poems 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 Lucifer's “secret cave”, 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 an eagle profile.” There is a lot of “neo-romantic fairy tale” here. It is not for nothing that 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 a passionate imagination, there are paintings glimpsed in reality itself. Many exotic characters were seen by the poet during his first African travel. Thus, the collection contains poems dedicated to Cairo sailors and children, Lake Chad, rhinoceros, jaguar, and giraffe. But what is especially important is that the poet learns to portray these heroes of his lyrics objectively, volumetrically, and vividly (“Hyena”, “Giraffe”). V. Bryusov, highly appreciating the collection, noted Gumilyov’s readiness to “definitely draw his images,” to be precise, objective, and attentive to form.

Upon returning to Russia (1908), Gumilyov entered St. Petersburg University, actively collaborated in newspaper and magazine periodicals, and 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 next collection - "Pearl" (1910) , - dedicated to V. Bryusov. This is also a book of romantic poems. 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 appear again. This is a conquistador wandering without food in the mountains, now old, seeking refuge in a cozy home, but still daring and calm (“Old Conquistador”), another space conqueror wandering along the rocks (“Knight with a Chain”), exotic animals ( "Kangaroo", "Parrots"). Intensifying the picturesqueness of his poems, Gumilyov often starts from works of fine art (“Portrait of a Man”, “Beatrice”), which encourage him to be descriptive. Another source of imagery are literary subjects (“Don Juan”) and motifs from the poems of the Symbolists (Balmont, Bryusov).

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 “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 turned out to be the categories of autonomy, balance, and specificity. The “scene of action” of the lyrical works of the Acmeists is earthly life, the source of eventfulness is the activity of the person himself. The lyrical hero of the acmeistic period of Gumilyov’s work is not a passive contemplator of life’s mysteries, but an organizer and discoverer of earthly beauty.

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

For 1911-1912 There was a period of organizational unity and creative flourishing of Acmeism. Gumilyov published at this time his most “acmeistic” collection of poems - "Alien Sky" (1912) . Here one feels moderation of expression, verbal discipline, balance of feeling and image, content and form. The book includes the poet's poems, published in 1910-1911 in Apollo.

It must be said that romantic motifs are still noticeable in the collection. The poet makes extensive use of contrasts, contrasting the sublime and the base, the beautiful and the ugly, good and evil, West and East. The dream is sharply opposed to the harsh reality, exceptional characters are opposed to ordinary, ordinary characters (“By the Fireplace”). Another poem in the collection, “On the Sea,” vividly depicts a romantic landscape 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 scallops”. And yet, the stubborn warlike breaker (a wave breaking against surface or underwater obstacles far from the shore) rises unruly, and the poet finds apt definitions to characterize it: it is “violent,” “crazy.” But a shuttle equipped with a sail is also distinguished by the same disobedience. He is as “cheerful” as Gumilev’s conquistador; he also conquers sea spaces.

In the book as a whole, the acmeistic features of N. Gumilyov’s poetry were clearly reflected: bright figurativeness, narration, a tendency to reveal the objective world, weakened musical and emotional principles, emphasized dispassion, expressiveness of descriptions, the plurality of faces of the lyrical hero, a clear view of the world, an Adamistic worldview, classical rigor of style, balance of volumes, precision of detail. To support and strengthen the acmeistic tendency of his collection, N. Gumilyov included translations of five poems by Théophile Gautier. The book also includes the “Abyssinian Songs” cycle, which shows how Gumilev’s approach to conveying the exotic world has changed significantly. Standing out in the collection are the poems “The Discovery of America” and “The Prodigal Son,” as well as the one-act play “Don Juan in Egypt.”

In the collection one senses the author's obvious departure from Russian theme. However, Gumilev dedicated one of the sections of the book to his compatriot Anna Akhmatova, who in 1910 became the poet’s wife. To the seventeen poems in this section, one more can be added - “From the Lair of the Serpent,” which ends the first part of the collection. This work is very typical of the poet’s love lyrics of that period - it creates a very conventional and ironically colored image of a woman. It would seem that the lyrical hero should be happy that there is a “cheerful songbird” next to him, but he sadly complains about his ill-fated fate.

The collection “Alien Sky” evoked 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 is embodied in his works of many genres. These are essays about a trip to Africa (1913-1914), “African Diary” (1913), stories “African Hunt” (1916) and “Forest Devil” (1917).

