Patronage activities in Russia in the second half of the 19th-20th centuries. Russian patrons of the late 19th - early 20th centuries Why do people engage in philanthropy?

A philanthropist is a person who contributes on a voluntary and free basis to the development of science and art, providing them with material assistance from personal funds. The name comes from the name of the Egyptian Gaius Cilnius Maecenas, who was a patron of the arts under Emperor Augustus.

“His name became a household name for a reason - for the first time in history, a powerful state policy was implemented, the conductor of which was Maecenas. With the support of the emperor, Maecenas directed a significant portion of the finances accumulated by the Roman Empire to encourage and support the creative industries. This is how a system of state financial support for culture or the world of art was created.

With the help of investments in art, the political problems of great Rome were solved, strengthening the position and power of the Roman Empire and its power. Therefore, one cannot assume that a philanthropist is a disinterested person who does good to people for free. A patron is someone who, by supporting art, develops the spirituality of society as necessary condition implementation of the tasks facing him.” (Magazine "World of Arts")

In the old days, the word “charity” meant compassion for one’s neighbor, mercy. Various charitable institutions were built for those in need - hospitals, shelters, schools, colleges, almshouses. Charity was one of the main virtues of Christianity.

In pre-revolutionary Russia, charity was usually not included in government programs to help the poor; it was carried out by private individuals and societies helping the needy. State aid was designated by the term “charity” (public charity). Charity was widespread in the state and public life of Russia.

The 19th century was the heyday of charity in Russia. The rapid growth of the economy has led to the emergence of a large number of rich people. Among them were those who had not only a lot of money, but also amazing spiritual qualities - generosity, a sense of compassion and, at the same time, an understanding of beauty.

Who are they - the most famous philanthropists in the history of Russia?

In modern Russia, the same names are always heard: Tretyakov, Mamontov, Morozov. But there were other philanthropists and philanthropists, whose names have been undeservedly forgotten. This article is dedicated to them.

Sergei Grigorievich Stroganov

Sergei Stroganov (1794–1882) – count, statesman, archaeologist, general, Moscow governor.

All his life he was in military service, showed considerable courage in the Battle of Borodino, and took part in the Crimean War. However, his most striking and fruitful activities were in the purely civilian field. Russian education owes a lot to him. On top of everything, Sergei Grigorievich was also a great philanthropist.

Despite the fact that he held the rank of adjutant general and held high positions, Stroganov was indifferent to his career. He was distinguished by a strong and independent character, and knew how to firmly defend his convictions, even if they contradicted the opinions of senior officials in the state.

Thanks to his spiritual qualities and deep education, Sergei Grigorievich was chosen as the teacher of the emperor’s sons, Grand Dukes Nicholas, Alexander, Vladimir and Alexei Alexandrovich.

He managed to do a lot for his homeland. He founded the first free drawing school in Russia. It was available to all talented children, regardless of their class origin. The “School of Drawing in Relation to Arts and Crafts” (now the S.G. Stroganov Moscow State Art Academy) was opened in Moscow on October 31, 1825. The Stroganov family continued to finance the school until 1917.

From 1835 to 1847 he was a trustee of the Moscow educational district and Moscow University. Contemporaries called this period the “Stroganov time.” In 1840, Stroganov showed all his characteristic strength of character and progressive thinking, sharply protesting against a secret government circular that recommended limiting access to university education for representatives of the lower classes.

For more than 37 years, Count S. G. Stroganov was the chairman of the Moscow Society of Russian History and Antiquities, founded at Moscow University. Every year he equipped scientific archaeological expeditions to the south of Russia with his own money. The result of these excavations in Crimea were rich Kerch treasures and “Scythian gold”, now stored in the Hermitage.

In 1859 he founded the Moscow Archaeological Society. He was the chairman of the Imperial Archaeological Commission, located in his St. Petersburg palace for 23 years. On the highest order, the count supervised the multi-volume publication of “Antiquities of the Russian State,” which was published in 1837-1874. At the count's expense, the St. Demetrius Cathedral in Vladimir was restored. Stroganov was the author of a number of published works on the history of ancient Russian architecture and archeology.

He was a member of the commission for the construction of the Cathedral of the Savior in Moscow.

He was engaged in numismatics and left rich collections of Russian coins and ancient icons.

Sergei Grigorievich's son, Alexander Sergeevich Stroganov, was also interested in history and archeology, was a member of the St. Petersburg Archaeological Society and was a famous numismatist. His collection of 35,000 medieval European coins is today in the Hermitage. And the breeding stud farm he founded still operates and is known as the “Pskov Stud Farm”.

Unfortunately, fate prepared a bitter fate for this noble and illustrious family. Today there is no one left from the Stroganov family except Helen Stroganova. Baroness Helene de Ludinghausen is the only representative of this glorious and ancient family. She is the great-grandniece of Count Sergei Grigorievich Stroganov.

Hélène was born on August 20, 1942 in Paris. Her grandmother, Princess Sofya Vasilchikova (daughter of Olga Stroganova, granddaughter of Sergei Grigorievich) left Russia at the end of 1917 along with her four daughters. In 1942, one of the daughters of Ksenia and Baron Andrei de Ludinghausen, a descendant of the Russified Germans (who lived in Russia in the 16th century), had a daughter, Helen.

