Sergei Yesenin graduated with honors from the Konstantinovsky Zemstvo School in 1909, then from the Church Teachers' School, but after studying for a year and a half, he left it - the profession of a teacher had little attraction for him. Already in Moscow, in September 1913, Yesenin began to attend the Shanyavsky People's University. A year and a half of university gave Yesenin the foundation of education that he so lacked.
In the fall of 1913, he entered into a civil marriage with Anna Romanovna Izryadnova, who worked with Yesenin as a proofreader at Sytin’s printing house. On December 21, 1914, their son Yuri was born, but Yesenin soon left the family. In her memoirs, Izryadnova writes: “I saw him shortly before his death. He came, he said, to say goodbye. When I asked why, he said: “I’m washing away, leaving, I feel bad, I’ll probably die.” He asked me not to spoil him, to take care of my son.” After Yesenin’s death, the People’s Court of the Khamovnichesky District of Moscow tried the case of recognizing Yuri as the poet’s child. On August 13, 1937, Yuri Yesenin was shot on charges of preparing to assassinate Stalin.
On July 30, 1917, Yesenin married the beautiful actress Zinaida Reich in the Church of Kirik and Ulita, Vologda district. On May 29, 1918, their daughter Tatyana was born. Yesenin loved his daughter, blond and blue-eyed, very much. On February 3, 1920, after Yesenin separated from Zinaida Reich, their son Konstantin was born. One day he accidentally found out at the station that Reich and his children were on the train. A friend persuaded Yesenin to at least look at the child. Sergei reluctantly agreed. When Reich unwrapped her son, Yesenin, barely looking at him, said: “Yesenins are never black...” But according to contemporaries, Yesenin always carried photographs of Tatyana and Konstantin in his jacket pocket, constantly took care of them, sent them money. On October 2, 1921, the people's court of Orel ruled to dissolve Yesenin's marriage to Reich. Sometimes he met with Zinaida Nikolaevna, at that time already the wife of Vsevolod Meyerhold, which aroused Meyerhold’s jealousy. There is an opinion that of his wives, Yesenin loved Zinaida Reich most of all until the end of his days. Shortly before his death, in the late autumn of 1925, Yesenin visited Reich and the children. As if he were talking to an adult, Tanya was indignant at the mediocre children's books that his children were reading. Said: “You must know my poems.” The conversation with Reich ended in another scandal and tears. In the summer of 1939, after Meyerhold's death, Zinaida Reich was brutally murdered in her apartment. Many contemporaries did not believe that this was pure criminality. It was assumed (and now this assumption will increasingly develop into confidence) that she was killed by N.’s agents.
On November 4, 1920, at the literary evening “The Trial of the Imagists,” Yesenin met Galina Benislavskaya. Their relationship, with varying success, lasted until the spring of 1925. Returning from Konstantinov, Yesenin finally broke up with her. It was a tragedy for her. Insulted and humiliated, Galina wrote in her memoirs: “Because of the awkwardness and brokenness of my relationship with S.A., I more than once wanted to leave him as a woman, I wanted to be only a friend. But I realized that I could not leave S.A. , this thread cannot be broken..." Shortly before his trip to Leningrad in November, before going to the hospital, Yesenin called Benislavskaya: "Come say goodbye." He said that Sofya Andreevna Tolstaya would come too. Galina replied: “I don’t like such wires.” Galina Benislavskaya shot herself at Yesenin’s grave. She left two notes on his grave. One is a simple postcard: “December 3, 1926. She committed suicide here, although I know that after this even more dogs will be blamed on Yesenin... But he and I don’t care. Everything that is most dear to me is in this grave.. "She is buried at the Vagankovskoye cemetery next to the poet's grave.
Autumn 1921 - meeting the "sandal" Isadora Duncan. According to the memoirs of contemporaries, Isadora fell in love with Yesenin at first sight, and Yesenin was immediately carried away by her. On May 2, 1922, Sergei Yesenin and Isadora Duncan decided to consolidate their marriage according to Soviet laws, since they were about to travel to America. They signed at the registry office of the Khamovnichesky Council. When they were asked what surname they would choose, both wanted to have a double surname - “Duncan-Yesenin”. This is what was written down on the marriage certificate and in their passports. “Now I am Duncan,” Yesenin shouted when they went outside. This page of Sergei Yesenin's life is the most chaotic, with endless quarrels and scandals. They diverged and came back together many times. Hundreds of volumes have been written about Yesenin’s romance with Duncan. Numerous attempts have been made to unravel the mystery of the relationship between these two such dissimilar people. But was there a secret? All his life, Yesenin, deprived of a real friendly family as a child (his parents constantly quarreled, often lived apart, Sergei grew up with his maternal grandparents), dreamed of family comfort and peace. He constantly said that he would marry such an artist - everyone would open their mouths, and would have a son who would become more famous than him. It is clear that Duncan, who was 18 years older than Yesenin and was constantly on tour, could not create for him the family he dreamed of. In addition, Yesenin, as soon as he found himself married, sought to break the shackles that bound him.
In 1920, Yesenin met and became friends with the poetess and translator Nadezhda Volpin. On May 12, 1924, the illegitimate son of Sergei Yesenin and Nadezhda Davydovna Volpin was born in Leningrad - a prominent mathematician, a famous human rights activist, he periodically publishes poetry (only under the name Volpin). A. Yesenin-Volpin is one of the founders (together with Sakharov) of the Human Rights Committee. Now lives in the USA.
