Anna Akhmatova

Anna Ahmatova (http://akhmatova.org)

What does past tell us about future?

How does Ahmatova still speak to a 21st century audience? What themes and issues in her poetry are relevant to today?

Our project is about our city Sevastopol, which name means “majestic”, famous for its heroic deeds, our Gagarin region, where we live and where our school is situated, Chersoneses –the ancient city, connected with the name of the great Russian poetess Anna Ahmatova. We have chosen her like a hero because in our school we have the literary club ”Anna Ahmatova’s World” and we want to tell about the role of our city in Anna Ahmatova’s life and about the places in our city, connected with her name and life.

Round the schools there are high platen trees; in summer green branches protect educational classes from scorching beams of the sun, and in autumn gold leaves radiate marvelous light.

Behind plane trees there is a wide pine avenue. We have got accustomed to seeing on the branches of the plane trees red fibers run and black-and-white magpie jump. We also have got a lot of flowers, there are rosaries.

It will seem to you that you stand on the command bridge of the ship. Above you there is the blue bottomless sky. You see gold domes of the Vladimir Cathedral in Chersonese, and further - the darkest blue Black sea in the world.

Anna Ahmatova (http://anna.ahmatova.com/foto.htm)

At school the literary society «Anna Ahmatova's World» is created. Her poetry has taught us to love the native land, to watch its beauty, has connected the past with the present.

Anna Andreevna Ahmatova, the great Russian poetess, was born on the Ukrainian land, on June, 23rd, 1889. It has happened near Odessa, at the 11th station of the Big Fountain in Sorokin's summer residence.

In a year family Gorenko (Gorenko is Anna Andreevna’s real surname) has moved from Odessa to Pavlovsk near Petersburg, and then to Tsarskoe Selo.

Anna grew as the usual girl, but every summer she was brought to Sevastopol, to the grandfather, whose house was in street Ekaterininskaya.

Anna Ahmatova family (http://akhmatova.org)

Now this street is named after Lenin, and on the house the marble bas-relief of A. Ahmatova, executed by Sevastopol sculptor S.A. Chizhom, is established.

So the street Ekaterininskaya looked. Ahmatova saw these houses when she went to the Grafskaya (Count) quay or Primorsky (Seaside) parkway.

The Primorsky (Seaside) parkway always was the most favourite place of rest for Sevastopol people. Now the quay of parkway is not similar as the old, pre-revolutionary one but outlines of a bay have not changed.

In her autobiography Ahmatova wrote, that time is ruthless to houses where she lived. It is the truth. The facade of the house of her grandfather in street Ekaterininskaya and the base of the house №25 in the street Small Sea was kept, now it is Volodarsky's street.

From Small Sea Anna went down on a gangway (so in Sevastopol staircases are called ) and to Pokrovsky Cathedral in Big Sea. The cathedral has been finished in 1908, Ahmatova went to a cathedral to pray.

Sevastopol (http://www.bigyalta.com.ua/image_gallery/912)

Chersonese became the most favourite for Ahmatova. Her poetic talent was developed in Tsarskoe Selo and on the land of ancient Chersonese. Ahmatova wrote: « Every summer I spent near Sevastopol, on the coast of Streletskaya bay, and there have made friends with the sea. The strongest impression of these years - ancient Chersonese about which we lived».

Anna Ahmatova (http://anna.ahmatova.com/foto.htm)

Chersonese is really unusual place. Here connection of times were clearly felt. These are the ancient gate of Chersonese, well-known Chersonese temple where often Ahmatova was. Her impressions Ahmatova has expressed in a poem “ At the sea ”.

We don’t only try to collect materials about Anna Ahmatova . We look after a family crypt of family Gorenko on an old cemetery about church of All Sacred.

We often meet people who are interested in poetry of Ahmatova.

Our school is in area with poetic name Grushevka (Pear) where there was Gorenko’s summer residence where Anna Ahmatova was till 1916.