For many years she worked for Yves Saint Laurent as the director of his fashion house. Now retired. Lives in France, in Paris. Engaged in extensive social and charitable activities.

Alexander Ludvigovich Stieglitz

Alexander Ludwigovich Stieglitz was at different times senior positions at the Ministry of Finance Russian Empire.

Talented financier, banker, entrepreneur, Baron A.L. Schtiglitz was the richest man in Russia at the end of the 19th century, one of the founders of the Main Society of Russian Railways, as well as director of the State Bank. The baron built the Nikolaev, Peterhof and Baltic railways.

He inherited capital and the title of court banker from his father, through whose mediation Nicholas I concluded agreements on foreign loans for more than 300 million rubles, for which the Russified German received the title of baron. Having an annual income of 3 million, he remained just as uncommunicative (the hairdresser who cut his hair for a quarter of a century never heard the voice of his client) and painfully modest.

His father, a millionaire and a zealot of education, intended his son to pursue an academic career, to which he felt inclined. Having received an excellent classical education at home, Stieglitz graduated from the University of Dorpat, where he showed great ability in science. He was interested in ancient languages, painting, and literature. After graduating from university, the young man traveled a lot around Europe, and upon returning to Russia, he entered the public service to the Ministry of Finance.

Alexander Ludvigovich has been involved in financial issues all his life, but understanding the problems ordinary people was not alien to him. During the Crimean War, he donated large sums for the needs of the Russian army: in 1853 - in favor of the Chesme military almshouse and in 1855 - in favor of naval officials who lost their property in Sevastopol. Considerable funds were spent on education, on the maintenance of students of educational institutions, on maintaining an orphanage in Kolomna, founded by his father.

On January 1 (13), 1853, on the day of celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Stieglitz and Co. trading house, the young owner of the company generously rewarded and provided for the future of all his employees, and no one was forgotten, including the artel workers and watchmen.

In 1858, simultaneously with a donation for the construction of a monument to Emperor Nicholas I in the exchange hall, Stieglitz contributed a significant amount for the maintenance of students in educational institutions of the capital in memory of the late emperor.

After assuming the post of manager of the State Bank, Stieglitz became concerned with the needs of his colleagues. With his closest assistance, in 1862, a savings and loan bank for employees in the State Bank was established, then for 3 years he supported the funds of the cash desk with donations (leaving part of his salary in its favor). In the 1880s, the deputy meeting of the cash desk gave this amount the name “capital named after Baron A. L. Stieglitz.” From its interest, benefits were annually issued to widows and orphans of members of the fund.

In addition to the listed institutions, Stieglitz benefited many others at different times, including the orphanage in Kolomna, founded by his father, that continued to exist through his donations.

Undoubtedly, Alexander Ludvigovich loved beauty, although all his life he was engaged only in making money. And if his son-in-law Alexander Polovtsov, the husband of his adopted daughter, had not convinced him that Russian industry could not survive without “scientific draftsmen”, we would not have had either the Stieglitz School or the first Museum of Decorative and Applied Arts in Russia ( best part collections of which later went to the Hermitage).

“Russia will be happy when merchants donate money for teaching and educational purposes without the hope of receiving a medal on their neck,” said A. A. Polovtsov, State Secretary of Emperor Alexander III.

In 1876, the baron presented his most valuable gift to St. Petersburg and Russia, giving 1 million rubles. to create a school of industrial design in his hometown - the Central School of Technical Drawing (St. Petersburg State Academy of Arts and Industry named after A.L. Stieglitz, from 1953 to 1994 the institute was called the Leningrad Higher Art and Industry School named after V.I. Mukhina, "Mukhinsky School"). This is how a building in the neo-Renaissance style appeared in Solyany Lane, erected according to the design of architects R.A. Gedike and A.I. Krakau, which in itself was already a work of art.

An integral part of the St. Petersburg State Academy of Arts and Industry is the Museum of Applied Arts. The halls of the museum became the cultural, educational, educational and exhibition center of the academy.

The fact is that the industrialist Stieglitz collected in these halls the best examples of applied art from all over the world, on which he spent a fortune. Antique furniture, household items, and tapestries were bought at auctions throughout Europe. The baron exhibited all the masterpieces in the halls of the museum so that future artists could study only the best examples of art of all times and peoples, thus adopting the experience of recognized masters. The artistic decoration of the thirty-two halls of the museum reflects almost all historical eras and styles.

Now the St. Petersburg State Academy of Arts and Industry named after. A.L. Stieglitz is one of the most famous art universities in the country. The Academy graduated from many artists who made significant contributions to the art and culture of Russia and other countries. Among the famous graduates are Adrian Vladimirovich Kaplun, Anna Petrovna Ostroumova-Lebedeva, Kuzma Sergeevich Petrov-Vodkin.

Until the end of his days, Baron Stieglitz regularly allocated funds for the maintenance of the school and after his death bequeathed a large sum of money for its needs, which contributed to its further development.

On October 24 (November 5), 1884, Stieglitz died of pneumonia and was buried, of his own free will, in Ivangorod in the Church of the Holy Trinity, which he personally built over the grave of his wife, for the spiritual needs of the local factory population.

