When Anna Akhmatova began working on her long poem ‘Requiem’ she knew that she would not be allowed to publish it. Stalin held power on the printing presses and he wouldn’t allow to publish any work that challenged the official narrative that depicted realities of the gulag system. This poem draws from her own experience of standing in long lines outside prison in Leningrad, surrounded by other women, all waiting for information about their imprisoned loved ones. To avoid persecution by Stalin, Anna Akhmatova burnt her writings, and instead taught her friends to memorise the words of her poem ‘Requiem’.
Joseph Stalin was the dictator of Soviet Union. His government was characterised by absolute control, fear, and repression. Stalin turned Soviet union into a totalitarian state, where he had complete power over the Communist party and the ordinary people. The Stalinist era is known for intense repression and terror. During the Great Purge he ordered the arrest, imprisonment, and execution of millions. Many were sent to gulags- harsh labour camps, where they faced starvation, hard labour, and death. The secret police kept a close eye on everyone.
Anna Akhmatova had realised that a poem that spoke openly about fear and cruelty of Stalinist government would land her in trouble. Without access to official printing places, many writers turned into a secret underground method of sharing their work. Anna Akhmatova’s son was arrested and sentenced to hard labour while her husband was also arrested and later died in a gulag. The poem is about these experiences, particularly her 17 months of waiting outside Leningrad prison.
The ‘Instead of a preface’ refers to the terrible years of Yezhov terror named after Nikolai Yezhov the head of NKVD (secret police) who orchestrated mass repressions. No force could shield them from the regime’s brutality. The poem portrays a society where sudden arrests at the dawn, which disrupted families without warning. Anna Akhmatova’s husband was part of the Bolsheviks who overthrew the monarchy. He was a pioneer who initially supported Stalin. However, Stalin later became a dictator and grew paranoid, fearing that even those loyal to him would betray him. As a result, he decided to punish many of them, including her husband. Now she waits for her son outside the prison for 17 months. Time flies and gets lost under the weight of trauma. The verdict of execution made her hopes vanish. Death is no longer terrifying, as it’s expected and welcome as a promises an end to unbearable suffering. In a state of constant surveillance, there is no escape no space for private grief. The suffering of Christ becomes a powerful symbol through which she expresses the pain of those executed by Stalin.
Akhmatova recalls, those who stood with her in prison queues especially the nameless women who suffered alongside her. Somewhere, hopeful, others resigned. Many didn’t survive. Even in death she doesn’t wish for peace if it means forgetting. Her poem endures a defiance.