The influence of Old Testament reminiscences in the dramatic poem by S.A. Yesenin “Pugachev” on the artistic and philosophical system of the play by I.M. Levin “Moses”

The work examines the plots and images of the Old Testament in the dramatic poem by S.A. Yesenin “Pugachev”. The relevance of the study is determined by the need for both a com-prehensive consideration of possible interpretations of the poem and drawing attention to its crea-tive impact on the literature of the Russian emigration. The aim of the study is to identify in the poem by S.A. Yesenin “Pugachev” of the Old Testament reminiscences and determination of their influence on the religious and philosophical content of the play by I.M. Levin “Moses”. The theo-retical basis of the study is the thesis about the intertextuality of the poem “Pugachev”, put for-ward by N.I. Shubnikova-Guseva. In the course of the study, a comparative analysis of the artistic structures of the poem by S.A. Yesenin “Pugachev” and plays by I.M. Levin “Moses”. Based on the identification of common elements of the compositional organization and poetic language of these works, it is concluded that the play by I.M. Levin is a kind of reception of the biblical reminiscences of “Pugachev” associated with the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt. When comparing the text of “Pugachev” with the book of Exodus, the Old Testament subtext is revealed, which became the main unifying factor of the figurative system of the poem. Together with the New Testament motifs of the poem already indicated in Yesenin studies, the Old Testament reminiscences testify to its deep religious and philosophical content.