Semyon Petrovich Pisarev was a well-known local historian, educator, collector, and museum figure from Smolensk. He was born in 1869 in Nizhny Novgorod to a priest's family. He received his education at the Nizhny Novgorod Theological School and Seminary, then continued his studies at Kazan and Moscow universities. Since 1875, he taught Russian and Latin at the Smolensk Men's Gymnasium, and from 1900, he became the inspector of public schools in the Smolensk province.

For many years, Pisarev studied the monuments of history and archaeology in Smolensk, receiving support from the Smolensk governor A. P. Engelhardt. In 1883, together with Count A. S. Uvarov, he conducted excavations at the Borisoglebsky Monastery in Smyadyn. In the following years, he independently excavated the ruins of ancient churches at the Bibikins and Khozerovs estates, as well as a 12th-century church at the Okopnoye Cemetery. He also managed to discover the ruins of the Spassky, Dukhov, and Cross Exaltation Monasteries, as well as the Church of Nikolai Polutely and the church on Svirskaya Street.

In 1887, the city historical and archaeological museum, created by Pisarev, opened in the city duma building. Among the exhibits were samples of bricks with border marks, glazed tiles, and other archaeological finds from the ruins of Smolensk churches of the 12th and 13th centuries. Since 1889, V. I. Grachev, a colleague of Pisarev, became the curator of the museum.

From 1888 to 1900, Semyon Petrovich was the elder of the Church of Archangel Michael, and from 1904, he headed the church parish guardianship.

Pisarev passed away in March 1909 and was buried at the cemetery of the Svirskaya Church. His grave was lost during the Soviet era, but in 2016, a cenotaph was erected at the presumed site.