In the north-west of Moscow, not far from the Krasnopresnenskaya Zastava Square, there is a cemetery, which for many decades has been one of the main attractions of the capital. Singers, artists, artists, writers and athletes are buried here. But the most famous and legendary place in this cemetery is perhaps the grave of Yesenin.
Monument
The bitter glory of "bawdy and brawler" haunts the poet even after death. To this day, personalities gather at the tombstone, perceiving the cemetery as a suitable place for drinking strong drinks. They read poetry loudly and recount numerous tales. However, fans of the classic of Russian poetry are also visited here at least in order to honor their memory with silent silence.
Where is the grave of Yesenin? This question can be answered even by a person who first appeared in the old Moscow cemetery. Almost every visitor will show the road to it. But you can hardly pass by the monument to Yesenin. It is enough to just walk along the central alley, and the monument to the golden-haired poet will catch your eye.
He stands like a living, arms crossed, in a simple peasant shirt ... And very young. When you look at him, you again recall how quickly, although extremely brilliantly, his genius poet from the Ryazan hinterland lived his life.
How to get there
Find Vagankovskoe cemetery is easy. You need to get to the metro station "Ulitsa 1905 goda", and already at the exit from the car, on the columns, you can see the signs.
After exiting the underpass, you need to go along Bolshaya Dekabrskaya Street past residential buildings. And five minutes later, the Temple of the Resurrection of the Word opens to the gaze.
An unusual atmosphere reigns in this historical part of Moscow. The spirit of folk poetry is as if saturated with air. And even before reaching the cemetery, you will hear recordings with Vysotsky's hoarse voice. The last refuge here was found by poets, whose work was loved by ordinary people, but whose life was tragic and was interrupted too early. And in the very center of the cemetery there is an alley named after the greatest of them - Yeseninskaya. After walking along it, you can see a marble monument depicting a young blonde man. This is the grave of Yesenin.
Cemetery history
At the end of the 18th century, on the outskirts of Moscow, which at that time was still a small city, the village of New Vagankovo was formed. At the same time, a burial place was created for nameless Muscovites, named after this settlement.
The first graves in the Vagankovskoye cemetery belonged to Moscow residents who died during the plague. In the following years, simple rich people were also buried here. The graves of representatives of the peasant estate are located today in the old part of this place. Later, a temple was erected, and over time, the Vagankovskoye cemetery turned into not only a place for burials, but also into a kind of cluster of historical monuments.
Yesenin's funeral
On the last winter day of 1925, a cross was erected here, on which stood the dates of his life and his name is Sergei Alexandrovich Yesenin. Grave, cemetery were surrounded by people. According to eyewitnesses, not a single Russian poet was buried in this way. In addition to numerous fans, relatives and friends came to say goodbye to the “last poet of the village”. There was only Galina Benislavskaya. These days she was not in Moscow.
There is a version according to which the poet did not commit suicide, but was killed by NKVD officers. This hypothesis is devoted to the work of Eduard Khlystalov, a researcher of the death of Yesenin. But to the evidence of the version of the murder among fans of the works of the Russian classic, it is customary to ascribe the fact that Yesenin was buried in the cemetery, and not behind his fence. The priests supposedly guessed the true cause of death and agreed to funeral for the deceased. But it is worth remembering that the funeral took place in 1925. The authorities agreed to allocate a place of honor for burial. The thing, rather, was that it was they who decided such questions in those years, but not the priests. And the tradition of burying suicides behind the cemetery fence was forgotten.
Legends
Esenin's grave at the Vagankovsky cemetery is one of the places visited. And therefore, it was not without rumors and legends. According to frequent visitors to the cemetery, Yesenin’s grave is periodically visited by a ghost in a female form. Ghost appears in the night and stands silently at the monument. And those who saw or believe in its existence are sure that this is Galina Benislavskaya.
Galina Benislavskaya
Galina Benislavskaya, a woman who was not loved by the poet, but pathologically faithful to him, rests near the monument to Yesenin . A year after his death in a deserted cemetery, at the very grave of her, she committed suicide, leaving a suicide note. On a small tombstone, the words from Yesenin's letter addressed to Benislavskaya are engraved.
Yesenin’s grave is one of the most famous graves in the Vagankovskoye cemetery, and therefore there are always fresh flowers here. In order to find a place where the poet’s ashes rest, it’s enough to go to the cemetery. Anyone can show the path to it. Almost a century has passed since the day of the poet’s death, but to his monument “a folk path will not grow”.