The will left by Stieglitz generally represents an example of caring for the institutions he created and the persons who were in any more or less close relationship with him.

Thus, by the way, 30,000 rubles were bequeathed to them in favor of the employees of the State Bank; His personal employees were not forgotten either: his favorite valet, for example, received 5,000 rubles. total amount, distributed according to Stieglitz's will between by different persons and institutions, was rumored to reach 100 million rubles (not counting real estate), but in reality it was more modest - about 38 million rubles.

It is interesting to note that, being a completely independent person, whose capital was readily accepted in all countries, Stieglitz placed his enormous fortune almost exclusively in Russian funds and, in response to the skeptical remark of one financier about the imprudence of such trust in Russian finance, he once remarked:

“My father and I made our entire fortune in Russia; if she turns out to be insolvent, then I am ready to lose all my fortune along with her.”

Solodovnikov Gavrila Gavrilovich

Gavrila Gavrilovich Solodovnikov (1826, Serpukhov - May 21, 1901, Moscow) - one of the richest Moscow merchants and homeowners, a multimillionaire, owner of a store and theater in Moscow, philanthropist; donated more than 20 million rubles to charity. With his funds, a theater on Bolshaya Dmitrovka (later the Moscow Operetta Theater), a clinic at the Faculty of Medicine of Moscow State University, a number of houses for the poor in Moscow, an orphanage, and several schools in four provinces of Russia were built.

The son of a paper goods merchant, due to lack of time, he poorly learned to write and express his thoughts coherently. At 20 he became a merchant of the first guild, at 40 he became a millionaire. He was famous for his frugality and prudence (he ate yesterday's buckwheat and rode in a carriage with only the rear wheels shod in rubber). He did not always conduct his affairs honestly, but he made up for this with his will, devoting almost all of his millions to charity.

He was the first to make a contribution to the construction of the Moscow Conservatory: with his 200 thousand rubles, a luxurious marble staircase was built. Built on Bolshaya Dmitrovka " concert hall with a theater stage for performing extravaganzas and ballets" (the current Operetta Theater), in which the Private Opera of Savva Mamontov settled. It was here that the young Fyodor Chaliapin, who had already established himself in provincial operas, performed for the first time in Moscow. Since 1961 and currently, this house is known as the Moscow Operetta Theater.

During these same years, Gavrila Gavrilovich decided to become a nobleman. For a person with the condition that Solodovnikov had, this was not difficult. Everyone knew perfectly well how it was done. Anyone interested came to the city government and directly asked how he could help the city. He was given a task, he carried it out, and the city wrote a petition to the highest name, and this petition was usually granted. So did Solodovnikov.

Appearing at the council in 1894, he stated that he would like to build some useful institution for the city. The council was filled with people with a sense of humor. They explained to the merchant that the city now needs nothing more than a venereal hospital. The subtlety of the situation was that, according to the tradition of that time, an object donated to the city was given the name of the donor. Consequently, the hospital built by Gavrila Gavrilovich should have been called "Clinic of skin and venereal diseases of the merchant Solodovnikov." The millionaire immediately understood where the fun was and refused the offer. He contacted the council three more times, and each time he was offered the same thing.

It ended up being that the desire to become an aristocracy won out. The clinic was built and equipped with the latest state-of-the-art science and technology. In return, Gavrila Gavrilovich graciously asked the authorities not to assign his name to the hospital. The authorities agreed.

After some time, Solodovnikov received an order around his neck for a gift to the city and registered in noble book. Nowadays it is the Clinic of Skin and Venereal Diseases at the 1st Moscow Medical Institute; since 1990, the institute has a different status and a different name - Moscow Medical Academy named after I.M. Sechenov. Since nothing else was built in all subsequent years, the case of Gavrila Gavrilovich Solodovnikov exists to this day.

He died on May 21, 1901, after a long illness. After the death of the richest of Russian millionaires at the beginning of the last century and after the announcement of his will, artist Mikhail Lentovsky recalled: “I asked him: “Well, where are you going to spend your millions, old man?” What will you do with them?” And he told me: “When I die, Moscow will find out who Gavrila Gavrilovich Solodovnikov was!” The whole empire will talk about me."

At the time of his death, his fortune was estimated at 20,977,700 rubles. Of these, he bequeathed 830,000 rubles to his relatives.

The eldest son and executor, member of the board of directors of the Nizhny Novgorod-Samara Land Bank Pyotr Gavrilovich received the most, 300,000, and the least of all - the dress and underwear of the deceased - the youngest son, ensign of the tsarist army Andrei. This is how the father punished his son for refusing to follow the “commercial line.”

It is worth saying that the merchant did not forget about anyone in his will. Sister Lyudmila was allocated 50,000 rubles, cousin Lyubov Shapirova - 20,000, her daughters - 50,000 each, Passage artel worker Stepan Rodionov - 10,000, and the same amount for clerk Mikhail Vladchenko. In addition, the will mentioned a huge number of relatives, friends, acquaintances and even just fellow countrymen of the merchant, and each was marked with a rather large sum.

