The most interesting facts about Yesenin briefly. Sergey Yesenin interesting facts from life. Last years of life and death

On the occasion of the 90th anniversary of the death of the poet, the Odessa forensic expert spoke about some little-known facts from the life of Sergei Yesenin, as well as about possible reasons his death. At the time of his death, Yesenin was only 30 years old.

Sergei Yesenin committed suicide on December 28, 1925 at the Angleterre Hotel in Leningrad. This is the official version of the death of the poet. However, there is also an unofficial one - Yesenin was killed by the GPU, and the suicide was staged. The tragic death of the great poet, and after so many years, excites his admirers, literary critics, researchers of creativity and forensic experts. With one of them - the Odessa forensic expert Leonid Chekanov - the correspondent of "FACTS" talked.

“At first, everyone agreed that Yesenin’s death was not violent, but over time, facts began to emerge that attracted the attention of researchers,” says Leonid Chekanov, Candidate of Medical Sciences, Associate Professor of the Department of Forensic Medicine and Medical Legislation of the Odessa National Medical University

- Personally, I first heard about Yesenin as a schoolboy from my father, who saw the poet several times during his lifetime. It was my father who told me that he did not believe in the version of suicide. I must say that at that time I could not find Yesenin's poems or anything about him in any library. During the Khrushchev thaw, the first collections of Yesenin's poems appeared. Over time, the memoirs of his friends and colleagues began to be published. They claimed that Yesenin was an alcoholic, a frequenter of taverns, a hooligan, a brawler. As it turned out, many criminal cases were initiated against him. By my count, thirteen...

- So much? - Yes! From ordinary fights to accusations of being anti-Soviet. I can say unequivocally: despite the many different publications, we know very little about Yesenin's life. So, in America, where the poet went with his wife Isadora Duncan, an interesting incident occurred. Once Yesenin entered into a dispute there: who will swim the shortest distance faster in the pool at one of the hotels. Moreover, Yesenin did not know with whom he was arguing. As it turned out, his opponent was John Weissmuller, an American swimmer, five-time Olympic champion, also known for starring in the American film Tarzan. Surprisingly, Yesenin, who was already considered an alcoholic at that time, defeated the champion.

Lydia Sotnichenko, a Leningrad pathologist, told me about the physical strength of the poet, from whom I learned the basics of the profession. She told me that, while working at the Obukhov hospital in Leningrad, she witnessed the examination of Yesenin's body, which was done by the medical examiner Alexander Gilyarevsky. Yesenin was laid on a white marble table - and everyone saw a man of divine physique, a real Apollo. It was surprising that a chronic alcoholic looked like this on the day of his death. These and other facts made me doubt the imposed image of Yesenin - a drunkard and a degenerate. I became interested in the moments of his biography, criminal cases.

So, a few months before his death, in September 1925, returning from Baku, the poet was traveling on a train with his last wife Sofya Tolstaya (granddaughter of Leo Tolstoy). On the way there was a scandal, which, most likely, was provoked. The participants in the conflict were Estonian diplomat Alfred Roga and psychiatrist Yuri Levit, who were on the train. It is known that Yesenin got out of his compartment and went to a restaurant, but an employee of the GPU (State Political Administration, special service in the USSR. - Author) stood in his way, who did not let the poet through. A scandal arose, in which for some reason a foreign citizen of Roga intervened, turning to a psychiatrist who had heard the skirmish with a proposal to state mental condition Yesenin. When the doctor entered the compartment where the poet and his wife were, and offered to be examined, this caused Yesenin's anger ... Both of his "fellow travelers" literally flew through the entire car. As a result, the thirteenth criminal case was opened.

Law enforcement officers summoned the poet for interrogations, came to the place of residence to arrest ... Friends and relatives, trying to save Yesenin, decided to hide him in a Moscow psychiatric hospital. After spending some time there, the poet left the hospital and went to Leningrad.

Arriving in Leningrad on December 24, 1925, Yesenin met with his friends: the poet Anatoly Mariengof and the Social Revolutionary Yakov Blumkin. The latter is a Chekist, a scout, a friend of literary bohemia. So, Blumkin was the last person to enter Yesenin's hotel room at Angleterre. After that, no one saw the poet alive. But so far there is no irrefutable evidence of this person’s guilt in Yesenin’s death ... The official death of the poet was based on the testimony of another friend of Yesenin, the poet Wolf Erlich. Allegedly, it was Erlich who was the last to see Yesenin alive. According to Erlich, when he entered the hotel room with his lady Elizaveta Ustinova, Yesenin was tipsy. After drinking a glass of champagne, the friends hugged and said goodbye. True, Ehrlich soon returned, because he forgot something. Then they said goodbye again.

Hotels Angleterre and Astoria, Leningrad. 1930

Here a curious episode arises connected with the well-known poem written in blood “Goodbye, my friend, goodbye ...” Erlich claimed that Yesenin handed him this poem right there in the hotel room. At the same time, he did not give the opportunity to read it, citing the fact that this should not be done in the presence of a lady. Yesenin forced Erlich to put the written text in his pocket and read it at home. It turns out that Erlich read the poem after the death of the poet. He later stated that the poet dedicated the verse to him. Although at present there are many doubts about this. The original of this work is stored in the Yesenin Museum, but for some reason it was not subjected to research. What pen, what exactly is it written with? If it really is blood, then to whom does it belong? ..

