From the artistic passion of the St Petersburg poets and bohemians, to the collective suffering of a nation through this turbulent century, Akhmatova spoke to, and for, the soul of her people.

Anna Akhmatova is one of the most accomplished and well loved poets Russia has ever produced. Her moving and passionate writing has won her an ardent readership all over the world. This selection illustrates her broad scope and brilliant imaginative gifts.

From her appearance in a small magazine in 1906 to her death in 1965, Anna Akhmatova was a dominant presence in Russian literary life. She was a poet in a country where poetry was literally a matter of life and death. Her first collection, "Evening", appeared in 1912, and "Rosary" (1914) made her a household name.

Anna Akhmatova (June 23, 1889 - March 5, 1966) is considered by many to be one of the greatest Russian poets of the Silver Age. Although true fame and recognition did not come until her later, "Evening," her first poetry collection, had caught the attention of many prominent literary critics of the time and helped to solidify her career as a writer. One of the forefront leaders of the Acmeism movement, which focused on rigorous form and directness of words, she was a master of conveying raw emotion in her portrayals of everyday situations. Her works range from short lyric love poetry to...