With the outbreak of the First World War, the poet volunteered for the Uhlan regiment and was awarded two St. George's Crosses for his participation in hostilities. The poet spoke about his participation in battles in “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 purpose and good (poems “War”, “Offensive”). But along with this pathos, Gumilyov’s collection contains terrible sketches of a military meat grinder, human mash, and decay. Moreover, the “Quiver” contained not only militant “arrows”. Here there are poems that convey the life of the soul (“I didn’t live, I languished…”), close to the poet’s intimate diary; There are many works here that recreate milestones of world culture, which were 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 the Nike of Samothrace, located in the Louvre, representing her “with her arms outstretched forward.” 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 of the features of this collection can be found in the poem “Autumn”: “Orange-red sky... / A gusty wind shakes / A bloody bunch of rowan trees.” Naturally, among the poems about native expanses, rowan autumn, “honey-smelling meadows” of childhood, lines appear about the art of monks and the insights of Andrei Rublev, his icons and frescoes.

Revolutionary events in Russia found N. Gumilyov in France. From there he moved to England, to London, where he worked on the story “The Merry Brothers”. During this period, he took a new approach to literary issues, believing that Russian writers had already overcome the period of rhetorical poetry and now the time had come for verbal economy, simplicity, clarity and authenticity.

Returning to Petrograd through Scandinavia in 1918, Gumilyov energetically became involved in the then stormy literary life, from which he already long time was cut off by the war. He spoke openly about his monarchical preferences and did not seem to notice the dramatic changes in the country. He had a hard time with the collapse of his first family, but intense creative work helped him heal his mental wound. The poet publishes a new poem - "Mik" - on an African theme, re-publishes early collections of poetry, works enthusiastically at the World Literature publishing house, where Gorky was attracted and where he heads the French department; he himself organizes several publishing houses, recreates the “Workshop of Poets”, and 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 creatively. Gumilyov translates a lot, speaks at evenings reading his poems, theoretically comprehends the practice of Acmeism, publishes the collection “Tent” in Sevastopol, again dedicated to the African theme (this was the last book published during the author’s lifetime), creates “The Poem of the Beginning” (1919-1921 ), in which he addresses the philosophical and cosmogonic theme.

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

Among the best poems in the new book are "Lost Tram" , the most famous and at the same time complex and mysterious work. In this poem, three main plans can be distinguished. The first of them is a story about a real tram that makes its unusual journey. Cars rush along the rails non-stop and the fast run of the tram turns into flight - reality gives way to fantasy. What is unusual is that the tram got lost. The symbolism of this “wandering” becomes clear when we comprehend the second plane of the poem. This is a poetic confession of the lyrical hero about himself. Both the lyrical hero and the author prophesy their imminent death. Both planned plans are coming closer together. In my spiritual quest and in my family life the poet is as lost as his tram, on whose footboard he jumps.

The third plan of the poem is of a philosophical and generalized nature. Life appears now in everyday life, now in a festive glow, now it looks beautiful, now ugly, now it goes on straight rails, now 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” unusual death is amazing: “And I will not die on a bed, / In front of a notary and a doctor, / But in some wild crevice, / 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 investigation materials.

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

It will 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. Dementyev.

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

The article uses materials from the books “Literature. Applicant’s Handbook”, generally edited by V.E. Krasovsky and “Russian Literature of the 20th Century” by E.S. Rogovera

Gumilyov Nikolai Stepanovich (1886-1921). The literary movements of the “Silver Age” amazed with the variety of literary forms, new methods of creativity and originality of presentation. But, perhaps, the only direction that was officially announced was Acmeism. Its creator, Nikolai Gumilev, announced this on December 19, 1912.

Born into the family of the ship's doctor S.I. Gumilyov, the child was frail and sickly. Studying was difficult for him and his outlet was the poems that Nikolai composed with young age. Parents paid for the publication of Nikolai Gumilyov’s first collection, “The Path of the Conquistadors” (1905), which Bryusov noticed.

The help of the famous poet helped Nikolai enter the bohemian environment. Gumilev visits Europe, writes poetry, publishes a magazine. However, famous symbolists of that time look down on his works. With funds received from the sale of his second book, “Romantic Flowers” ​​(1908), the young poet went to Africa.

This was not the first trip; but it was then that Gumilev collected material on ethnography and anthropology, which became the basis of a serious collection. He explores wild, little-explored areas of Africa, risking his life more than once.

In between expeditions, the poet publishes collections of poetry and actively participates in the cultural life of St. Petersburg. With his participation, the “Workshop of Poets” was founded. A romantic explanation with the poetess Dmitrieva ends in a duel with another of her admirers, Maximilian Voloshin. Fortunately, both duelists survived.

With the beginning of the imperialist war, Nikolai Gumilyov volunteered to go to the front. He has been on the front line for all three years and has been awarded many military orders. Wartime poems were published in the collection “Quiver” (1916).

As part of the Russian expeditionary force, Gumilyov arrived in Russia in April 1918. He participates in the work of some publishing houses, gives lectures, and heads the Union of Petrograd Poets. A lot is printed. The dissolution of his marriage with Anna Akhmatova dates back to the same time.

However, contradictions with new government are growing. Gumilyov does not hide his negativity towards many of the Bolshevik events and even declares his commitment to monarchism. In August 1921, the Petrograd Cheka arrested the poet in the case of the Tagantsev Combat Organization and imposed a death sentence.