And on the morning of December 28, Yesenin was found in a noose. It is interesting that the Angleterre is not an easy hotel, it was under the hood of the GPU. The procedure for registering those staying there was very strict. However, Yesenin was not even registered!

With an elementary acquaintance with the description of the inspection of the room where Yesenin lived, it cannot but be evident that the place of fixation of the knot of the rope removed from the suitcase and used for hanging is unrealistic. I have never seen anything like this in my practice. Even at the level of instinct, the knot is made to support the weight...

On one of the documentary photographs, a vertical pipe is marked with a cross - a riser through which hot water. It is to him that a noose is attached. In addition, the height of the ill-fated hotel room is from four to five meters. It is absolutely clear that with a height of 1.68 meters, Yesenin himself could not reach that pipe, even allegedly substituting a one and a half meter pedestal. However, no object with which he could, even putting a chair on a pedestal, reach the point and tie a loop, is not listed in the description of the room.

It is also interesting that the Kremlin photographer Nappelbaum was called to Angleterre. At that time, another party congress was going on in Moscow, and then suddenly he came to record the death of the poet. By the way, among the numerous photographs taken then in the room, there is no one where Yesenin's body hangs on a pipe ...

In the photograph showing the body of the poet lying on the couch, his arm is bent and raised in front of his chest. It seems that with this hand he grabbed the very pipe on which he hung himself. This does not fit into the presented version of suicide. After death, including after mechanical asphyxia, all muscles soften, the body calms down. Even the expression of horror on the face, which was at the time of death, disappears. In the case of Yesenin, we can say that his hand was pushed forward, since he was hung up in such a state when rigor mortis had already set in.

- Then the experts did not pay attention to this: by accident or on purpose? - The act of examination of the corpse was drawn up by an experienced forensic expert, Professor Alexander Gilyarevsky. I have studied this document. Everything that is indicated in the act was within the competence of the expert. He does not conclude whether it was an accident or a murder, since that is not the province of a medical examiner. This is a matter of investigation. The expert decides whether there is mechanical asphyxia and so on ... Nevertheless, there is one "but".

In cases of death resulting from mechanical asphyxia, the examination is quite simple. Particularly when hanging. If intruders hang up the corpse of a deceased person, the picture appears exactly the same as with intravital asphyxia! It is impossible to distinguish post-mortem and intravital asphyxia by eye. Gilyarevsky, of course, knew this well. Moreover, a double strangulation furrow formed on the neck of the poet (a trace from the compression of the neck with a noose. - Auth.), Between them there was a pinch roller. In any textbook, you can read that when hanging in the strangulation groove, there should be a hemorrhage. But for more than half a century of practice, I have never seen such a hemorrhage if there is no infringement roller. In other words, there must be two grooves, that is, a double rope, between which the skin is infringed. Here there are hemorrhages that are visible to the naked eye. Gilyarevsky does not describe hemorrhages in the roller, which is not typical for such an experienced expert.

- What do you think is the reason? - A likely answer to this question can be found in the studies of Eduard Khlystalov, senior investigator of the Moscow Criminal Investigation Department. He also dealt with the death of Yesenin and concluded that the act of examination of Gilyarevsky differs sharply from others drawn up by him in similar cases.

The investigator raised the archival files, in which there were Gilyarevsky's conclusions, and came to the conclusion that the act and the signature under the examination of Yesenin's body were fake. There is also a text of the interrogation of an employee of the Angleterre commandant’s office, which showed that Yesenin was brought half-dead to the room and chained to the battery. Perhaps they tried to hang it on a trouser belt. It turned out that the belt was very short - Yesenin had a rather narrow waist. Then they found the rope from the suitcase.

One of the posthumous photographs of the poet clearly shows that there were two furrows - on the right, located in parallel. When hanging, the furrow always has an oblique upward direction due to gravity. Purely horizontal furrows are a sign of murder, strangulation with a belt.

"So it's still murder?" - Here it is appropriate to quote the confession of Nikolai Leontiev, a graduate of the Cadet Corps, who served in the guards of Trotsky under the command of Blumkin. Many years after the death of the poet, Leontiev, while serving his sentence in the camps, admitted that he was part of a group that was entrusted with the neutralization of Yesenin. So, when the poet was detained at the railway station in Leningrad, it was supposed to explain to Yesenin the perniciousness of his conflict with the Soviet authorities and offer to work as an informant. The poet reacted violently to this proposal, rushed at the members of the group that met him. Leontiev fired - the bullet passed under the poet's right eye, and Blumkin hit the poet on the head with the butt of a pistol.

By the way, the posthumous photographs taken by Nappelbaum suddenly disappeared. After a while, Eduard Khlystalov received two posthumous photos of Yesenin by mail. One of them clearly shows a damaged, split skull with a dent, as well as a deformed frontal part of the head. It is unlikely that under such circumstances the bone survived. Meanwhile, in the act of death, we read that the bones of the skull are intact.