However, the real sensation was the second part of the will. According to it, the remaining 20,147,700 rubles (about 200 million dollars according to today’s accounts) Gavrila Gavrilovich ordered to be divided into three equal parts. He ordered the first part to be spent on “the establishment of zemstvo women’s schools in the Tver, Arkhangelsk, Vologda, and Vyatka provinces.”

The second - “to be given to the establishment of vocational schools in the Serpukhov district for the education of children of all classes and... to the establishment and maintenance of a shelter for homeless children there.” The third part should have been allocated “for the construction of cheap apartment buildings for poor people, single and married.” Solodovnikov wrote in his will: “The majority of these poor people are the working class, living by honest labor and having the inalienable right to be protected from the injustice of fate.”

The eldest son, Pyotr Gavrilovich Solodovnikov, was appointed manager.

The Moscow city government took up the task of fulfilling the will of the deceased. Houses for the lonely and poor gradually began to be built - in the area of ​​2nd Meshchanskaya. The first home for singles, called the Freeman, opened on May 5, 1909, followed two days later by the home for families, the Red Diamond.

The first had 1,152 apartments, the second - 183. The houses were a complete example of a commune: each of them had a developed infrastructure with a store, a dining room, a bathhouse, a laundry, a library, and an outdoor shower. In the family house on the ground floor there was a nursery and kindergarten. All rooms were already furnished. Both houses were illuminated with electricity, which residents had the right to use until 11 pm.

Moreover, the houses had elevators, which at that time was considered almost fantastic. And housing was truly incredibly cheap: a one-room apartment in “Grazhdanin” cost 1 ruble 25 kopecks a week, and in “Romb” - 2 rubles 50 kopecks. This is despite the fact that the average Moscow worker then earned 1 ruble 48 kopecks a day.

In the Solodovnikovsky house there were 183 pre-furnished one-room apartments for families, each with an area of ​​16 to 21 square meter; on the floor there were 4 kitchens with cold and hot water, with separate tables for each family, with cold pantries, a Russian stove, rooms for drying outer clothes, and also a room for servants who cleaned the house; residents used a common library, a nursery, and a consumer shop.

It is known that, in accordance with Russian tradition, officials were the first to move into the “houses for the poor.” True, quite soon it was the turn of ordinary people - working people: workers, teachers, etc.

It must be said that Pyotr Gavrilovich himself was in no hurry and did not show zeal to say goodbye to his father’s millions. His polite correspondence with the Moscow authorities regarding the inheritance he left was long, many years and did not stop until 1917.

In 1918, houses and bank accounts were nationalized and Solodovnikov's charitable millions disappeared into the general money supply of the young revolutionary state. Soviet and public organizations. In the 30s, “Red Diamond” was occupied by “Rospotrebsoyuz”. There was a very cheap and high-quality canteen there, but ordinary people they were not allowed into it.

Yuri Stepanovich Nechaev-Maltsov

Yuri Stepanovich Nechaev-Maltsov (October 11 (23), 1834 - 1913) - Russian philanthropist, manufacturer, diplomat, owner glass factories, honorable Sir city ​​of Vladimir (1901), honorary member of the Moscow Archaeological Society, honorary member Imperial Academy arts (1902). Civil rank - Privy Councilor.

In 1880, at the age of 49, Yu. S. Nechaev received an inheritance from his uncle Ivan Sergeevich Maltsov (1807-1880), which included several factories and factories in various provinces of Russia, the largest of which was the Gusev Crystal Factory in the Vladimir region. Entering into inheritance rights, Yu. S. Nechaev also took the surname of his uncle (mother’s brother) and became Nechaev-Maltsov.

Uncle diplomat Ivan Maltsov was the only one who survived the massacre committed at the Russian embassy in Tehran, during which the diplomat-poet Alexander Griboyedov died. Having hated diplomacy, diplomat Maltsov continued the family business, setting up glass factories in the town of Gus: he brought the secret of colored glass from Europe and began producing profitable window glass. This entire crystal and glass empire, along with two mansions in the capital, painted by Vasnetsov and Aivazovsky, was received by the middle-aged bachelor official Nechaev.

The years lived in poverty left their mark: Nechaev-Maltsov was unusually stingy, but at the same time a terrible gourmet and gastronome. Professor Ivan Tsvetaev (Marina Tsvetaeva’s father) struck up a friendship with him (while eating delicacies at receptions, he sadly calculated how many building materials he could buy with the money spent on lunch), and then finally convinced him to give about 3 million, which was missing for the completion of the Moscow Museum of Fine Arts (Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts named after A.S. Pushkin) By the way - a million royal rubles - a little less than one and a half billion modern dollars!

Fourteen years of construction and orders for casts in different countries were a true epic in the life of I.V. Tsvetaev and his like-minded person - a major entrepreneur and philanthropist Yu.S. Nechaev-Maltsov, who paid all the expenses: for stone, for Italian and Russian workers, for the transportation of expensive casts from Europe to Russia. Suffice it to say that for cladding the walls of the museum building, Ural white marble, Italian marble from Carrara, dark pink marble from Hungary, light green marble from Belgium, black Norwegian marble, Finnish granite and other valuable colored stones were used, extraction and delivery which were paid for without complaint by Yu.S. Nechaev-Maltsov.

