Blok was only 11 when he died slowly and painfully in 1921, already disillusioned by the Russian Revolution he had at first welcomed, and increasingly estranged from the world around him. His poetry has been much translated into English, and he has been known and read outside Russia for two generations, yet the inner essence of his poetry remains elusive to most of us. However, Russian writers, both contemporaries and younger ones, never doubted his stature, and today he still ranks as a classic in his homeland. Nina Berberova, who died as recently as 1993, knew Blok personally and was present at his funeral.