Leontiev mentions that such an unexpected denouement (a fight at the station with all the ensuing consequences) led to the fact that the GPU officers had to stage Yesenin's suicide. At first they tried to hang his corpse on a pipe with a trouser belt, but it turned out to be short. Then the same belt was tightened around the poet's neck and his head was leaned against the radiator. It is possible that one of the marks on the neck of the dead poet is a belt mark ...

- The question remains, why did Yesenin need a trip to Leningrad, where he had no relatives or close friends? .. - At that time, the Baku party organization was headed by Sergei Kirov, who doted on Yesenin. And the secretary of Kirov was Yesenin's personal friend. Therefore, it is likely that the poet went there to find protection from persecution.

Petersburg writer Viktor Kuznetsov published the book "The Secret of the Death of Sergei Yesenin", in which he recreates the real events of that time. Some circumstances of the poet's death have become known, which cast doubt on the official version of suicide. Writer, journalist, member of the Writers' Union of Russia, literary scholar Viktor Kuznetsov told the correspondent of "FACTOV" about his investigation, which lasted almost ten years.

Tell me why you doubted Yesenin's suicide and started your own investigation? - I noticed inconsistencies in the official coverage of the “mystery of the Angleterre”, glaring factual and logical contradictions. The fact is that I very well represent and understand the era of the twenties-thirties of the last century. Because I know her not from textbooks, but from the inside. For I am an “archival rat” studying documents, and therefore quite early felt the untruth of our history. I saw that the actions of Yesenin, which were discussed, contradict his personality. And, of course, there was a feeling that a lot of things do not fit in this story. I even felt ashamed of some researchers. Another point is that while investigating, I can say that I experienced the tragedy of the poet personally, as if “passed” through myself. Without this, it would hardly have been possible to penetrate into the deepest recesses of the crime. I was also lucky that it all started in the late eighties, when the “thaw” came and many secret archives, such as the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the FSB, became more accessible.

And you know what's amazing? When the book had already been written and published, I read an article in the Moscow magazine Miracles and Adventures, in which reserve major Viktor Titarenko wrote that more than twenty years ago, in the village of Urgau, Khabarovsk Territory, I heard the confession of one Gulag “graduate” Nikolai Leontiev. He, already an old and sick man, suddenly opened up and said: “Vitek, but with this very hand I shot Sergei Yesenin.” Then these words seemed to the officer the delirium of a madman, they simply did not fit in his head. This was so at odds with the generally accepted view of the sad events that ended the life of the poet. But still, when he came home, he wrote down the confession of the former prisoner.

And, after reading my book, Viktor Titarenko decided to publish the confession he had heard. Moreover, the analysis of the biography of Nikolai Leontiev completely coincides with the facts discussed in my study. By the way, the archive of the manuscript department of the National Public Library in St. Petersburg contains the original photograph of Yesenin, which shows a bullet hole above the right eye and a mark from a blow, apparently with a revolver handle, to the forehead.

And yet I cannot resist asking why it was necessary to kill the populist poet Sergei Yesenin. After all, as far as I know, he accepted the revolution and even sang about it? - The fact is that the twenties almost mirror our recent times. Both in economic terms and in other aspects. Then to be a patriot, to sing of Russia was an act, heroism, they were shot for it. By the way, Yesenin's friend, the poet Ganin, was shot for this. And then, sadly, we do not know the true Yesenin. What they write in textbooks is high time to throw it away, it's all rubbish, with the rarest exception. Because until now we imagine him as a kind of refined, golden-haired, curly-haired boy with huge eyes, who wrote about birch trees, about girls and so on. We do not know either his true biography or the depth of his work. But the very existence of Yesenin's poetry as such - melodious, melodic - was a reproach to the reinforced concrete structures of certain poets of that time. And Gorky, who loved Yesenin as a poet, who hated him by the rank of "petrel", wrote to Bukharin that a blow was needed against Yesenenism, a blow against precisely this wing of the new peasant poetry.

There were other reasons that Yesenin's killer recalled. The fact is that after 1923 Yesenin became a counter-revolutionary. And in a letter to A. Usikov in February 1923, he writes: “If I were alone, if there were no sisters, I would spit on everything and go to Africa or somewhere else. I, a Russian son, feel sick to be a stepson in my own state... I no longer understand what revolution I belonged to. I see only one thing: that neither the February nor the October. He returned to God. Only last year we proved that he owns a little poem in defense of Jesus Christ against Demyan Poor. Further, Yesenin "winged" Soviet power at all corners. And Demyan Bedny spoke about this to Furmanov. In addition, Andrey Sobol told in Italy at the beginning of 1925 that “the way to cover the Bolsheviks, as Yesenin publicly did, could not have occurred to anyone in Soviet Russia. Anyone who said a tenth of what Yesenin said would have been shot long ago.

“Thirteen criminal cases were opened against Yesenin, and most of them were under the article“ anti-Semitism ”- I know that Sergei Yesenin had a reputation as a brawler, he even had criminal cases brought against him, accusing him of hooliganism and other offenses. Was it related to his death?

But how. You have touched on a topic that many literary critics diligently avoid. After all, thirteen criminal cases were opened against him, and most of them were under the article “anti-Semitism”. Lenin's hand in the manuscript "About this" Sverdlov was inscribed that such people should be outlawed and shot. And many of the articles under which Yesenin was accused just fit this law. Moreover, the last case that threatened Yesenin with a court also fell under this article.