March 5, 1925 - acquaintance with Leo Tolstoy's granddaughter Sofia Andreevna Tolstoy. She was 5 years younger than Yesenin, and the blood of the world’s greatest writer flowed in her veins. Sofya Andreevna was in charge of the library of the Writers' Union. On October 18, 1925, the marriage with S.A. Tolstoy was registered. Sofya Tolstaya is another of Yesenin’s unfulfilled hopes of starting a family. Coming from an aristocratic family, according to the recollections of Yesenin’s friends, she was very arrogant and proud, she demanded adherence to etiquette and unquestioning obedience. These qualities of hers were in no way combined with Sergei’s simplicity, generosity, cheerfulness, and mischievous character. They soon separated. But after his death, Sofya Andreevna brushed aside various gossip about Yesenin; they said that he allegedly wrote in a state of drunken stupor. She, who repeatedly witnessed his work on poetry, argued that Yesenin took his work very seriously and never sat down at the table drunk.
On December 24, Sergei Yesenin arrived in Leningrad and stayed at the Angleterre Hotel. Late in the evening of December 27, the body of Sergei Yesenin was found in the room. Before the eyes of those who entered the room, a terrible picture appeared: Yesenin, already dead, leaning against a steam heating pipe, there were blood clots on the floor, things were scattered, on the table there was a note with Yesenin’s dying verses “Goodbye, my friend, goodbye.. "The exact date and time of death have not been established.
Yesenin's body was transported to Moscow for burial at the Vagankovskoye cemetery. The funeral was grandiose. According to contemporaries, not a single Russian poet was buried this way.
Sergei Aleksandrovich Yesenin (September 21 (October 3) ( 18951003 ) , village of Konstantinovo, Ryazan province - December 28, Leningrad) - Russian poet, one of the most popular and famous Russian poets of the 20th century.
Biography
Early years
Born in the village of Konstantinovo, Ryazan province, into a peasant family, father - Alexander Nikitich Yesenin (1875-1967), mother - Tatyana Fedorovna Titova (1875-1955). In 1904, Yesenin went to the Konstantinovsky Zemstvo School, then began studying at a closed church-teachers school.
In 1915-1917 Yesenin maintained friendly relations with the poet Leonid Kannegiser, who later killed the chairman of the Petrograd Cheka, Uritsky.
In 1917 he met and on July 4 of the same year got married to Zinaida Nikolaevna Reich, a Russian actress, the future wife of the outstanding director V. E. Meyerhold. At the end of 1919 (or in 1920), Yesenin left his family, and Zinaida Reich, who was pregnant with her son (Konstantin), was left with her one-and-a-half-year-old daughter, Tatyana. On February 19, 1921, the poet filed for divorce, in which he undertook to provide for them financially (the divorce was officially filed in October 1921). Subsequently, Sergei Yesenin repeatedly visited his children adopted by Meyerhold.
Yesenin's acquaintance with Anatoly Mariengof and his active participation in the Moscow group of Imagists dates back to 1918 - early 1920s.
Death
Posthumous photo of Yesenin
According to the official version, Yesenin, in a state of depression (a month after treatment in a psychoneurological hospital), committed suicide (hanged himself). Neither contemporaries of the event, nor in the next few decades after the poet’s death, other versions of the event were expressed. In the 1970-1980s, mainly in nationalist circles, versions also arose about the murder of the poet followed by the staging of his suicide: motivated by jealousy, selfish motives, murder by OGPU officers.
He was buried in Moscow at the Vagankovskoye cemetery.
Poetry
See also
Notes
Links
- Classics: Yesenin Sergei Alexandrovich: Collected works in the library of Maxim Moshkov
- Sergei Yesenin. Collection of poems
- Sergei Yesenin in the Anthology of Russian Poetry
- Selected works of Sergei Yesenin in Russian and English Translation by A. S. Vagapov
- Yesenin on Elements
- Yuri Prokushev. A word about Yesenin
- Galina Benislavskaya. Memories of Yesenin
- Victor Kuznetsov.
There are many famous people in Russia. Someone left a mark with valiant victories, high-profile battles, scientific discoveries, and sporting achievements. But the poet Sergei Aleksandrovich Yesenin was remembered for his beautiful, sonorous verse. The daring singer of his country, whose soul is wide open, is loved by many admirers. His creativity and soul grew in love for his native land. The poet was proud of his Mother Russia with its endless fields, white birches, and open hearts.
Sergei Yesenin’s birthday is in October, it was during this golden time that a real folk singer appeared. He was a prominent representative of the new peasant lyricism and poetry, a master of depicting landscapes, and an expert in the folk language and soul.
Place and birthday of Sergei Yesenin
The poet S. A. Yesenin is called a great lyricist. He touched on a variety of topics in his creations. His latest works show features of imagism with a large number of images and metaphors. Sergei Yesenin's birthday fell on September 21 (October 3), 1895. The literary genius was born in the village of Konstantinovo, Kuzminsk volost, Ryazan province. Sergei Yesenin’s birthday is remembered by many fans of his work.
The future genius grew up in a rather poor peasant family, where besides him there were two more sisters - Ekaterina and Alexandra. Since childhood, the boy was accustomed to hard peasant labor and harsh life.
The poet's parents
The mother and father of Sergei Aleksandrovich Yesenin came from a peasant family. Alexander Nikitich, the poet’s father, worked a lot physically and devoted many years to this. In his youth he sang in the church choir and had a good voice. For some time I sold meat in a local shop. One day Alexander Nikitich was lucky enough to get to Moscow. He got a job there as a clerk and was able to financially support his family. The poet's mother and father began to see each other rarely, so their family life fell apart.
The mother of the future genius was able to get a job in Ryazan. There she began to live in a civil marriage with Ivan Razgulyaev, from whom she gave birth to a son, Alexander, Sergei’s half-brother. After some time, the poet’s parents began to live together again, after which he had two more sisters.
