Sergei Yesenin and Isadora Duncan in 1923
Public domainThe relatively short life of Russian poet Sergei Yesenin was full of passions. Stormy romances, great love affairs and tragic breakups. But who were the main women in his life?
1. LYDIA KASHINA’s father owned an estate in Konstantinovo, where Yesenin was born. The young poet was in love with the girl and made his way to her at night to read new poems. It was she who became the prototype of Anna Snegina from the poem of the same name.
2. ANNA IZRYADNOVA is the poet’s first, albeit unofficial, wife. She worked as a proofreader and they were only together for a short time, but she did manage to give birth to Yesenin’s first son Yury.
3. ZINAIDA REICH is the first woman Yesenin officially married. She gave birth to the poet’s daughter Tatiana and son Konstantin, whom he loved very much. This was despite the fact that he left Zinaida when she was still pregnant with their second child. Later, the kids were adopted by Zinaida’s new husband, famous theater director Vsevolod Meyerhold.
4. GALINA BENISLAVSKAYA was Yesenin’s literary secretary and he used to stay at her place a lot. She was hopelessly and painfully in love with the poet and, unable to withstand his death, committed suicide right on his grave.
5. ISADORA DUNCAN was the most famous of Yesenin’s wives. The American dancer was older than him by almost 20 years. Their relationship was accompanied by passions and violent scandals and, after two years of living together and traveling in Europe and America, they eventually broke up.
6. Yesenin also had a brief affair with translator and poet NADEZHDA VOLPIN, who gave birth to his son Alexander.
7. The last wife of Yesenin was SOFIA TOLSTAYA, the granddaughter of Leo Tolstoy. He experienced the break up with her so bitterly that it is believed to have become one of the reasons for his suicide.
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