The importance of L.N. Tolstoy in creative becoming of Sergey Yesenin: towards the problem statement

The influence of L.N. Tolstoy on the creative becoming of S. Yessenin is for the first time revealed in that article. The author analyzes new archival materials: S. Yessenin's private collection of books, including Tolstoy's book "The Circle of reading" with Yessenin's remarks. Memoirs of contemporaries and poet's letters are also in the focus of the researcher's attention. The study of this complex of the sources helped V. Evdokimova came to the conclusion that Tolstoy's art had a great influence on Yesenin's personal and creative development.