During the discord between his father and mother, the boy lived for a while with his maternal grandfather, who was an Old Believer. His three uncles were involved in the boy’s male upbringing there. Being unmarried, they were famous for their special mischief and cheerful disposition. It was not difficult for them to put Sergei on a horse for the first time, which galloped off. To teach the boy to swim, they simply threw him into the water from a boat.
School years
Having received such a unique upbringing, young Yesenin went to study at the Konstantinovsky Zemstvo School. The young man had good abilities, but his behavior let him down. Sergei's rebellious character led to the fact that he was once left for the second year. Still, he graduated from school with high grades.
After his parents reunited, the boy began to come home for the holidays. There he became friends with a local priest, who gave him books to read from his library. The study of these works significantly influenced the development of the future genius.
After graduating from the zemstvo school, Sergei went to the parish school. There he spent the next five years. In 1909 he entered the Konstantinovsky Zemstvo School. Relatives saw Yesenin as a future teacher, so they sent him to a second-grade teacher’s school in Spas-Klepiki. There is still a museum of the great genius working here.
Life in the capital
The biography of Sergei Yesenin indicates that after receiving a diploma in pedagogical education, he left for Moscow. At first he worked as a butcher in the capital, then got a job in a printing house. His father helped Sergei in finding employment.
The young man did not quite like the boring and monotonous work. Being a proofreader in a printing house, he became close to the poets who were part of the Surikov literary circle. Thanks to this, Yesenin became a free student at the Moscow City People's University. Most of all he was interested in the historical and philosophical direction.
The beginning of a creative journey
While still a student at the parish school, Sergei tried to write poetry. There were few lyrics in them, but more spiritual orientation. His first creations are “My Life”, “Stars”. The poet began to compose more convincing works already in Moscow. Here are the main features inherent in the early works of Sergei Aleksandrovich Yesenin:
- a lot of direct and figurative images, metaphorical;
- new peasant direction;
- features of Russian symbolism, like Alexander Blok.
Inspired by the work of A. Fet, the aspiring poet released his first printed poem, “Birch.” It was published in the magazine "Mirok" under the pseudonym Ariston (1914).
The first collection of poems by Sergei Yesenin
In 1916, the master’s first book, entitled “Radunitsa,” was published. The poems in this collection were distinguished by the characteristic features of modernism. This is not in vain: Sergei lived in St. Petersburg at that time, his social circle included Gippius, Gorodetsky, Blok, Filosofov. The collection contains many dialectal elements, and parallel lines are drawn between the spiritual and the natural. After all, the name “Radunitsa” symbolizes the holiday when the dead are venerated. This day is also associated with the arrival of spring, when peasants glorify it in their songs. Nature is renewed, and those who are no longer alive are venerated.
From the biography of Sergei Yesenin it is clear that not only the poet’s poems began to change, but his style of behavior and clothing. Alexander Blok himself began to listen to the poems of the aspiring master of words. The wonderful creation of 1915 was the poem "Bird cherry". The poet endowed this amazing plant with human features: “curls curled,” “dew slides down,” “greenery glistens in the sun.” In 1916, Yesenin was drafted into the army, but he was soon demobilized.
Visits to Tsarskoe Selo
The collection "Radunitsa" brought wide popularity to the poet Sergei Yesenin. Empress Alexandra Feodorovna admired his poems. Several times the genius was invited to Tsarskoe Selo, where the emperor’s family lived. The master himself read his creations to the empress and her daughters. For his performances, he wore stylized “folk” clothing.
Revolutionary inspiration
The October Revolution of 1917 affected the work of Sergei Yesenin. With great enthusiasm, the poet released the poem "Transfiguration". Some readers were very interested in it, while others only criticized it for using the slogans of the International. Many of the poems were written in the style of the Old Testament. Yesenin showed the world in his works in a completely new way, focusing on Andrei Bely. Then he joined the Scythians group. Under the influence of the poets of this group, the following books were created: “Dove”, “Transfiguration”, “Rural Book of Hours”, the second edition of “Radunitsa”.
Imagism period
With the beginning of using many images and metaphors in his works, the features of imagism prevailed in the poet’s work. During these years of his life, Sergei Yesenin created his own group of poets, which had the futuristic features and style of Pasternak. The group's poets read all their works on stage. The group soon became very popular. Yesenin at this time wrote “Sorokoust”, the poem “Pugachev”, and the treatise “The Keys of Mary”.
In parallel with his creative activity, Yesenin opened a shop on Bolshaya Nikitskaya, where he sold books. This occupation was profitable, but distracted the poet from creating masterpieces. Soon the master again plunged into creativity. In 1921, he wrote the works “Treryadnitsa” and “Confession of a Hooligan.” In 1923, "Poems of a Brawler" was published. The year 1924 was marked by the release of the collection “Moscow Tavern” and the poems “Letter to Mother” and “Letter to a Woman.” Readers especially loved the poem from this period, “I Don’t Regret, I Don’t Call, I Don’t Cry.” It is worth noting his collection “Persian Motifs” with the wonderful masterpiece “Shagane, you are mine, Shagane”.
Travels of a poet
In the early 20s, Sergei Alexandrovich was inspired to travel to different places. He started from Siberia and the Urals, then went to Central Asia. Tashkent and Samarkand did not stand aside. The poet made various acquaintances, attended tea parties, got acquainted with local sights, music, poetry, and architecture.
European countries did not go unnoticed by him: he visited France, Germany, Italy. Yesenin devoted three months to his visit to America. Under the impression, he published the recordings “Iron Mirgorod”, which were published in Izvestia.
The year 1925 was marked by a trip to the Caucasus. After that, he wrote the collection "Red East". Many people liked Yesenin’s work of that time, and some criticized him. V. Mayakovsky expressed particular hostility towards the poet.
