Anna Akhmatova

Writing through the turmoils of the twentieth century, AA (Anna of all the Russias as she was solemnly called by her fellow poet Marina Tsvetaeva ) was one of the greatest poets of Russian literature. She is also an icon of the intelligentsia that was repressed by the Soviet regime. She was courageous enough to carry her literary talent (which produced translation and a lost play as well as poetry) through illness, poverty, and suffering with immense dignity and complete dedication. She has become a metaphor for rebellion and resistance to every attempt to suppress her muse.