“...It was mainly masters from Italy who worked on marble. For granite - ours from Tver. I imagine this Babylon. Light, heavenly-colored eyes, so you can drown, residents of Tver, Vladimir, and dark-skinned Italians with black eyes...” Valeria Tsvetaeva.

In 1901 alone, 90 wagons of marble were delivered from the Urals to Moscow, and another 100 wagons were supposed to be sent from the same place the following year. Glass manufacturer, wealthy donor to the museum, Yu.S. Nechaev-Maltsov, unbeknownst to himself, became the main builder of the museum and supplier of expensive casts to the museum. Today it real role in the creation of the museum is clarified from the published extensive correspondence with I.V. Tsvetaev. Without Yu.S. Nechaev-Maltsov, the museum would have remained an empty dream of university professor I.V. Tsvetaev.

Surprisingly, the completion of the museum’s construction was also the beginning of the end for its creators: in September 1913, I.V. Tsvetaev died, and forty days after him, Yu.S. Nechaev-Maltsov. Having fulfilled their life's duty, they summed up an entire era when the idea, barely born, found real embodiment in the grandiose museum building that decorated Moscow.

“...And there was a quiet celebration of joy: it’s not dad who’s being given something now the mighty of the world this, and he gives everyone who is here now, all of Russia, the museum he created!..” (A. Tsvetaeva).

Not counting the museum (for which the sponsor received the title of Chief Chamberlain and the Order of Alexander Nevsky with diamonds), with the money of the “glass king” the Technical School named after I. S. Maltsov was founded - one of the best in Europe in terms of technical equipment (now the Vladimir Aviation Mechanical College ).

During the construction of the Historical Museum building in Vladimir, he donated glass for the manufacture of museum display cases.

He erected the majestic Church of St. George in the center of the city of Goose, which became known under him as Goose-Crystal, and in the village of Berezovka - the Church of Dmitry of Thessalonica in memory of the soldiers who fell in the Battle of Kulikovo. The temples were painted by V. M. Vasnetsov. Following the temple-monuments in Gus-Khrustalny, an almshouse named after I. S. Maltsov was built, and in Moscow, on Shabolovka 33, in 1906 a complex of a noble almshouse named after Yu. S. Nechaev-Maltsov was built.

In St. Petersburg, Yuri Stepanovich was a trustee of the Maritime Charitable Society, the Nikolaev Women's Hospital, the Sergius Orthodox Brotherhood, helped the House of Charity and Craft Education for Poor Children, and from 1910 was a trustee of the School of the Imperial Women's Patriotic Society named after Grand Duchess Catherine Mikhailovna.

For a long time he was a member of the Trustee Committee for the Sisters of the Red Cross, on the basis of which in 1893, under the patronage of Princess E. M. of Oldenburg, the Community of Sisters of Charity of St. Eugenia arose. Having become vice-president of the Community, he donated money for the construction under its auspices of two hospital pavilions and the building of the Shelter for Elderly Sisters of Mercy named after Emperor Alexander III. Financed the activities of medical institutions.

Nechaev-Maltsov was vice-chairman of the Society for the Encouragement of Arts and subsidized the magazine " Artistic treasures Russia", edited by Alexander Benois and Adrian Prakhov. Currently, the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia for the Northwestern Federal District is located in the St. Petersburg house of Yu. S. Nechaev-Maltsov.

According to the will of the childless Yu. S. Nechaev, his fortune in 1914 passed to his distant relative, Count P. N. Ignatiev. In 1918, the enterprises were nationalized.

Soldatenkov Kozma Terentievich

Kozma Soldatenkov is an entrepreneur and one of the largest Russian philanthropists. According to official data, he donated more than 5 million rubles.

Soldatenkov belonged to a dynasty of textile manufacturers, natives of the village of Prokunino, Kolomensky (then Bogorodsky) district of the Moscow province.

Kozma Soldatenkov began his charitable activities in the 1850s. By his order, in the village of Prokunino, benefits began to be issued in memory of his grandfather and grandmother: until 1917, each girl who got married and each recruit received 50 rubles. With this money, a rural girl could arrange a wedding for 20 people and prepare a dowry: a bed, bed linen, three or four dresses. And the soldier’s family, in the absence of their breadwinner son, had the opportunity to spend the allowance on material needs - repairing a hut, buying a horse or cow.

In 1866, the Almshouse of Commerce of Advisor K.T. opened in Moscow. Soldatenkov in memory of February 19, 1861. Being a descendant of serfs who bought their freedom, Soldatenkov immortalized the most important historical event in the name of the almshouse - the day of the abolition of serfdom. The merchant built the establishment with personal funds and maintained it for 30 years. In a two-story stone building (construction cost 60 thousand rubles) 100 people found shelter. Preference, according to the Charter, was given “permanent residents of the city and visitors of all classes and confessions, but mainly from former courtyard people.” Soldatenkov bequeathed 285 thousand rubles for the maintenance of the establishment.

In 1870–1882, Soldatenkov donated 1000 rubles annually. for the maintenance of the Nikolaev charity home for widows and orphans of the merchant class. With this money, residents were provided with improved food: poultry, game, veal, and red fish. In 1889–1900, he donated 10 thousand rubles. for the construction of the Alekseevskaya psychiatric hospital and 5 thousand rubles. for the construction of an almshouse for the city care of the poor in the Yauza part.

