*What Gumilev meant for the Russia culture, Jacob Agranov understood even better than Gorky. And better than all the aesthetes of the House of Writers and the House of Arts. In fact, Agranov understood this better than anyone. Agranov was generously endowed by fate. He was handsome and young; his intellect bordered on genius, his charm was irresistible. The most beautiful women of the time loved him, and the powerful of the world listened to his words. But he wanted more. He desired immortality, true immortality, "without a statute of limitations," unconditional immortality. The moment he saw Gumilev's name in a pathetic secret report, Agranov understood that he could do what no one had ever done or would ever do, except him. In the entire thousand-year Russian history, only two people had this right before Agranov. But they did not understand their chosen status; they were not ready for immortality. Agranov understood it, and we must finally acknowledge his right to this dark immortality and place him ahead of Dantes (Pushkin’s assassin) and Martynov (Lermontov’s assassin), for in his mind and daring, he far surpassed those two, taken together.
Iury Zobnin The Secret of Gumilev’s Execution, 2010
