1921 was a pivotal year for the Russian intelligentsia. The most startling event was the death of the eminent poet, Alexander Blok, which came to be regarded within the intelligentsia as a symbol that cultural continuity was now a forlorn hope. Before Blok died, he had petitioned the government for permission to emigrate in order to undergo much-needed medical treatment abroad. The permission was granted, but too late to save him, and he died shortly afterwards, still in Moscow. A few weeks before his death, he left a poignant note in his diary, which saw flashes of beauty amidst the dreariness:

These sentiments were all the more striking because Blok had greeted the October Revolution with enthusiasm, setting to work on one of his greatest, and certainly his most controversial poem, The Twelve, which he published in 1918. Although his present-day reputation is partly based on this work, it lost him much of his existing following, while its mysticism repelled most of the potential support he might have won from senior Bolsheviks.