Soldatenkov is known not only as a businessman, but also as a book publisher. Over 45 years, more than 200 historical and works of art. Newspaper " Russian word"(dated May 20, 1901) noted that the merchant "spent a lot of money on the publication of major works."

Soldatenkov's great passion was collecting paintings. His collection consisted of 269 paintings by Russian and European artists, among them are paintings by Vasily Tropinin, Alexander Ivanov, Nikolai Ge, Sylvester Shchedrin, Ivan Aivazovsky, Pavel Fedotov. The merchant bequeathed the collection to the Rumyantsev Museum with the condition that it be placed “in a separate room with the name ... “Soldatenkovskaya”.” For decades, the generous philanthropist invested in the development of the Rumyantsev Museum and Moscow University.

Kozma Soldatenkov died in 1901. The newspaper “Russian Word” wrote: “The whole of Moscow knew the good-natured figure of an old man as white as a harrier with softly glowing intelligent eyes.”

From the Kuntsevo estate (in the 1860s, Soldatenkov bought it from the Naryshkins) to the Rogozhskoye cemetery, the coffin was carried in the hands of peasants, covering a distance of ten kilometers. The funeral service was attended by Moscow University professors Ivan Tsvetaev and Sergei Muromtsev, editor of Russian Vedomosti Vasily Sobolevsky, deputies of the Moscow City Duma from the eminent merchant class Savva Morozov, Pyotr Botkin, Vladimir Sapozhnikov. The weekly Iskra noted:

“The deceased was known as an ideological publisher, an outstanding financier and, most of all, as a person of remarkable moral qualities.”

The philanthropist bequeathed a significant part of his fortune to charitable purposes. So, 1.3 million rubles. Soldatenkov left the Moscow merchant society to create a vocational school “for free training therein for male children, without distinction of their condition or religion, in various crafts related to technical production.” 300 thousand went to the construction of the building, and 1 million rubles. amounted to untouchable capital, the interest from which supported the educational institution.

The school with electrical engineering and foundry departments for 320 students opened on November 1, 1909 in a three-story mansion on Donskaya Street (now the building houses the Faculty of Chemical Technology and Ecology of the Moscow State Textile Institute named after A.N. Kosygin). The duration of study was five years: the first two years taught general education subjects, the next three – special subjects.

More than 2 million rubles. Soldatenkov donated to the establishment of a free hospital for the poor “without distinction of rank, class and religion.” Soldatenkovskaya Hospital, as Muscovites called it, was opened on December 23, 1910.

The benefactor also left 100 thousand rubles. To the almshouse at the Rogozhskoe cemetery, 20 thousand rubles. Arnoldovsky School of the Deaf and Mutes, 85 thousand rubles. for scholarships and tuition fees for poor students at Moscow University, 40 thousand rubles. for scholarships for students of Moscow gymnasiums, 20 thousand rubles. for scientific prizes Russian Academy Sci. In total, the will mentions about 20 charitable, educational and medical institutions - recipients of assistance. The amount of donations amounted to 600 thousand rubles.

He was buried at the Rogozhskoe cemetery. IN Soviet years The grave of Kozma Terentyevich Soldatenkov, as well as the large tomb of the Old Believers merchants Soldatenkov, were destroyed.

In 1901, according to Soldatenkov’s will, his library (8 thousand volumes of books and 15 thousand copies of magazines), as well as a collection of Russian paintings (258 paintings and 17 sculptures) passed to the Rumyantsev Museum and, as a national treasure, was kept in a separate room with the name “Soldatenkovskaya”. After the closure of the Rumyantsev Museum in 1924, they replenished the funds of the Tretyakov Gallery and the Russian Museum. Some of the icons from his collection were bequeathed to the Intercession Cathedral of the Rogozhsky cemetery.

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Russian entrepreneurs of the 19th century approached their business differently than Western entrepreneurs. They considered it not so much a source of income as a mission that was entrusted to their shoulders by God or fate. In the merchant environment, it was believed that wealth should be used, so merchants were engaged in collecting and charity, which was considered by many as a destiny from above. Most entrepreneurs of those times were fairly honest businessmen who considered patronage almost their duty. It was thanks to patrons that museums and theaters, large temples and churches, as well as extensive collections of art monuments. At the same time, Russian philanthropists did not seek to make their business public; on the contrary, many helped people on the condition that their help would not be advertised in newspapers. Some patrons even refused their titles of nobility.