Hooligan behavior
After 1924, a departure from imagism began to be noticed in the work of Sergei Alexandrovich. Often the poet began to be distinguished by not very decent behavior: he was noticed drunk, participated in various scandals and brawls. We can say that his actions were hooligans. Several times minor criminal cases were even brought against him. In one of these cases, the poet was accused of anti-Semitism.
After all these ups and downs, Yesenin became a heavy drinker and his health deteriorated. Even the authorities began to worry about this.
Personal life of Sergei Yesenin
The genius's first wife (civilian) was called Anna Izryadnova. He met her while he was still a proofreader in a printing house. They had a son, Yuri, but their parents separated. After some time, Zinaida Reich became Yesenin’s legal wife. Despite the transience of this union, the woman gave birth to Sergei Alexandrovich’s son, Konstantin, and daughter, Tatyana.
A particularly vivid memory was his love for Isadora Duncan, with whom he entered into a legal marriage. The public's attention was especially focused on this couple, because Isadora is a talented American dancer. For some time, their relationship was truly romantic and beautiful. Yesenin was several years younger than his wife, but this did not bother him.
This couple met in 1921 in one of the private workshops. The lovers went on a trip to Europe together. Then Isadora took Sergei to her homeland - America. There the poet fell into a depressed state, and they had to return to Russia. Soon the couple separated.
After breaking up with Duncan, Yesenin married Sofya Tolstoy, the granddaughter of the famous Russian writer. This union did not last even a year. During his short life, Sergei Alexandrovich had relationships with other women. One of them, Galina Benislavskaya, his personal secretary, devoted her entire life to the poet. He also had a relationship with the poetess and translator Nadezhda Volpin. She gave birth to the poet's son Alexander.
Last years of life
The biography of Sergei Yesenin takes only 30 years. It is no secret that Sergei Alexandrovich abused alcohol. His loved ones and himself suffered from this. At the beginning of December 1925, he was hospitalized in one of the Moscow paid clinics, where psychoneurological diseases were treated. But the poet did not want to complete the course of treatment and interrupted it. After this he moves to Leningrad. To do this, Yesenin withdrew all his savings from his accounts and settled in a hotel. Here writers communicated with the poet: Nikitin, Ustinov, Erlich.
Sergei Alexandrovich died suddenly. To this day, no one knows exactly what caused his death. The day of his death is December 28, the years of Sergei Yesenin’s life are 1895-1925. The genius was destined to live only thirty years. The night before his death, he left a prophetic poem. Many researchers believe that suicide was committed. Sergei Alexandrovich Yesenin was buried in Moscow, where his grave is still located.
The fate of the poet's children
The work of Sergei Yesenin continues to delight many of his admirers. Also, many are interested in the poet’s descendants. What is the fate of Sergei Yesenin’s children? The poet had four children, unfortunately, none of them are alive anymore. The eldest son, Yuri, died tragically in 1937 while serving in the Far East. He was falsely accused of participating in a fascist-terrorist group and was shot.
Daughter Tatyana and son Konstantin, whom Zinaida Reich gave birth to, were raised by her second husband Vsevolod Meyerhold, a famous director. Tatyana lived a difficult life and became a journalist. She wrote memoirs about her mother and stepfather. She lived all her life in Tashkent and died in 1992. She is survived by her son Sergei and granddaughter Anna, who live in Moscow.
Son Konstantin worked as a sports journalist and wrote several books about football. He died in Moscow in 1986. He is survived by his daughter Marina.
Son Alexander lived the longest (92 years). He was a mathematician, philosopher, poet, and participant in the dissident movement in the Soviet Union. In 1972, Alexander emigrated to the USA and lived in Boston. He died quite recently - March 16, 2016.
The memory of the wonderful Russian poet lives in the hearts of his fans; in many cities you can see a monument to Sergei Yesenin. In 2005, Russian filmmakers shot the film "Yesenin", where the main role went to the wonderful actor Sergei Bezrukov. The series “The Poet” is also dedicated to the life of a genius. Many fans of creativity remember the birthday of Sergei Yesenin and his brilliant works.
Sergei Yesenin called himself a Ryazan guy, the last poet of the village. He was a ladies' man, incredibly gentle, desperately loving women and not constant. He mercilessly broke women's hearts, suffered briefly and plunged into a new whirlpool of passions.
During his short life, he married three times, was a father four times, wrote four hundred poems and four dozen poems. He was known as a hooligan, brawler and drunkard. He supported this image in every possible way: he walked widely, fought until he bled, shocked the audience by dressing up in women's clothes and dancing in heels. He wanted fame and was treated kindly by the public. Those close to him know him as a sensitive, subtle and vulnerable person.
He accepted the revolution, and then cheated on her just like he cheated on his women. His life consisted of contradictions, as did his strange death at the Angleterre Hotel in Leningrad.
Sergei Yesenin is known and read all over the world. He is the favorite poet of the Silver Age, who crossed out the fates of many great people with a black cross.
Peasant son
The first-born of the Yesenin couple was born on September 21, 1895. The poet’s parents were young: Alexander Nikitich was 22 years old, Tatyana Fedorovna was 20. The boy was baptized in the Konstantinovskaya Church of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God and given to be raised by his paternal grandmother. There was no income in the family; they had to work a lot and only occasionally visit their son.
After the age of three, the boy was assigned to Natalya Evtikhievna’s grandmother on his mother’s side, where he remained until her death.
Sergei Alexandrovich recalled his childhood years with warmth and was grateful to his grandmother, who taught him to read, write and love fairy tales. Already at the age of 8-9 he began to compose quatrains similar to ditties.
He studied at the Zemstvo School in Konstantinov, where he was retained for the second year in the third grade because of his behavior, but five years later he graduated with a certificate of merit.