What kind of court? What was Sergei Yesenin accused of? Yesenin was returning from Baku by train with his wife Sophia Tolstaya. On the haul of the city of Serpukhov, he decided to have lunch in a dining car. But the Chekist did not let him in. They quarreled. This quarrel was heard by the diplomatic courier Alfred Roga, a foreigner from Tallinn. On the same train was Kamenev's friend, a doctor by profession, Levit. And Roga asked Levit to examine Yesenin for his mental health. Can you imagine this picture? Yesenin, in a compartment with his wife, the door opens, Levit enters and says: “Sergey Alexandrovich, do you want to be examined for your mental health?” What does Yesenin do? This Levit flew to the last carriage. We have not written about this anywhere. But many publications on this topic, in particular, Rog's note, the explanations of Levit and Yesenin, were in American magazines.

Well, then events unfolded like this. When the train just approached Moscow, Yesenin was immediately arrested. Both Roga and Levit sued him, including under the article “anti-Semitism”. Sergei Yesenin gave a written undertaking not to leave and, on the advice of friends, they say, “crazy people are not judged,” went to a psychiatric hospital.

Now look... It made no sense for him to go to Leningrad. Firstly, he was under trial, and secondly, also because there was no more or less well-established way of life. In Moscow, he had his first wife, a son from this marriage, and, finally, friends who supported him - they simply rented a corner to him. After all, Yesenin did not have his own housing. Sounds incredible, but it's a fact.

So what was the reason for his arrival in Leningrad? “I think it was because he wanted to run away. And most likely to Great Britain. Yesenin, under pressure from relatives, went to a psychiatric hospital and on November 26, 1925 wrote to his friend Pyotr Chagin: “I will get rid of some scandals and move abroad. There, marble lions are more beautiful than our live medical dogs.” Do you know that the lion is essential attribute state symbols of England. Moreover, Yesenin was printed there.

And yet, who benefited from the poet's death? “All roads lead to Trotsky. They have a very complicated relationship. Once, in a drunken company, Yesenin said: “I won’t go to Moscow while Leiba Bronstein rules Russia. He shouldn't rule." And these words were heard by the secretary of the GPU Gleb Alekseev and handed them over to their intended purpose. Then, in the poem "Country of Scoundrels" there is a character named Chekistov, he says: "What kind of a Jew are you? You are a gentleman from Weimar." And Trotsky at one time lived and studied in Weimar. Well, reading this ... who enjoys it? There were many other clashes between them that gave rise to Trotsky's hatred of Yesenin. It was Trotsky who rejected Lunacharsky's petition that there should be no trial of Yesenin, since he believed that the hype around the name of Yesenin was needed to show the true face of the Russian anti-Semite.

“Yesenin did not appear in the lists of those living in Angleterre” - So what happened in Angleterre? - The fact is that Yesenin has never been to this hotel. He became a victim of the political game of Stalin and Trotsky. When Stalin won in December 1925, Trotsky saw in this the intrigues of anti-Semites and asked Bukharin to reconnoiter the situation in Moscow through his channels ... And now yesterday's leader of the revolution was close to disgrace ... Well, he needed to throw out all this negative energy on someone . Of course, on Yesenin.

Why? - Because Yesenin embodied the spirit of the Russian nation. The killer told Major Titarenko that when Yesenin arrived in Leningrad, he and Blumkin, who knew the poet well, because he was a literary bohemian and wrote poems himself, lured Yesenin to the hotel on the very first day to wash the meeting. And that's where it happened. But this is not the whole truth ... Yesenin did not cross the threshold of the hotel. There is no Yesenin in the lists of those living in the Angleterre Hotel. And no one among those who stopped there or the attendants saw or heard Sergei Yesenin. Given the incredible sociability of the poet, this practically could not be. Although, on the other hand, this is not surprising, given that everything happened completely differently ... Upon arrival in Leningrad, he was arrested by Trotsky's unspoken order. And presumably they were kept in house No. 8/23 on Mayorova Avenue, where they were interrogated for four days. The meaning of the interrogations was that they wanted to recruit Yesenin as a secret employee of the GPU. I don’t think that Trotsky gave the order to kill the poet, but it just so happened ... Apparently, Yesenin resisted and pushed Blumkin with force, he fell. Then Leontiev fired ... The photograph shows a trace of a bullet wound, and after that Blumkin hit Yesenin with a revolver handle in the forehead.

Blumkin, after the assassination from Leningrad, contacted Trotsky and asked what to do with Yesenin's corpse. He answered him that tomorrow his article would appear in the newspaper that the unbalanced, decadent poet had laid hands on himself, and everyone would be silent. And so it happened.

