Moscow State Museum of S. A. Esenin

The Esenin Museum in Moscow was opened in the house of merchant Krylov, where the poet lived in his father’s apartment from 1911 to 1918. The exposition of the museum tells about the work of Sergei Aleksandrovich Esenin, his personal life and connections with Imaginists, especially detailing the Moscow period of the poet’s biography. The museum conducts educational and public work: organizes walking and bus literary excursions in Moscow and the regions, quests and lectures for schoolchildren, helps to find owners for homeless animals.

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Video: Esenin Museum in Moscow

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History of the Moscow State Museum of S. A. Esenin

Merchant Krylov was the owner of a butcher shop, and in the house in Bolshoy Strochenovsky Lane in Zamoskvorechye lived his clerks, among whom was Alexander Yesenin. He occupied a modest apartment number 6, where since 1911 his son, a budding poet, stayed and was even registered. For the first time from the village of Konstantinov the young man came to Krylov’s house with a plump traveling valise with manuscripts – today it is one of the main exhibits of the Esenin Museum in Moscow. Until 1918, the poet was officially listed as a tenant of the house.

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In 1995, connoisseurs of Esenin’s work gathered a solid collection of manuscripts, first publications, personal belongings of the poet and opened a museum in the former Krylov house. In 1996 the whole collection was donated to the city. In recent years, the museum has a branch on Klyazminskaya Street, where the poet spent a lot of time in literary disputes and speeches. The new department of the museum is already functioning, in the nearest plans – the opening of a literary center on its basis.

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Exposition of the Esenin Museum

The permanent collection includes documents, photographs, personal belongings of Yesenin, lifetime editions and translations. On the basis of the museum’s funds 5 traveling thematic exhibitions dedicated to Russia, Moscow, Russian Space, animals and Isadora Duncan have been formed. Miniature collections travel all over the country. In addition, the official website of the Esenin Museum in Moscow features virtual exhibitions on the connection between his art and the works of Bulgakov, Tsvetaeva, Paustovsky, and Lermontov.

The memorial room exhibits authentic furniture and tableware from the late 19th – early 20th century: simple wooden stools and chairs, tea pairs, a dark glass beer bottle. Among the personal belongings of Sergey Yesenin are a pillow on the pillowcase of which the poet’s mother embroidered a flower pattern, a family icon of the Mother of God of Kazan, a wall clock presented by merchant Krylov to his clerk, a porcelain inkwell and a quill, a manuscript of the poem “The Poet”, books, a bust of Pushkin. On the stand-triptych laid out sheets of manuscripts, reviews of critics and the first publications.

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The next stands tell about Yesenin’s life after he left his main Moscow refuge. Photos from wartime Petrograd, where he served under the sanitary train, publications of this period have been preserved. Documents tell about the complex attitude of the poet to the revolution, which he accepted, but could not fully approve of its consequences. Participation in the Imagist circle is confirmed by joint posters, pages of magazines. A separate triptych describes Yesenin’s trip abroad after his marriage to Isadora Duncan in 1922. The exposition is completed by documents and photographs telling about the last years of the poet’s life – the peak of his creative development. The first lifetime editions of Esenin’s translations into other languages are also presented here.

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Excursion program

The structure of the main excursion focuses on the period from 1912 to 1915, when the poet lived in Moscow; the Petrograd period until 1918, creative interaction with Imaginists, and Yesenin’s Caucasian trips are described. Thematic excursions are devoted to the revolution, the Silver Age, and the poet’s favorite women. Outside the exhibition halls, the museum’s guests can enjoy walking tours of Yesenin’s places in Zamoskvorechye, trips to Konstantinovo in Ryazan, to the poet’s small homeland, bus tours to Alexander Blok’s Shakhmatovo estate near Moscow, and sightseeing in Suzdal, Zaraisk and Kolomna.

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Promotions at the Esenin Museum in Moscow

The Esenin Museum organizes cultural and educational events in Russia and abroad. Recent projects include an all-Russian contest of school essays based on the works of Sergei Yesenin. The project “Give me a paw for happiness, Jim…” helps to find owners for dogs from the shelter. Within the framework of “EseninJazz” musicians from our country, Belgium, USA, Italy perform songs on the poet’s poems. Another international project is an award established for popularization of Esenin’s work in India by the museum and the Russian Consulate in Kerala. Paid interactive classes for schoolchildren of lower grades familiarize children with the poetry of Esenin, Gumilev, Mayakovsky and Kharms in a fun way. Classes for high school students are held in the traditional form, contributing to the assimilation of the school program in literature.

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Opening hours and ticket prices

The halls of the Esenin Museum in Bolshoy Strochenovsky Lane are open Wednesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., only on Thursday the opening hours are shifted from 1 p.m. to 9 p.m.. On the last Friday of the month the halls are closed for sanitation. The department on Klyazminskaya is open on Thursday from 13 to 20 hours, from Friday to Sunday – from 11 to 18 hours. Independent acquaintance with the exposition costs 200 rubles for adults and 150 rubles for privileged visitors – visiting schoolchildren, large families, pensioners, students of professional lyceums. An audio guide is available for an additional 50 rubles. The Esenin Museum is free of charge for disabled people of group I and II, children under 6 years old, orphans, Moscow schoolchildren, full-time university students.

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Additional services at the Esenin Museum

Exhibits may be photographed for 150 rubles, video shooting costs 300 rubles for amateurs and 1000 rubles for professionals with tripods and lighting devices. The museum hosts concerts and creative evenings costing 350-500 rubles. Walking tours around Zamoskvorechy will cost 700 rubles for an adult visitor, 600 rubles for pensioners, students, and schoolchildren. – For pensioners, students, schoolchildren. Master classes for a group of up to 10 people cost about 600 rubles. Thematic literary and historical lectures can be ordered for 3600 rubles. Possible paid photocopying and photographing of materials from the funds, not exhibited in the main halls.

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How to get there

The main building of the Esenin Museum in Moscow is located at Bolshoi Strochenovsky Pereulok, 24, p. 2, not far from three metro stations. From “Serpukhovskaya” on the Serpukhovsko-Timiryazevskaya line to the building you need to walk about half a kilometer to the east, from “Paveletskaya” on the Zamoskvoretskaya line – 800 meters to the southwest, from “Dobryninskaya” on the Koltsevaya line – 800 meters to the southeast.

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To get to the branch on Klyazminskaya, 21, building 2 can be transferred from the station “Petrovsko-Razumovskaya” or “Altufievo” on the Serpukhovsko-Timiryazevskaya line. In the first case it is more convenient to take bus No. 672, in the second case – on bus No. 774 and follow it to the stop “81st hospital.”

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