Poet. Last name also translated as Gumilev. He was a founder of Acmeism, a school of Russian Poetry that was active mainly in the 1910's. Reacting against the stylistic vagueness of the Symbolists, the Acmeists advocated concision, clear and concrete imagery, and precise use of words. The leaders of the group were Gumilyov, Anna Akhmatova, and Osip Mandelstam. Gumilov was born in Kronstadt, Russia. The exoticism of his work reflected his early travels in Africa. He was married to Anna Akhmatova from 1910 to 1918. Gumilyov joined the Army in 1914 and his book "Quivers" (1916) is the most important collection of World War I poetry by a Russian. After the 1917 Revolution he openly expressed his opposition to the Bolsheviks and his writings were banned. In August 1921 Gumilyov was arrested and shot on false charges of counter-revolutionary activities; the order was given by dictator Vladimir Lenin himself, who wished to silence the poet once and for all. Gumilyov was the first Russian literary figure of note to be purged by the communists, a fate that would befall many of his colleagues in the 1930's and 40's. Akhmatova wrote of her former husband's death in her famous poem "Requiem".
Bio by: Bobb Edwards
Lev Nikolayevich Gumilyov