Introduction. For A. I. Kuprin, A. S. Pushkin was the most beloved artist of the word, an unattainable ideal. Since his youth, A. Kuprin became imbued with love for him, discovering new facets of his extraordinary talent with each period. The purpose of the research is to study the influence of A. S. Pushkin's work, namely his elegies “The latest flowers are cuter”, “If life deceives you”, on A. I. Kuprin's stories of the 90s of the nineteenth century “Autumn Flowers”, “Toy”. Materials and methods. The material of the research was the stories of A. I. Kuprin “Autumn Flowers”. “Toy”, as well as the elegies of A. S. Pushkin “The latest flowers are cuter”, “If life deceives you”, considered using a comparative method of researching works of art, which were considered in the unity of content and form. Research results, discussions. The defining idea is the idea that the work of A. S. Pushkin had a serious impact on the worldview and creativity of A. I. Kuprin. The article examines one aspect of this influence, namely: A. Pushkin’s elegies on the creation of A. Kuprin’s short stories “Autumn Flowers”, “Toy”. A. Kuprin put into the stories the content relevant to his time: the opposition of a great bright feeling, full of poetry and spiritual uplift, to base carnal desire. The theme of A. Kuprin’s stories is outlined: the transience of time, the understanding of life, beauty, love, the feeling of beauty, the incompatibility of the bright and vulgar in life. The figurative system of the stories and the connection with the elegies of A. Pushkin are indicated. Sufficient attention is paid to the psychological aspect, the ability of A. I. Kuprin to show the correlation of the inner world of the heroine of the story “Autumn Flowers” with the landscape, with pictures of nature, the gifts of which become a symbol of the heroine’s mental state. Conclusion. A comparative analysis of the stories of A. I. Kuprin and the elegies of A. S. Pushkin expands the idea of the writer’s work at the turn of the XIX‒XX centuries and allows us to conclude that the worship of Pushkin was due to the peculiarity of Kuprin’s perception of existence. The appeal to the legacy of the great poet, in turn, extremely strengthened and improved Kuprin’s creative ability.