And what is the consequence? - You know, the militia didn't participate in this business at all. And some strange organization was engaged in the investigation, which was called the Active Secret Criminal Investigation Department. It was led by Peter Gromov. In the early nineties, I met with one of its members, policeman Georgy Evseyev, born in 1901. He told me a completely incredible thing, which was later confirmed by Leontiev's recollections. Like, Yesenin was tied to a pipe ... from a battery. Moreover, the old policeman swore that this was exactly what happened. From Leontiev's notes: “They tried to hang Yesenin on their own belt. But Yesenin had a narrow waist, and they could not tie him to a steam heating pipe, because the belt was too short. They stuck him to the battery, so that later they would present the mark from the blow of the revolver handle as a burn. And then all the papers that will appear during the investigation were falsified. I thoroughly checked them and proved that, for example, the act of forensic medical examination is false. How did it happen? I looked up the real cases of the doctor whose signature was on the act, and saw that he described cases of suicide in a completely different way, and in particular those who hanged themselves.

Tell me, how does your version explain the numerous memories of Yesenin's friends, who expected such a step from the poet? - He had real friends in Moscow, and in Leningrad they described meetings with him and shared the memories of Trotsky's sex work. All of them signed a "fake" act on the discovery of the body of Sergei Yesenin.

Did the Yesenin commission to clarify the actual circumstances of the poet's death under the Union of Writers of Russia, chaired by Yuri Prokushev, support your point of view on the murder of the poet? -- Not. And now, in a Moscow magazine, my long article is being prepared for publication, in which a convincing rebuke is given to persons who for many years have been profitably exploiting the name and fame of the poet. My research generated interest in the UK, Germany, Italy and Yugoslavia. A positive response to the book was given by the London newspaper The Guardian. And "Book Review" in 1998 called the book an intellectual bestseller.

Interesting facts about Sergei Yesenin help you get to know this brilliant poet even better. During his short life, he was able to write many poems and poems that became classics during his lifetime.

Yesenin's poems are based on many songs that both young and old people know and sing. In his works, he paid great attention to nature, human qualities and reflection on the meaning of life.

So, in front of you are the most Interesting Facts about .

1. When Yesenin was in the third grade, he was left for the second year due to terrible behavior.
2. After graduation, Sergei went to, where he initially worked in a butcher's shop. Later he got a job in a printing house.
3. Yesenin composed his first verse at the age of 8.
4. An interesting fact is that when Sergei Yesenin was called to war, his comrades helped him get an appointment in the military hospital train No. 143 with the permission of his wife, Alexandra Fedorovna.
5. In 1917, Yesenin married the actress Zinaida Reich. But a few years later, he decided to leave his pregnant wife. In addition, the poet also left a little daughter.
6. At the age of 27, Yesenin married the American dancer Isadora Duncan. This family union also soon broke up.
7. The third and last wife of Sergei Yesenin was the granddaughter - Sofya Andreevna. Alas, this marriage also failed.
8. According to Sardanovsky and the letters of the poet himself, Sergei Alexandrovich adhered to vegetarianism.
9. Yesenin repeatedly broke the law and participated in various fights. So, he was a defendant in four criminal cases of hooliganism.
10. An interesting fact is that the Soviet leadership wanted to help him get rid of alcohol addiction. Felix Dzerzhinsky tried to get Yesenin into a sanatorium for treatment, but neither he nor his assistants could find the riotous poet.
11. Sergei Yesenin and his friends were accused of anti-Semitism.
12. Did you know that only his wife managed to persuade Yesenin to go to a neuropsychiatric hospital. A month after the treatment, he left for Leningrad, renting a room at the Angleterre Hotel. It was in this place that Sergei Yesenin was found hanged. According to the official version, he committed suicide due to depression.
13. Close friends of the poet said that Yesenin was most afraid of getting syphilis. He was also afraid of meeting with the police.
14. In 1995, a stamp was issued in Albania with the image of Sergei Yesenin.
15. An interesting fact is that, despite the fact that Yesenin and often entered into open conflicts, resorting to mutual insults, both poets recognized each other's talent.
16. The current situation in

is a talented Russian poet. His poems are very popular to this day. Even young people who are not at all interested in Russian literature have probably heard them in modern performance - songs.

Films are made about Sergei Yesenin, monuments to him are erected in many Russian cities. Numismatics, philately… His name is immortalized everywhere.

It is worth noting that he was not a "typical" poet of his time. Sergey could not decide on the genre for a long time. New-peasant poetry, lyrics, imaginism... Neither in life nor in his work did he try to adhere to constancy.

Yes, Yesenin is famous not only for his poems, but also for his addiction to alcohol, debauchery and illogical actions. However, all great people behave strangely.

If you like the work of this poet and would like to know a little more about him, pay attention to our article. We present you a list of 10 interesting facts about Sergei Yesenin: a biography and briefly the most important stories from the life of a writer who fell in love with readers for his sincerity.

10. Comes from a peasant family

Yesenin's homeland is the village of Konstantinovka, by the way, a very picturesque place. The boy was born in peasant family . He had two sisters. Sergei was two years old when his parents quarreled a lot. For some time they lived separately, Yesenin spent all his childhood with his grandfather (by mother), who had a pretty good financial situation. He had three adult sons, "naughty and desperate guys."

They devoted a lot of time to Sergei, and the poet later recalled them more than once. As a child, the boy did not differ in exemplary behavior, often participated in fights, performed various tricks.

