10 Greatest Russian Poets of All Times

Russian_poets_in_Harbin Anonymous Author-Wikimedia

10 Greatest Russian Poets of All Times

Russia is a poetic nation and the poetry tradition traced back through at least two centuries of Russian heritage that marked the beginning of a poetic country.

Here are the top ten Greatest Russians Poets of All Time.

1. Alexander Pushkin

Pushkin is considered one of the best Russian poets and the populace considers his work a national treasure.

He was the grandson of major general Abraham Petrovich Gannibal, who was a nobleman of African origin.

His grandfather was kidnapped from his motherland and got raised in the emperor’s court household as his godson.

Poetry was in flow in the veins of the young Pushkin at the age of just 15 he published his first poem which received wide recognition.

He graduated from Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum and upon graduation, he narrated his controversial poem,” Ode to Liberty“.

While the poem was great and enjoyed by his audience it landed him in trouble as it was one of the several factors that led to his exile by Emperor Alexander I. Pushkin wrote his masterpiece Eugene Onegin, over seven years and was published in 1833.

In 1831, Pushkin married Natalia Goncharova known for her beauty she was popular with court officials the court.

Pushkin was wounded in a duel with his wife alleged lover, Dantes Gekkern a French officer serving with Chevalier Guard Regiment. He died on January 29, two days after he was mortally wounded.

His famous poems are considered Romantic and celebrated for their expression of freedom and defenses of personal liberty. In the Russian Literary tradition, his works are widely celebrated and memorized.

Some of his famous works are “I recall the Wonderous moment”, and “ I built myself a Monument, one not man-made”.

2. Anna Akhmatova

Kuzma_Petrov-Vodkin._Portrait_of_Anna_Akhmatova Author by Kuzma Petrov-Wikimedia

Anna was one of the most significant Russian poets of the 20^th century and was shortlisted for the Noble Prize in 1965. She started writing poetry at 11, but her works weren’t published until her late teens.

The chapters that made the life of Anna Akhmatova were shaded majorly in colors of tragedy and this reflects in her poetry.

She had two unsuccessful marriages that ended up in divorce, misfortune extended her misery and her first husband fell victim to political repressions and was arrested.

Her son and her common_ law husband Nikolay Punin spent many years in forced labor camps, where her husband later succumbed to death.

The elements of war, revolution, and the Soviet regime aided in the destruction of her works, she was in disfavor with officials and as a result, most of those close to her died in the aftermath of the revolution.

Her poetry takes a tragic tone and she invites the readers to her thoughts that reveal the suffering that was sweeping through her essence as well as the people in Russia undergoing a transition through war and revolution.

Some of her best works, are” Poem without a hero “, Requiem “ and “ Everything”.

3. Joseph Brodsky

Born in 1940, Joseph Brodsky started writing poetry when he was eighteen years of age. In his early years, he tried various professions but felt at home with writing.

Poetry is a tool of expression and his poems invited all sorts of trouble with authorities on June 4^th,1972 he was expelled from his country and he settled in the United States with the help of W.H. Auden and other supporters.

He worked at the University of Michigan and was awarded the 1987 Nobel Prize in Literature. In 1991 he was appointed United States Poet Laureate.

Some of his greatest works include,” I sit By the Window”, and Odysseus to Telemachus”.

4. Mikhail Lermontov

Mikhail_lermontov photo by Тртетьяковская галерея-Wikimedia

Mikhail Lermontov was a poet and a Russian Romantic writer who was known as “the poet of the Caucasus”.

He left a mark in the genre of poetry and was one of the most significant poets after Alexanders Pushin and is considered the greatest figure in Russian Romanticism.

His name spread after he wrote the poem Death of a Poem, honoring the death of Pushkin but the poem met much resistance from the officials and he was exiled to the Caucasus.

His writing flourished during his exile years, he eventually returned but his stay was short as he had to be sent away as a result of a duel. He participated in a duel against Martynov who shot him in the heart and killed the poet on the spot. He was buried on July 30^th,1841 at his family’s cemetery.

His best works are, Death of the poet, and I Go Out on the Road Alone.

 5. Alexander Blok

Alexander Blok was a Russian Writer, poet, playwright, and literary critic. His poetry shifted forms during his career and he explored different writing styles, from symbolism to exploiting genres of love and romance.

During the 1917 revolution, he decided to stay behind and work in the famous publishing house of Petrograd.

His time in the publishing house shifted the shape of his poetry, he worked more on social issues. Blok fell I’ll and wasn’t granted persimmon to leave the country for treatment. He finally died of heart failure.

Some of his notable works include Don’t fear Death and A Girl Sang A song.

6. Sergey Esenin

Sergey Esenin photo by Alex Northman –Wikimedia

Sergei Yesenin was a Russian lyric poet and is one of the most popular Russian poets of the 20^th century.

He began writing at age nine and was majorly inspired by Chastushkas, which is a traditional Ukrainian humorous folk song and Folklore.

He was the representative of a new peasant poetry writing about the simple yet peaceful lives of commoners in Russia.

In his poetry, he viewed himself as a misfit, and in his lyrics confessed his reckless way of living, in one of his poems he wrote: “I am a Moscow mischievous playboy”.

On December 28, 1925, he was found dead in the Angleterre Hotel in Saint Petersburg. His notable works include, yes, it’s decided now. Without return, Droplets and My Dreams.

7. Marina Tsvetaeva

Marina was considered one of the greatest Russian poets of the 20^th century and wrote most of her work during the Russian revolution of 1917. She had a good upbringing and received a great education, studying overseas.

Though she had a happy upbringing misfortune marked her, in 1939 she returned from overseas where her work didn’t receive much fame. In 1941 her daughter and husband were arrested on Espionage charges, and her husband was executed.

Unable to cope with the grief she committed suicide in 19 41. Some of her notable works include, Bound by Hell and I am Happy Living Simply.

8. Nikolai Nekrasov

_Portrait_of_the_Poet_Nikolay_Nekrasov Author by Nikolai Ge-Wikimedia

Nikolai Nekrasov was a Russian poet, writer, critic, and publisher. He is remembered for introducing ternary meters into Russian poetry as well as incorporating techniques of dramatic monologue.

He picked up writing as a means of earning for survival since he refused to join the military, therefore his father stopped supporting him financially. He began publishing his first collection of poetry Dreams and Sounds in February 1840.

Nikolai died of intestinal cancer on January 8, 1878, four thousand people came to the funeral and the funeral procession turned into a political rally.

His famous works are, Who is happy in Russia and Russian Women.

9.Vladimir Mayakovsky

Vladimir Mayakovsky was a Russian and Soviet poet, actor, artist, and play writer. He was a key figure during the Russian Futurist movement, his early works supported the revolutionary movement by writing slogans for propaganda posters.

Some of his notable works are, A cloud in Trousers and cloud you.

10. Ivan Turgenev

Ivan Turgenev was a Russian novelist, poet, a novelist, and popularizer of Russian literature in the west. He was born to a well-off family in the city of Oryol central, Russian on October 28, 1818.

He studied philosophy, especially that of Hegel at the University of Berlin. He first had a major impact on the literary genre with the publication of his novel, A Sportsman’s Sketches (1862) was considered a milestone of Russian realism.

Ivan’s poetry was mostly written in prose style and was fond of incorporating realism into his works, ignoring the pious themes of many of his contemporaries.

Some of his notable works are A dream, How Fair, How Fresh Were the Roses and the Sparrow.