The book examines episodes from the biography and work of two outstanding Russian poets of the early 20th century, who for many Russian readers were the most important poets of the era, and separate essays tell about their posthumous existence in the last century. The book also includes pages from the life of Innokenty Annensky’s student and Nikolai Gumilyov’s companion, Anna Akhmatova. The presence of these three poets colored the picture of all Russian poetry for a long time, and the echoes of their words are given priority in the collection of articles written over four decades.