Sergey Nikonenko

During the 2000s Nikonenko raised funds and completed restoration of the historic church in Konstantinovo, the birthplace of poet Esenin. Over the course of his career, Sergei Nikonenko played over two hundred roles in film and on stage. His most recent stage performances included his portrayal of Chapaev in the popular play 'Chapaev i pustota' (aka. . Chapaev and emptiness'). He was also co-starring with Aleksandr Abdulov and Irina Alfyorova in the acclaimed play 'Vse prohodit (aka. . 'All things shall pass').

In the 1990s, Sergei Nikonenko established Sergei Esenin's memorial museum in Moscow. He has been the keeper of the collection and organizer of regular events and tours dedicated to poetry of Sergei Esenin.

Nikonenko shot to fame in Russia with the leading role as poet Sergei Esenin in the popular film Poj pesnyu, poet (1973) by directors Sergey Urusevskiy and Gennady Shpalikov.

From 1968 - 1972 he studied film directing under Sergey Gerasimov, graduating from VGIK in 1972 as a film director.

From 1959 - 1964 he studied acting at the Soviet State Institute of Cinema (VGIK), graduating in 1964 as an actor. At that time Nikonenko established himself as an actor who represented his generation, having such friends and classmates as Vasiliy Shukshin, Lidiya Fedoseeva-Shukshina, Evgeniy Zharikov, Zhanna Bolotova, Nikolay Gubenko, and Galina Polskikh among other notable actors.

Sergei Nikonenko is a popular Russian actor and director, known for his portrayal of Russian historic characters in film and on stage, such as poet Sergei Esenin and commander Chapaev. He was born Sergei Petrovich Nikonenko on April 16, 1941, in Moscow, Russia. His father, Petr Nikanorovich, and his mother, Nina Mikhailovna, were workers at a Moscow industry. As a child, Sergei Nikonenko survived the Nazi occupation of Russia during the Second World War. Young Nikonenko was fond of Russian literature, his favorites were Lev Tolstoy, Alexander Pushkin, Anton Chekhov, Sergei Esenin, and 'Vladimir Mayakovsky'. Form the age of 12, he attended the drama club at the Moscow Palace of Pioneers.