About the book: 2016 / 50 years ago Anna Akhmatova passed away. But the magic of her poetry and the tragedy of her life continue to excite and fascinate readers. And one of the main mysteries of her fate is the strange friendship of the great poetess with the great actress Faina Ranevskaya. What brought together two brilliant women with an independent “heavy” character and a turbulent past, who usually did not tolerate rivalry and did not mince words? How did the prim, “cold” Akhmatova, who always found it difficult to get along with people and allowed few people to approach her, get along with the life-loving brawler and foul-mouthed Ranevskaya? Why was the St. Petersburg “snow queen” drawn to the Jewish “boy-woman” and weren’t they cramped together on the cultural Olympus - after all, it was difficult to find two more dissimilar women, and it was not for nothing that their friendship was called “mysterious”! Who turned out to be the “third wheel” in this union? And is it worth believing Lidia Chukovskaya’s hints about the “excessive warmth” of Akhmatova’s relationship with Ranevskaya? Without avoiding the most “inconvenient” and pressing questions, this book will help you take a fresh look at the life and fate of the greatest women of the 20th century.