Among the significant events held in Malaysia during the Yesenin Festival, in commemoration of the 115th anniversary of the birth of the great Russian poet Sergey Yesenin, was a poetry contest which took place on the 23rd of October at the RSCS.

The contestants were comprised of Malaysian students who are studying the Russian language and our country’s culture, as well as local teachers, who specialize in Russian philology. Yet they all shared the same love for Russian poetry and one of its leading representatives, Sergey A. Yesenin.

25 contestants took part in the event; every one of them had to perform works by Yesenin before an audience - some recited verses while others sang to songs written with his poetry. Well known works such as “A Letter To Mother”, “To Kachalov’s Dog”, “Letter To The Woman”, “To Pushkin” as well as difficult ones like “Azure Space is Aflame Up Above”, “Over There Beyond Fields Of Yellow…”, “Hey There, Russia, Mother Country…” and many others were recited on that day.

The audience and members of the jury were pleasantly surprised not only by the accurate rendition of Yesenin’s masterpieces, but also by the sincere endeavors shown by the young contestants in conveying the poet’s emotional and meditative depths as well as the melodiousness of his verses. During the course of the contest, a selection of songs and romances with words by Yesenin (“I Do Not Regret, And I Do Not Shed Tears…”, “The Golden Birch-Tree Grove Has Fallen Silent”, “Oh My Dear Maple, Frozen Stiff And Bare” and others) were performed under the accompaniment of local Malaysian pianist, Kenneth Teh.

As a finale, the RSCS gave a video presentation on S. Yesenin, featuring a collection of photographs and other material, and a short film, which included a short speech by the poet himself with Russian folk music playing at the background. In lieu of a goodbye, a few songs were sung by all at the piano.

The Yesenin Poetry Contest served as a conclusion to the week-long festival in honor of the Russian genius.