9. First job - in a butcher's shop

Sergei's father worked in a butcher's shop in Moscow, was a clerk. He did not come to his native village often, even after his marriage. At the age of 17, as soon as he graduated from school, Yesenin also moved to Moscow. He got a job in the same shop as an assistant to his father. He worked there for a short time.. After a conflict with his father, Yesenin went to the printing house.

8. Alias ​​"Ariston"

The first poem "Birch" was published in 1914. Magazine "Mirok", pseudonym "Ariston". Yesenin wrote that he became famous very quickly, and he was asked to write under his last name. Until 1955, no one knew that the "Birch" was Yesenin's creation.

What did this sonorous pseudonym mean? Many associated it with the name "music box". At that time, the mechanical winding instrument had just begun to spread. However, this version has not been confirmed, this is nothing more than an assumption.

7. Rich personal life: novels and marriages

The personal life of the poet was very eventful. His first serious passion was Anna Izryadnova. They worked and studied together. Civil marriage, after the birth of his son, Yesenin left the family.

He soon married Zinaide Reich. In this marriage, the poet had two children, they also did not become an obstacle to divorce.

Second marriage to an American dancer Isadora Duncan lasted over a year.

His last wife was Sofia Tolstaya, granddaughter of Lev Nikolaevich. In this marriage, Yesenin also did not find happiness, he was short-lived.

In addition to official relations, Sergei had many fleeting novels. The list of his loves is quite impressive. The actress included Augusta Miklashevskaya, Nadezhda Volpina, the latter even had a son from Yesenin.

6. Relationship with Isadora Duncan

Perhaps the most striking relationship in the life of Sergei was an affair with Isadora Duncan. They met when a dancer from America came on tour to Russia. The language barrier did not become an obstacle. Isadora did not know Russian, Sergey did not know English. They were not embarrassed by the age difference, she was 17 years older than her lover.

After they celebrated the wedding, the young went on a tour of Europe and the United States. Isadora worked, and Yesenin dreamed of showing the West, " what is a russian poet". A little over a year later, they filed for divorce. The reason for the breakup is unknown. Two years after the divorce.

5. Articles in newspapers about drunkenness and debauchery of the poet

Yesenin never thought about his moral character. He enjoyed drinking, drinking, getting into fights, and doing many anti-social acts. It is not surprising that soon the first articles about Sergei's inappropriate behavior appeared in the press. After a while, there were even more of them.

The poet was not afraid of criticism, he deliberately gave reasons: quarrels, fights, hooliganism. Maybe he liked "notoriety"? One way or another, Yesenin went too far. He even brought several criminal cases.

4. Themes of the motherland and revolution in creativity

Already in his first poems, the poet touched important topics: motherlands and revolutions. "Birch", "Blacksmith" - although Yesenin wrote a lot about his homeland, he never visited the village in which he grew up.

Of course, Sergei could not ignore the revolution. The events that took place in October 1917 made a great impression on him. He supported the revolutionaries, but from his peasant side.

The first work on this topic was the poem "Transfiguration". "Jordan Dove", "Heavenly Drummer" - these works are also dedicated to the revolution.

3. Songs based on the poet's verses

As noted at the beginning of the article, many of Yesenin's poems began to be used for songs. One of the first was the poem "Letter to Mother". It was to the liking of the composer Vasily Lipatov. The romance was performed by more than one Soviet singer.

Composer Grigory Ponomarenko also used Yesenin's lyrics for romances. Alexander Vertinsky, Muslim Magomayev, Evgeny Martynov... The list goes on for a long time. Most Soviet performers sang songs based on Yesenin's poetry with pleasure.

His work was in demand not only in Russia, but also abroad: Italy, Poland, Bulgaria. Modern performers also do not bypass his poems. Vika Tsyganova, Stas Mikhailov, Zemfira, Elena Vaenga, Nikita Dzhigurda... Sergey's works sound even in the rock and rap genres: "Rock Syndrome", Misha Mavashi, "The Way of the Sun".

2. The difficult, expressive nature of Yesenin

Sergei had a very complex character. Its main features: a tendency to rebelliousness, outrageous behavior, a heightened sense of justice. He did not want to put up with the circumstances and was ready to go against everyone.

This character was inherited by Yesenin. His mother and grandfather were also difficult people. Passion for alcohol is also a kind of protest. Yesenin saw what was happening with the country and he did not like it.

1. Controversy about murder and suicide

Sergey tried to commit suicide several times. The first attempt was made in 1913. It is still unknown under what circumstances the poet died: they killed him or he left voluntarily.

In 1925, the poet was found in a room at the Angleterre Hotel. He hanged himself. Around his neck was a noose made from a torn sheet. Everyone was sure that Yesenin had committed suicide. His mental state was unstable. A week before this event, he was discharged from a psycho-neurological hospital.

In the 70s and 80s, another version arose. Colonel Eduard Khlystalov believed that this was the work of a special political organization, the state security structure of the USSR (OGPU). This version was considered unconvincing, although even posthumous photos show that the poet was severely beaten. Unfortunately, now it is hardly possible to find out the truth.