At the age of 13, he entered a parochial school in the village of Spas-Klepiki, not far from Ryazan. The cost of education there was low, so peasant children could get a good education here. He lived in a hostel, but he didn’t like it, and he often ran away to Konstantinovo. He was returned. But he wrote his first poems at this time. And the first critic was the teacher Evgeny Mikhailovich Khitrov, who saw a great poet in the boy. “Winter sings, howls, the shaggy forest lulls…” - a poem from childhood. I received a diploma as a grammar teacher, but never thought of teaching children.
During his three years of study, he hardly saw his parents and had little contact with his sisters. At the age of 16, he returned to his parents’ house without much joy.
Ekaterina was seven years younger than him, Alexandra was 16 years younger. But it was Shurochka who was his favorite - Shurenko. She left memories of her brother and wrote that instead of her parents’ house that burned down, Sergei built a new one. The guy was only 20 years old at the time, an age when it is not yet shameful to accept help from parents. But he was already actively publishing, speaking at evenings, earning money through literary work, and settling down well in Moscow. He always took care of his sisters, and after they came of age, he took them to Moscow with him: he fed them, clothed them, taught them, and helped with housing.
He himself moved to the capital and began an independent life early: at the age of 17. He dreamed of writing poetry, dreamed of being published and receiving royalties. The aspiring poet was not immediately noticed. He published his first poems at the age of 15.
Firstborn and first collection
He worked in a printing house to be closer to books. There he meets Anna Izryadnova, a young girl who really liked his long brown curls and cheerful disposition. She worked as a proofreader, he as a reader. The parents did not approve of their daughter’s choice, especially since she was four years older than her chosen one. I had to rent an apartment and live in a civil marriage.
At the age of 19, Yesenin became a father: his first-born was named Yura. Life was difficult: there was not enough money, the salary was spent on books, but Anna did not complain, she ran the household and supported her beloved in everything. And he wrote a lot, worked and studied at the University. Shanyavsky at the Faculty of History and Philology. The courses were paid, so it was difficult to make ends meet.
In the memoirs of Anna Romanovna, published 20 years after her death, there is not a single reproach against Yesenin, who left her with a one-year-old child. The marriage was not officially registered, and after Yesenin’s death she had to prove his paternity.
Unfortunately, the poet's son saw little of his father. The guy was 11 years old when the news of Yesenin’s suicide spread throughout the world. His relationship with the scandalous poet played a tragic role in his life: he fell under the rink of repression along with Yesenin’s students, and was shot in 1937, and rehabilitated in 1956. Anna Izryadnova died in 1946 without learning anything about the fate of her son.
By the way, Ekaterina Yesenina, who was her brother’s personal secretary and assistant, also suffered from repression. She married Yesenin’s friend, gave birth to two children, but they lived in harmony for ten years. The husband was thrown into prison on charges of underground activities and was shot. She was summoned for interrogation as the wife of an enemy of the people; she spent more than two months in Butyrka, and her children, Andrei and Natalya, in an orphanage. Due to severe asthma attacks, the woman was allowed to live in Konstantinovo, without the right to come to the capital. She took the children and left for Ryazan. I waited for my husband all these years and only found out about his death in the mid-50s. She worked a lot to preserve the memory of her famous brother, wrote a book of memoirs, took part in the preparation of Yesenin’s collected works and initiated the creation of a museum of the poet in the village. Konstantinovo.
The poet left Anna Izryadnova for Crimea. At the age of 19 he saw the sea for the first time. He did not stay there long: in a letter to his father he wrote that he published his poems in a Yalta newspaper for 35 kopecks per line, and performed at an evening for 35 rubles, which provided himself with food and a ticket to Moscow.
He writes a lot and with pleasure. Homeland, nature, valleys and rivers - he reads about what causes him delight and makes him imbued with the spirit of a folk, somewhere popular manifestation of life.
Petrograd
At the age of 20, he goes to Petrograd, where he meets Blok, Klyuev, Gumilev, Gorodetsky. He is accepted and his creativity is spoken of in superlatives. Magazines are published, and the public comes to his performances. Yesenin releases his first collection, his fame grows like a snowball. He rushes between Moscow and Petrograd, corresponds with Petrograd acquaintances, including Nikolai Klyuev.
Their relationship will soon develop into friendship, and will continue until the death of the poet. They are always together when Yesenin comes to the northern capital. They often perform on the same stage and visit famous people: Klyuev, almost ten years older than Sergei, is interested in the talented guy and supervises him. Yesenin calls him his teacher.
His first collection was published in 1916. They talk about Yesenin as a talented village poet.
Disappointment
I greeted the revolution joyfully, hoping that it would bring freedom and prosperity. He called the collection of poems “Transfiguration”; among his friends there are revolutionaries and those who will soon be put under firing squad. There were also changes in his personal life: a beautiful girl, Zinaida Reich, worked in the editorial office of the newspaper where he was published. They got married in the summer of 1917, and the very next year she went to Orel to see her parents to give birth. The daughter was named Tatyana.
The life of the young people was not calm: Yesenin often left, traveled around the country, performed and enjoyed life with his friends. Zinaida moved to Moscow with her husband, but lived there with her daughter for no more than a year.
Yesenin earns decent money, his books are included, he is a co-owner of a bookstore on Bolshaya Nikitskaya, sometimes he himself stands behind the counter in order to sign his collection to customers. He is on a tear: he writes, prepares poetry for publication, speaks, participates in debates about proletarian poetry, he is elected to the presidium of the All-Russian Union of Poets.
But due to quarrels with colleagues and the inability to conduct discussions without fists, he was soon expelled from the Union of Poets. Zinaida hardly sees her husband.