Brief biography of Nikolai Gumilyov

Nikolai Stepanovich Gumilev is a Russian poet of the Silver Age, translator and critic, as well as the creator of the school of Acmeism. The writer was born on April 3 (15), 1886 in Kronstadt, in the family of a ship's doctor. According to his mother, Nikolai wrote his first quatrain poem at the age of six. In 1894, he entered the Tsarskoye Selo gymnasium, but was soon transferred to home schooling due to health problems. A year later, the family moved to St. Petersburg, where the boy began to attend the Gurevich gymnasium. Soon his older brother fell ill with tuberculosis, and the Gumilevs were forced to move to Tiflis, where Nikolai continued his studies.

In 1903, the family returned to Tsarskoe Selo. It was there, at the expense of his parents, that Nikolai published his first book of poems, “The Path of the Conquistadors.” The authoritative critic Bryusov personally drew attention to this collection and gave a number of useful tips aspiring writer. A correspondence began between them, and Gumilyov called Bryusov his mentor for a long time. After the Tsarskoye Selo gymnasium, he went to study at the Sorbonne. The poet's second collection, Romantic Flowers (1908), was published in Paris. Having made a trip to Africa, Gumilyov became the pioneer of the African theme in Russian poetry. His observations and impressions are reflected in the cycle “Abyssinian Songs”.

In the early 1910s, Gumilyov was already a prominent figure in literary circles. He published regularly in Apollo magazine. In 1911, having gathered a group of like-minded people, he headed the “Workshop of Poets” and put forward a new literary movement - Acmeism. A year later, the collection “Alien Sky” appeared, which became the pinnacle of the writer’s “objective” lyrics. When the war began, he volunteered for the front. Soon he published chronicle essays “Notes of a Cavalryman.” Gumilyov did not witness the revolutionary events in the country, since he was abroad at that time.

In 1918 he returned to Russia and again joined the literary life of St. Petersburg. In the same year, the collection “Bonfire” was published, and the poet himself became a member of the editorial board of the publishing house “World Literature”. In 1921, he was appointed chairman of the Petrograd department of the All-Russian Union of Poets. At the same time, his last book, “The Pillar of Fire,” was published. In August of the same year, Gumilyov was arrested and sentenced to death. He was executed as a participant in a counter-revolutionary conspiracy, which later turned out to be fabricated. Exact date and the place of the poet's death are not known. The first wife of N. S. Gumilyov was the outstanding poetess and writer A. A. Akhmatova.

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Nikolai Stepanovich Gumilyov is a Russian poet, translator, literary critic, representative of the Silver Age and creator of the school of Acmeism. Nikolai Gumilyov was born on April 3 (15), 1886 into a noble family in Kronstadt. Being a sickly child since childhood, he was unable to study for long at the Tsarskoye Selo gymnasium and switched to home schooling. The poet spent his childhood in St. Petersburg and its environs, as well as in the Caucasus. In 1903, his family returned to Tsarskoe Selo, where he again entered the gymnasium. Despite the fact that he did not study well, his teachers encouraged his poetry.

Soon, with the help of his parents, his first book of poems, “The Path of the Conquistador,” was published. This collection was studied in detail by Bryusov, who noted that best works Gumilyov is still ahead. Since then, a close friendship and many years of correspondence began between the young poet and critic. After graduating from high school, Gumilyov went to Paris, where he attended lectures at the Sorbonne. Here he wrote the poem “Androgyne”, which was highly appreciated by local poets: Merezhkovsky, Gippius and others.

Returning to Russia, the young writer met with his literary mentor, Bryusov, and his lover, Anna Gorenko, who later took the pseudonym Akhmatova. After that, Gumilyov traveled a lot, including to African countries. In 1908, his collection “Romantic Flowers” ​​was published. A year later, together with Sergei Makovsky, he published the illustrated magazine “Apollo”, where he published “Letters about Russian Poetry”. At the end of 1909, Gumilyov dueled with his editorial colleague, Maximilian Voloshin. The reason for the duel was E.I. Dmitrieva. None of the poets were injured during this duel.

A year later, in the village of Nikolskaya Slobodka, the writer married Anna Akhmatova. In 1911, he, together with other representatives of symbolism, opened the “Workshop of Poets,” which included O. Mandelstam, S. Gorodetsky, A. Akhmatova, M. Zenkevich and many other poets. In 1912, Gumilyov announced the opening of a new artistic movement of poets from the “guild” - acmeism. In the same year, his first son, Lev Gumilyov, was born. With the outbreak of World War I, the writer voluntarily went to the front, for which he was awarded the St. George Cross. For some time he worked at the publishing house "World Literature", and also carried out translations from foreign languages. In 1921, the writer was arrested on suspicion of an anti-government conspiracy and then shot.