Mtsensk became the city of the poet's youth. Remembering his early years, A.A. Fet wrote: "At that time I did not think about it, and it remains a mystery to me why Semyon Nikolayevich Shenshin, who so hospitably welcomed me in Moscow on Nikitskaya, left Moscow for Mtsensk after moving. It would be understandable if he had chosen his beautiful and well-appointed estate Zhelyabukha, but why Mtsensk, and not only for winter but also for summer, I cannot explain."

He lived in the best two-story house in the city, adorned with tin lions at the gates, which still open their mouths to passersby, showing red tin tongues. A memorial plaque is installed on this house. Nearby, next to the art school and opposite the house with the lions, stands a commemorative bust of Athanasius Fet, creating the impression that he is looking at the familiar house. Currently, this building houses the military commissariat of the city of Mtsensk and the Mtsensk district.