The Tretyakov brothers, Pavel Mikhailovich (1832-1898) and Sergei Mikhailovich (1834-1892). The fortune of these merchants was more than 8 million rubles, 3 of which they donated to art. The brothers owned the Great Kostroma Linen Manufactory. At the same time, Pavel Mikhailovich conducted business at the factories themselves, but Sergei Mikhailovich was in direct contact with foreign partners. This division was in perfect harmony with their characters. While the older brother was reserved and unsociable, the younger brother loved social gatherings and moving in public circles. Both Tretyakovs collected paintings, with Pavel preferring Russian painting, and Sergei preferring foreign, mainly modern French. When he left the post of Moscow city mayor, he was even glad that the need to hold official receptions had disappeared. After all, this made it possible to spend more on paintings. In total, Sergei Tretyakov spent about a million francs, or 400 thousand rubles, on painting. Already from their youth, the brothers felt the need to give a gift to their hometown. At the age of 28, Pavel decided to bequeath his fortune to the creation of an entire gallery of Russian art. Fortunately, his life turned out to be quite long; as a result, the businessman was able to spend more than a million rubles on purchasing paintings. And Pavel Tretyakov’s gallery, worth 2 million, and even real estate, was donated to the city of Moscow. The collection of Sergei Tretyakov was not so large - only 84 paintings, but it was estimated at half a million. He managed to bequeath his collection to his elder brother, and not to his wife. Sergei Mikhailovich feared that his wife would not want to part with the valuable collection. When in 1892 Moscow got Art Museum, then it was called the City Gallery of the brothers Pavel and Sergei Tretyakov. It is interesting that after Alexander III attended the meeting, he offered his elder brother the nobility. However, Pavel Mikhailovich refused such an honor, declaring that he wanted to die as a merchant. But Sergei Mikhailovich, who managed to become an actual state councilor, would clearly accept this proposal. In addition to the gallery's collection, the Tretyakovs maintained a school for the deaf and dumb, helped widows and orphans of painters, and supported the Moscow Conservatory and art schools. Using their own money and on their site in the center of the capital, the brothers created a passage to improve transport links in Moscow. Since then, the name Tretyakovskaya has been preserved in the name of both the gallery itself and the passage created by the merchants, which turned out to be a rarity for a country with a turbulent history.

Savva Ivanovich Mamontov (1841-1918). This bright personality in history national culture had a significant influence on her. It is difficult to say what exactly Mamontov donated, and it is quite difficult to calculate his fortune. Mamontov had a couple of houses in Moscow, Abramtsev’s estate, land on the Black Sea coast, roads, factories and millions of dollars in capital. Savva Ivanovich went down in history not just as a philanthropist, but also as a real builder of Russian culture. Mamontov was born into the family of a wine farmer who headed the Moscow-Yaroslavl Railway Society. The industrialist made his capital from the construction of railways. It was thanks to him that the road from Yaroslavl to Arkhangelsk, and then also to Murmansk, appeared. Thanks to Savva Mamontov, a port appeared in this city, and the road connecting the center of the country with the North saved Russia twice. First this happened during the First World War, and then during the Second. After all, almost all allied aid came to the USSR through Murmansk. Art was not alien to Mamontov; he himself was a good sculptor. The sculptor Matvey Antokolsky even considered him talented. They say that thanks to his excellent bass, Mamontov could become a singer; he even managed to make his debut at the Milanese opera. However, Savva Ivanovich never made it onto the stage or into school. But he was able to earn so much money that he was able to set up his own home theater and establish a private opera, the first in the country. There Mamontov acted as a director, conductor, and decorator, and also provided a voice for his artists. Having purchased the Abramtsevo estate, the businessman created the famous Mammoth circle, whose members constantly spent time visiting their wealthy patron. Chaliapin learned to play the Mamontov piano, and Vrubel wrote his “Demon” in the study of the patron of the arts. Savva the Magnificent made his estate near Moscow a real art colony. Workshops were built here, peasants were specially trained, and the “Russian” style was introduced in furniture and ceramics. Mamontov believed that people should be accustomed to beauty not only in churches, but also at train stations and on the streets. The millionaire was also sponsored by the World of Art magazine, as well as the Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow. Only now the art lover became so carried away by charity that he managed to get into debt. Mamontov received a rich order for the construction of another railway and took out a large loan as collateral for the shares. When it turned out that there was nothing to repay the 5 million, Savva Ivanovich ended up in Tagansk prison. His former friends turned away from him. In order to somehow pay off Mamontov’s debts, his rich collection of paintings and sculptures was sold for next to nothing at auction. The impoverished and aged philanthropist began to live at a ceramic workshop behind the Butyrskaya outpost, where he died unnoticed by everyone. Already in our time, a monument was erected to the famous philanthropist in Sergiev Posad, because here the Mamontovs laid the first short railway line specifically for transporting pilgrims to the Lavra. It is planned to erect four more monuments to the great man - in Murmansk, Arkhangelsk, on the Donetsk Railway and on Teatralnaya Square in Moscow.

Varvara Alekseevna Morozova (Khludova) (1850-1917). This woman owned a fortune of 10 million rubles, having donated more than a million to charity. And her sons Mikhail and Ivan became famous art collectors. When Varvara’s husband, Abram Abramovich, died, from him she inherited the Tver Manufactory Partnership at the age of 34. Having become the sole owner of large capital, Morozova began providing for the unfortunate. Of the 500 thousand that her husband allocated to her for benefits to the poor and the maintenance of schools and churches, 150 thousand went to a clinic for the mentally ill. After the revolution, the clinic named after A.A. Morozov was named after the psychiatrist Sergei Korsakov, another 150 thousand were donated to the Trade School for the Poor. The remaining investments were not so large - 10 thousand were received by the Rogozhsky Women's Primary School, the amounts were spent on rural and earthly schools, on shelters for the nervously ill. The Cancer Institute on Devichye Pole received the name of its patrons, the Morozovs. There was also a charitable institution in Tver, a sanatorium in Gagra for tuberculosis patients. Varvara Morozova was a member of many institutions. Trade schools and primary schools, hospitals, maternity hospitals and almshouses in Tver and Moscow were eventually named after her. In gratitude for the donation of 50 thousand rubles, the patron's name was engraved on the pediment of the Chemical Institute of the People's University. For the Prechistensky courses for workers in Kursovoy Lane, Morozova bought a three-story mansion, and she also paid for the Doukhobors to move to Canada. It was Varvara Alekseevna who financed the construction of the first free library-reading room named after Turgenev in Russia, opened in 1885, and then also helped to purchase necessary literature. The final point of Morozova’s charitable activities was her will. The factory owner, held up by Soviet propaganda as a model of money-grubbing, ordered all her assets to be transferred to securities, deposited in a bank, and the proceeds given to the workers. Unfortunately, they did not have time to appreciate all the kindness of their mistress - a month after her death the October Revolution happened.