What else to see:

He went from a village cherub boy to the most famous brawler and swindler in Russia. At the performances of the blue-eyed shepherdess, who read something about the simple joys of rural life, the girls squealed in chorus: “Darling Yesenin!” Togo, Mayakovsky called the early Yesenin a "decorative peasant", too sugary, insincere, and his poems - "revived lamp oil." But "bast shoes and cockerels-combs" did not occupy the poet for long. Yes, and there was little angelic in him: he wrote obscene poems on the wall of the Passion Monastery and, having split the icon, he could heat the samovar with it, he could easily light it from the lamp.

His behavior was invariably found defiant, outrageous, shocking. His poems are a special page of Russian poetry. Yesenin cannot be driven into the narrow framework of the literary trends of the early twentieth century, he is on his own, rebellious, passionate, with a huge Russian soul wide open. This is probably why the poetry of Sergei Yesenin leaves no one indifferent: they either adore it or refuse to accept and understand it.

October 3 marks 119 years since the birth of the great Russian poet. By this date, Bright Side has collected interesting stories from the life of Yesenin and his most famous photographs.

Yesenin's education

A well-known poet could become a teacher: Sergei Yesenin graduated with honors from the Konstantinovsky Zemstvo School in 1909, then entered the church teacher's school, but after studying for a year and a half, he left it - the profession of a teacher did not attract him much. 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. Subsequently, the poet was engaged in self-education, read a lot and was known for his erudition.

The first Moscow muse

When Yesenin arrived in Moscow, he was only seventeen years old. He had one goal: to become the most famous poet in Russia. A year later, he fell in love with Anna Izryadnova, who worked with him as a proofreader in a printing house.

Civil marriage with Anna from the first days seemed to the poet a mistake. At this point, he was more concerned with his career. He left his family and went to seek his fortune in Petrograd. 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 off, I’m leaving, I feel bad, I’m probably going to die.” He asked not to spoil, to take care of his son.

The fate of Yuri, the son of Sergei and Anna, was tragic: on August 13, 1937, he was shot on charges of preparing an assassination attempt on Stalin.

Yesenin and paper

In 1918, the publishing house "Labor Artel of Artists of the Word" was organized in Moscow. It was organized by Sergey Klychkov, Sergey Yesenin, Andrey Bely, Petr Oreshin and Lev Povitsky. I wanted to publish my own books, but paper in Moscow was under the strictest control. Yesenin nevertheless volunteered to get the paper.

He put on a long-skirted undershirt, combed his hair in a peasant manner and went to the duty member of the Presidium of the Moscow Soviet. Yesenin stood in front of him without a hat, began to bow and, diligently ok, asked "for Christ's sake to make God's mercy and release papers for peasant poets."

For such an important purpose, paper, of course, was found, and the first book of Yesenin's poems "Radunitsa" was published. "Artel", however, soon broke up, but managed to release several books.

Beautiful Zinaida

One of the most beautiful women in Yesenin's life was Zinaida Reich, a famous actress. She was so pretty that the poet simply could not help but propose to her. They got married in 1917, Zinaida gave birth to two children - Tatyana and Konstantin, but Yesenin was never distinguished by fidelity. Reich endured for three years, then they broke up. The most famous poem about her is "A Letter to a Woman".

Yesenin's fears

Sergei Yesenin suffered from syphilophobia - the fear of contracting syphilis. A friend of the poet Anatoly Mariengof said: “It happened that a pimple the size of a bread crumb would pop up on his nose, and he would already walk from mirror to mirror stern and gloomy. Once I even went to the library to read the signs of a terrible ailment. After that, it got even worse, just a little bit: the whisk of Venus!”

But policemen caused no less fear in Yesenin. One day, while walking with Wolf Ehrlich past the Summer Garden, the poet noticed a guard standing at the gate. “He suddenly grabs my shoulders so that he himself becomes facing the sunset, and I see his yellowed, eyes full of incomprehensible fear. He breathes heavily and wheezes: “Listen, ah! Just don't say a word to anyone! I'll tell you the truth! I'm afraid of the police. Understand? I’m afraid!..“,” Erlich recalled.

Isadora

In the early 20s, Yesenin led an idle life: he drank, quarreled in taverns, and was easy on casual relationships until he met her, the famous American dancer Isadora Duncan. Duncan was 18 years older than the poet, did not know Russian, and Yesenin did not speak English. They got married six months after they met. When they were asked what surname they choose, both wished to have a double surname - Duncan-Yesenin. So they wrote down in the marriage certificate and in their passports. “Now I am Duncan,” Yesenin shouted when they went outside.

This page of the life of Sergei Yesenin is the most chaotic, with endless quarrels and scandals. They diverged many times and converged again, but in the end they could not overcome the “mutual misunderstanding”. It is this passion that is dedicated to the poem “Rash, harmonica! Boredom… Boredom…”.

Isadora died tragically two years after Yesenin's death, strangling herself with her own scarf.

The myth of mutual hatred between Sergei Yesenin and Vladimir Mayakovsky is one of the most famous literary movements in the history of the twentieth century. Poets were indeed irreconcilable ideological opponents and in public speaking were ready to pour mud on each other endlessly. However, this does not mean that one of them underestimated the power of the other's talent. Contemporaries confirm that Yesenin understood the significance of Mayakovsky's work and singled him out from all the futurists: “Whatever you say, you can't throw Mayakovsky away. It will lie like a log in literature, and many will stumble over it.” The poet repeatedly read excerpts from Mayakovsky's poems - in particular, he liked the poems about the war "Mother and the evening killed by the Germans" and "War is declared."

