This moving statue of St Petersburg’s most famous 20th-century poet was unveiled in 2006, across the river from the notorious Kresty holding prison, to mark the 40th anniversary of Akhmatova’s death. The location is no coincidence – Kresty Prison was where Akhmatova herself queued for days in the snow for news of her son after his multiple arrests during Stalin’s terror.
The inscription on the monument comes from her epic poem ‘Requiem’ (1935–40), in which she describes life during the purges. It reads: ‘That’s why I pray not for myself/But for all of you who stood there with me/Through fiercest cold and scorching July heat/Under a towering, completely blind red wall.’