In 1918, four of his books were published in Moscow: “Baby Jesus”, “Dove”, “Transfiguration”, “Rural Book of Hours”.
A year later, he signed the Imagist Declaration along with other poets, including Mariengof. Yesenin’s dream of creating his own poetry school did not come true, although he had students. The poet did not maintain his devotion to his ideas; he soon became disillusioned and published a devastating article, accusing his fellow writers of lacking a sense of homeland.
He doesn’t get along with Zina Reich either. To save the marriage, she decided to have a second child. Konstantin was born in February 1920, immediately fell ill, she went with him to Kislovodsk for treatment. Yesenin goes to Rostov-on-Don, visits his own people, and then goes to Baku, Tiflis, Moscow.
In 1921, the Imaginists publishing house published his book “Confession of a Hooligan.” Incredible success!
At this time, the Soviet government invites the famous American dancer Isadora Duncan to open a dance school in Moscow. Their relationship developed rapidly, the marriage with Reich was dissolved, Yesenin gave his word to take care of the children.
Two lonely hearts
His marriage to Isadora might not have happened, but school didn’t work out for her, she had to leave Russia, and Yesenin was not allowed out.
He had already attended conversations in the Lubyanka several times and was under surveillance. I had to formalize the relationship in order to follow my beloved.
Over the course of a year, he traveled with her to dozens of countries: she danced, he read poetry and squandered money. They said she was his queen, but not for long. He could go out with friends, and she would look for him and make a scene. He raised his hand to her. This “high” relationship ended in divorce, which he informed her about by telegram, noting that he had another woman.
"Blue blood"
Lev Tolstoy's granddaughter Sophia has just graduated from the State Institute of the Living Word. She was married to a man older than her, but her husband was paralyzed and was undergoing treatment abroad. She was 25 years old, and at that time she met a poet whose poems she adored.
They knew each other for only six months when Yesenin proposed to her. He was proud that his wife had the blood of the famous writer. And a little later he was indignant that everything in this family is filled with the great old man, it’s hard to breathe.
The union was not happy: the poet’s depression progressed, which he brought from abroad to the new Soviet country. His last poem, “The Country of Scoundrels,” accurately and vividly describes his attitude towards the authorities, his intransigence with order, and the deceitfulness of his hopes. By this time, his poems “The Black Man”, “Pugachev”, and the collection “Moscow Tavern” had already been published. Representatives of the Cheka were introduced into his circle: a translator, an assistant. He was detained more than once and accused of anti-Semitism and connections with enemies of the people. Since 1924, he has lived in Moscow under recognizance not to leave. He drinks a lot, torments his wife, but Sophia endures and tries to save him, placing him in a psychiatric hospital, from which he escaped to Petrograd.
His death will be a shock for Sophia; she will plunge headlong into the work of preserving the memory of the poet and Tolstoy, and will meet her second love only 22 years after that fateful day.
The poet always had connections on the side. He did not hide his adventures, dedicating poems to the ladies. His literary secretary and friend Galina Benislavskaya shot herself at the poet’s grave.
The mystery of death
In Leningrad at the end of 1925, Sergei escaped from imminent arrest. In Moscow, 13 criminal cases were opened against him for a variety of reasons: drunkenness, hooliganism, anti-Semitism...
Friends recalled that the poet considered Leningrad not as a place of residence, but as a transit point. He wrote to his security officer friend Pyotr Chagin that he would then like to go abroad to get rid of some scandals.
Two weeks before the tragedy, he sent a telegram to his friend Wolf Erlich asking him to rent him a room in Leningrad. Historians claim that everyone in the poet’s inner circle knew that he had taken a suitcase of unpublished manuscripts with him from Moscow. Yesenin sought to live and not die in the northern capital. He had a lot of work to do; he wanted to publish not only a collection of his works, but also start publishing his own literary magazine. He had many plans and suicide was not one of them.
But his friend did not answer the telegram and did not rent him a room. Yesenin, upon arrival from Moscow on December 24, 1925, came to Erlich’s apartment. He was not at home and the poet left him a suitcase, on the rope from which he would be found hanged four days later, and a note in which he asked to take his things to the Angleterre Hotel. The hotel was located next to this house. A man from the Cheka was sitting at the entrance to the hotel; he carefully checked future guests. It seems strange that Yesenin could live there with his list of criminal cases. They said that Grigory Ustinov helped him get settled; he also lived there, and they had known the poet for almost seven years. The relationship between them was friendly, which did not stop him from calling the poet an “incorrigible psychobandit” and a “fake Bolshevik” in devastating newspaper articles.
There is a version that all this was set up. Yesenin's contemporaries considered Vova Erlich's acquaintance not accidental. They became friends on the basis of poetry: Yesenin gave him an autographed volume, a little-known poet offered to take care of his publishing business. But in fact, many believed that Ehrlich was assigned to the GPU (State Political Administration).
The institution monitored not only Yesenin, but many of the cohort of creative intelligentsia. The time was like this: the freedom of the NEP gave way to Stalinist repressions - one dangerous word, and informers and security officers were right there. They were arrested, imprisoned and shot.
The body was found by Grigory Ustinov's wife Elizaveta and Erlich on the morning of December 28. According to them, it was suspended high from a heating pipe: the ceilings in the room were 5 meters high. There is a bruise under the left eye, a cut on the right hand, and scratches on the left.
Yesenin’s death certificate says: “suicide by hanging.” The state convinced relatives, friends and the public of this through newspapers. The reputation of a hooligan and drunkard played into the hands of the official point of view. Indeed, the poet was a rebel and often found himself in the police station. But having studied the case of Yesenin’s death, which contains a doctor’s examination, photographs of the body of photographer Nappelbauman and an act describing the Angleterre hotel room of the inexperienced policeman Nikolai Gorbov, many questions arise. Although the investigation immediately ruled out the possibility of murder, and the case was quickly closed.