In turn, Mayakovsky also had a high opinion of Yesenin, although he concealed this with all possible care. The well-known memoirist M. Roizman recalls that once, having come to an appointment with the editor of Novy Mir, he “sat in the waiting room and heard Mayakovsky loudly praise Yesenin’s poems in the secretariat, and in conclusion he said: “Look, Yesenin is not a word about what I said." The assessment that Mayakovsky gave Yesenin was unequivocal: “Damn talented!”

Yesenin very accurately remarked about himself: “The notoriety has swept that I am a brawler and a brawler.” This statement was true, since the poet, in a drunken stupor, liked to entertain the public with works of very obscene content. According to eyewitnesses, Yesenin almost never wrote down obscene verses, they were born spontaneously from him and were immediately forgotten.

Yesenin had quite a few such momentary verses. For example, the poem “Do not grieve, dear, and do not gasp,” is attributed to his authorship, in which the poet urges his enemies to go to a well-known address, forestalling their desire to send Yesenin himself to hell.

Last wife

In early 1925, Sergei Yesenin met Leo Tolstoy's granddaughter Sophia. She was 5 years younger than Yesenin, the blood of the world's greatest writer flowed in her veins. Sofya Andreevna was in charge of the library of the Writers' Union. The poet was timid to the point of trembling in the knees before her aristocracy. When they got married, Sophia became an exemplary wife: she took care of his health, prepared his poems for the collected works. And she was absolutely happy. And Yesenin, having met a friend, answered the question: “How is life?” - "I am preparing a collection of works in three volumes and I live with an unloved woman." The unloved Sophia was to become the widow of the scandalous poet.

Poets death

On December 28, 1925, Yesenin was found dead in the Angleterre Hotel in Leningrad. His last poem - “Goodbye, my friend, goodbye ...”, - according to Wolf Erlich, was handed over to him the day before: Yesenin complained that there was no ink in the room, and he was forced to write with his own blood.

The mystery of the poet's death still remains unsolved. The official generally accepted version is suicide, but there is an assumption that in fact Yesenin was killed for political reasons, and the suicide was just a staging.

"Life needs to be easier"

And yet Yesenin is not a tragic poet. His poems are a hymn to life in all its manifestations. A hymn to life unpredictable, difficult, full of disappointments, but still beautiful. This is the anthem of a bully and a brawler, an eternal boy and a great sage.

2. in 1909, Sergei Yesenin studied at the parochial teacher's school with Spas-Klepiki. Today it is no longer a school, but a museum of S.A. Yesenin.

3. After leaving school in 1912, Yesenin went to Moscow, where he worked in a butcher's shop.

4. Yesenin was married three times. His last wife, Sofya Andreevna Tolstaya, was the granddaughter of Leo Nikolayevich Tolstoy.

5. Yesenin's second marriage was notable for the fact that his wife (American dancer) Isadora Duncan practically did not speak Russian, and Sergei Alexandrovich himself did not speak English at all. As a result, their marriage lasted a little over a year. In 1968, a British-French film dedicated to this dancer was released, which is called Isadora. The role of Yesenin went to a certain Zvonimir Chrnko.

6. Sergei Yesenin is one of the many Russian poets whose poems were used in songs. At various times, songs based on Yesenin's poems were performed by Alexander Malinin ("Zabava"), the Alpha group, Lyudmila Zykina ("Hear, the sleigh is rushing"), Nadezhda Babkina ("Golden Grove Dissuaded"), Galina Nenasheva "Birch", Nikolai Karachentsov (" Queen"), Oleg Pogudin, Nikita Dzhigurda, gr. Mongol Shuudan ("Moscow"), Vika Tsyganova, Zemfira and many others.

7. Being married, Sergei Yesenin had an affair on the side with the poetess and translator Nadezhda Volpin. From this union they had in 1924 was born illegitimate son Alexander. To date, he is still alive, lives in the United States and bears the double surname Yesenin-Volpin.

8. On December 28, 1925, Yesenin is found hanged on a heating pipe in his room at the Angleterre Hotel. A farewell note was also found, written in blood in the form of a poem "Farewell my friend, farewell ...". Sergei was buried in Moscow at the Vagankovsky cemetery.

9. Many are still arguing about the death of Sergei Yesenin. It is said that he could not hang himself, as there was no reason for this. Contemporaries note that on the eve of his death, he was cheerful and cheerful, in addition, he was looking forward to the release of his new collection of poems.

10. Sergei Yesenin had his own Literary Secretary Galina Arturovna Benislavskaya, who for five years was engaged in all Yesenin's literary affairs, negotiated with the editors. She was very attached to Yesenin and, according to Sergei's friends, she wanted to be Yesenin's only close friend. She even accused the poet's friends and even his sister Ekaterina of trying in every possible way to destroy their relationship. Almost a year after Yesenin's death (December 3, 1926), Galina Benislavskaya shot herself at his grave at the Vagankovsky cemetery. She also left a suicide note containing the following lines: “In this grave, everything is most dear to me ...”