"Notes of a Cavalryman": Selected Lyric Poetry

Nikolai Stepanovich Gumilev (1886–1921) was an outstanding Russian poet and a bright representative of the Silver Age of Russian literature. He founded the Acmeist school of poetry, and was active as a literary critic and translator. His first wife was the celebrated Anna Akhmatova, and their son — Lev Nikolaevich Gumilev, historian and ethnologist, creator of the passionary theory of ethnogenesis — is also widely known.

Being an enthusiastic explorer of uncharted places and a passionate hunter, Nikolai Gumilev traveled extensively and took part in ethnographic expeditions to Africa. When the First World War broke out, the poet enlisted as a volunteer, served in the cavalry, took part in combat operations, and was decorated on multiple occasions.

A nobleman and an officer, Gumilev did not emigrate from Soviet Russia. But he did not conceal his political and religious views, and in 1921 he was arrested on suspicion of involvement in a conspiracy — as a member of an underground combat organization. Historians still debate Gumilev's involvement in the conspiracy. There is a version that the case was fabricated by the Cheka. Be that as it may, three weeks after his arrest, Nikolai Gumilev was shot. He was rehabilitated only in 1992.

This audio production, prepared for the 130th anniversary of the poet, presents listeners with a complete selection of Nikolai Gumilev's works — his army memoirs "Notes of a Cavalryman" and his poems. The edition will be of interest both to history enthusiasts and to lovers of poetry.