For example, in the photo of Yesenin lying on the sofa there is no bruise, there is no trace of the noose, and experts say that the body was placed so that as few details as possible were visible. The state of things in the room is not described; it is unknown whether the window was open or not. The witnesses who signed the protocol did not see the poet in the noose. According to experts, the poet himself could not hang himself from a heating pipe located right under the ceiling. And there were four witnesses who saw the body allegedly hanging there - Elizaveta Ustinova, Wolf Erlich, policeman Nikolai Gorbov and commandant Nazarov, who opened the door.
Nikolai Klyuev, a close friend and teacher, came to Yesenin on the eve of the tragic events - at 10 pm. But he was kicked out of the room by the poet’s so-called friends. He did not see Yesenin himself. These memoirs have been published.
There was another person at the scene of the tragedy - the artist Evgeny Svarog, who made several pencil sketches of the body. They are kept in the Yesenin Museum in Moscow. Surprisingly, Yesenin’s legs are crossed in the drawings, his arm has an unnatural bend, and there is no way the hanged man could have been in this position. Nobody took into account the strange dent on the forehead, which is visible on the death mask. Experts believe that it was most likely caused by a blow. The autopsy report was drawn up carelessly, there is not a word in it about traces of a struggle, the report from the scene was drawn up with many violations.
It is also strange that out of 150 guests, including those who knew Yesenin, no one met him in four days. Lists of hotel residents have not been preserved, and according to the accounts for December 1925, the names of Yesenin and Ustinov are not present. Elizaveta Ustinova also remained an unknown lady in history. Some researchers argue that she is not Ustinova at all, but Anna Rubinstein, editor of the representative office of Party Publishing House and Krasny Gazeta, an old Bolshevik in the service of the Cheka.
And in general, the authorities did not forgive the poet for his new play “Land of Scoundrels,” where he denounces the revolution. Even friendly relations with influential government representatives Kirov, Kalinin, Frunze would not have prevented either the arrest of the poet or his imprisonment. It was rumored that Dzerzhinsky himself called Yesenin for a conversation and made a suggestion.
There is evidence of Yesenin speaking negatively about Trotsky. By the way, in the obituary he wrote for Yesenin’s death, there is a hint that he was aware of the real events in Angleterre. Did he mix up the dates, or did he know that the poet was dead already on the evening of December 27?
The suicide note presented, “Goodbye, my friend, goodbye, my dear, you are in my chest...” in the poet’s blood, turned out to be not so dying. No authentication examination was carried out. Whose blood is still unknown, and is it blood at all? By the way, the note ended up in the Yesenin Museum only in 1930. It was given here by a security officer from the Political Directorate of the Leningrad Military District at the request of Erlich, who claimed that the poet himself gave it to him the day before his death. And he simply forgot it in his pocket after all the unexpected events. So the version of suicide was already there when there was no talk about this note.
The poem itself was written by Yesenin during a trip to the Caucasus in 1925. French newspapers wrote about this in 1934. It was also written that it was dedicated to the poet’s friend Alexei Ganin, who was arrested and executed in 1924 on political charges.
Many are inclined to believe that there was a struggle in the room, Yesenin was strangled, and then a suicide was staged.
By the way, Shura’s younger sister received the tragic news in the village. From there the family went to Moscow, where the funeral took place. On December 31, 1925 there was a thaw, there was rain and there were puddles - the weather was crying.
Her life in the capital was successful; Alexandra Yesenina got married and raised three children. Helped Catherine create a museum.
Immediately after the funeral, by unspoken order of the leader of the people, Yesenin’s poems were banned. The first monument at the Vagankovskoye cemetery appeared 30 years after Yesenin’s death - in 1955, two years after Stalin’s death.
Everyone involved in this case ended badly: Grigory Ustinov was found in a noose, his wife was shot in 1937, like Erlich. Nazarov received a promotion, but three months later he was stripped of his position and exiled to Solovki. Soon policeman Gorbov was also arrested and disappeared without a trace.
Angliter employees are still asked by onlookers where the damned number five is. But it is not there, because the building was destroyed, only the appearance of the building was restored, but from the windows of room 5 there is still the same view - of St. Isaac's Cathedral.
Yesenin recalled with a smile his childhood in the Ryazan province, saying that it was exactly the same as that of all rural children. Fights in the dust, eternal scratches and a broken nose, raids on other people’s gardens and a fierce dislike of Saturdays - on this “bath” day, the reins of power passed to the grandmother, who tried with all her might to give her beloved grandson a civilized look, to wash, comb his hair and change into clean clothes. .
Serezha’s parents didn’t get along too well - the marriage of convenience was on the verge of collapse for many years, the mother left her husband and went “to the public” to earn money, leaving her two-year-old son to his grandparents. The male half of this fairly wealthy (by peasant standards) family was distinguished by its violent and hooligan temper - the grandfather supported his grandson’s desire to gain authority among his peers with his fists. The upbringing that the boy received could be called Spartan. Three unmarried uncles enthusiastically began to mold their tiny nephew into a “real man.” He was taught to swim by being thrown from a boat into the lake at the very depths, and given plenty of water to drink before being pulled back in. At the age of three, the boy was put on a horse without a saddle and the stallion was allowed to gallop, leaving the frightened boy to death by “God’s mercy.” Is it any wonder that as a teenager, Sergei Yesenin was known in his native village as the main mischief-maker, the ringleader of all sorts of dashing pranks? The grandmother “pulled” her grandson in the other direction. She was very religious, believed in the benefits of education, and in her dreams she saw Seryozha as a village teacher. Thanks to her efforts, he was able to read from the age of five, tried to compose ditties, and then graduated with honors from a four-year zemstvo school in his native Konstantinovsky. However, it took him five years to do this - the boy was transferred to the last grade only on the second attempt “due to disgusting behavior.”
After receiving his primary education, Yesenin easily entered a special parochial school for teachers. However, your own youthful sword 
you painted a much more attractive future for him in the field of literature. Yesenin composed poems more and more professionally, many of them later gained fame, and today are included in textbook collections. “Winter sings and screams...” and “The bird cherry tree is pouring snow...” he wrote at the age of fifteen.
Not being overly modest, the young man considered himself a ready-made genius and was extremely indignant at the coldness of the publishers who refused to publish him. To deal with such injustice, he personally set out to conquer the big world. Yesenin moves to Moscow, completely disdaining his career as a teacher, works as a clerk in a butcher shop, actively sends his works to famous poets, and places them in various competitions.
Such a cavalry onslaught bears fruit - the young talent is noticed, they begin to publish and praise him. It seemed that dreams were coming true!
A brilliant start - and a beautiful flight... to nowhere
Compared to many other writers, whose path to the top was strewn with thorns, Yesenin was truly caressed by fate. Or does it seem so at first glance? The year is 1915, his poems are on the pages of the most popular metropolitan publications, and the poet himself reads his works to the empress and grand duchesses in the infirmary for soldiers who were wounded on the fronts of the First World War.
At the same time, he enthusiastically takes part in the work of various “near-revolutionary” circles, makes friends with “unreliable” poets and members of the RSDLP (b), for which he himself ends up on the “black list” of the police. Yesenin welcomes the coming revolution, seeing in it the opportunity for renewal and revival of spirituality. One can easily assume that such idealism subsequently became the cause of severe disappointment - the pastoral picture of patriarchal Rus' did not really correspond to the horror that was happening in reality after 1917. 
Objectively, everything was going just fine. Yesenin is on good terms with the “singer of the revolution” Alexander Blok, Gorky speaks wonderfully about him, and Dzerzhinsky personally checks on his well-being. In addition, the poet’s family has been reunited (at least formally); he has two younger sisters, whom he loves reverently and fiercely. In general, contemporaries noted that the easiest way to get Sergei Yesenin among your enemies was to say harsh things about his relatives - he was endlessly devoted to them.
But what was really going on in his soul at that time? They say that the revolution devours its children first. Yesenin was tormented by the fact that expectations and the truth of life, which he observed every day, did not want to coincide. Everything was wrong, unsteady, strange and scary. And now traces of sad thoughts about “where the fate of events is taking us” appear in his poems.
Trying to escape into the metaphorical world of semi-fairy-tale images, the poet takes part in the creation of a new literary movement - imagism, somewhat shocking, sometimes preaching hooliganism and anarchism. However, shortly before his death, Yesenin will be disappointed in this brainchild of his, but for now he is actively traveling around the country, visiting Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan, and performing in front of a wide variety of audiences. Searching, searching, searching... What? Either peace of mind, or the truth that is not given into his hands.
The poet’s dearly beloved family is also not very happy. By his own sad admission, his relatives perceive him solely as a source of additional funds, a potential “golden bag”, and do not understand why he does not pay attention to improving his well-being. The peasant patriarchal dream of prosperity no longer touches, but irritates Yesenin.
They all just want money!” - he is indignant.
He drinks a lot and increasingly gets involved in various scandals, many of which involve women. Personal life is not going well, whirlwind romances end as quickly as they begin. By 1925, Yesenin already had three official marriages behind him, which turned out to be very fleeting. The first one lasted the longest, with Zinaida Reich, who gave birth to the poet’s daughter and son. Then he had a bright and incredibly passionate relationship with the American dancer Isadora Duncan - the poet lived with her for a little over a year. The last union was concluded with Sofia Tolstoy, but this marriage broke up almost immediately.
It is interesting that many women loved Yesenin passionately and devotedly, but even this did not bring him peace and did not allow him to escape from his “inner demons.” He drank more and more often, was repeatedly detained by the police for hooliganism, sometimes he was ashamed of his antics, sometimes he flaunted them. There were periods of lack of money, relationships with friends deteriorated. It seemed that Sergei was running, running after some elusive dream - and could not catch up with it...
The end of the road - the tragedy in Angleterre
What caused the end? Disputes about this have not stopped for a long time. On the one hand, Yesenin’s civic position in the last years of his life was very different from the optimistic perception of social change that helped him become so popular in the “revolutionary” environment. Increasingly, criticism of the “powers of this world” broke through in his speeches, which was usually attributed to alcoholic delirium or a nervous disorder. The poet even spent some time in a psychiatric hospital, but did not get rid of his “freethinking”.
The pendulum of his life was swinging more and more. He drank terribly, practically without leaving his feverish state. At the same time, Yesenin “came to light” in connection with a criminal case initiated under the “execution” article on anti-Semitism. Friends began to fear suicidal moods, which were increasingly taking possession of the poet - he repeatedly made attempts to “leave” and spoke about them even more often in his works, bitter, hopeless, reminiscent of the confession of a hopelessly deceived person.
The last poem, “Goodbye, my friend, goodbye,” was written in blood - Yesenin gave it to Wolf Ehrlich, one of his few true friends, literally a few hours before his death. He wrote it in the Angleterre Hotel in Leningrad, and that same night he committed suicide by hanging himself with a suitcase strap, throwing it over a heating pipe. There are versions that the suicide was just a staged act to cover up the brutal reprisal against the poet. Unfortunately, it is impossible to know for sure - whatever the truth, the thirty-year-old poet took it with him.
Brief biography of Sergei Yesenin