Kuzma Terentyevich Soldatenkov (1818-1901). A wealthy merchant donated more than 5 million rubles to charity. Soldatenkov traded in paper yarn, he was a co-owner of the Tsindelevskaya, Danilovskaya, and Krenholmskaya textile factories, and also owned the Trekhgorny brewery and the Moscow accounting bank. Surprisingly, Kuzma Terentyevich himself grew up in an ignorant Old Believer family, not learning to read and write. WITH early years he was already standing behind the counter in his rich father's shop. But after the death of his parent, no one could stop Soldatenkov from quenching his thirst for knowledge. Course of lectures on ancient Russian history Timofey Granovsky himself read to him. He introduced Soldatenkov to the circle of Moscow Westerners, teaching him to do good deeds and sow Eternal values. A wealthy merchant invested in a non-profit publishing house, printing books for the common people at a loss. Even 4 years before Pavel Tretyakov, the merchant began to buy paintings. The artist Alexander Rizzoni said that if it were not for these two major patrons of the arts, there would simply be no one for Russian fine art masters to sell their works to. As a result, Soldatenkov’s collection included 258 paintings and 17 sculptures, as well as engravings and a library. The merchant was even nicknamed Kuzma Medici. He bequeathed his entire collection to the Rumyantsev Museum. For 40 years, Soldatenkov donated 1,000 rubles annually to this public museum. By donating his collection, the patron only asked that it be placed in separate rooms. The unsold books of his publishing house and the rights to them were donated to the city of Moscow. The philanthropist allocated another million rubles for the construction of a vocational school, and gave two million for the creation of a free hospital for the poor, where they would not pay attention to titles, classes and religions. As a result, the hospital was completed after the death of the sponsor; it was called Soldatenkovskaya, but in 1920 it was renamed Botkinskaya. The benefactor himself would hardly be upset upon learning this fact. The fact is that he was especially close to Botkin’s family.

Maria Klavdievna Tenisheva (1867-1928). The origin of this princess remains a mystery. According to one legend, her father could be Emperor Alexander II himself. Tenisheva tried to find herself in her youth - she got married early, gave birth to a daughter, began taking singing lessons in order to get on the professional stage, and began to draw. As a result, Maria came to the conclusion that the purpose of her life was charity. She divorced and remarried, this time to a prominent businessman, Prince Vyacheslav Nikolaevich Tenishev. He was nicknamed the “Russian American” for his business acumen. Most likely, the marriage was one of convenience, because only in this way could a girl raised in an aristocratic family, but illegitimate, get a firm place in society. After Maria Tenisheva became the wife of a wealthy entrepreneur, she devoted herself to her calling. The prince himself was also a famous philanthropist, having founded the Tenishev School in St. Petersburg. True, he still fundamentally helped the most cultured representatives of society. While her husband was still alive, Tenisheva organized drawing classes in St. Petersburg, where one of the teachers was Ilya Repin, and she also opened a drawing school in Smolensk. In her Talashkino estate, Maria opened an “ideological estate.” An agricultural school was created there, where ideal farmers were trained. And in handicraft workshops masters of decorative and applied arts were trained. Thanks to Tenisheva, the “Russian Antiquity” museum appeared in the country, which became the country’s first museum of ethnography and Russian decorative and applied arts. A special building was even built for him in Smolensk. However, the peasants, for which the princess cared well, thanked her in their own way. The prince's body, embalmed for a hundred years and buried in three coffins, was simply thrown into a pit in 1923. Tenisheva herself, who ran the magazine “World of Art” with Savva Mamontov, who gave funds to Diaghilev and Benois, lived out her last years in exile in France. There she, not yet old, took up enamel art.

Yuri Stepanovich Nechaev-Maltsov (1834-1913). This nobleman donated a total of about 3 million rubles. At the age of 46, he unexpectedly became the owner of an entire network of glass factories. He received them from his diplomat uncle Ivan Maltsev. He turned out to be the only one who survived the memorable massacre at the Russian embassy in Iran (Alexander Griboyedov was killed at the same time). As a result, the diplomat became disillusioned with his profession and decided to take up the family business. In the town of Gus, Ivan Maltsev created a network of glass factories. For this purpose, the secret of colored glass was obtained in Europe; with its help, the industrialist began to produce very profitable window glass. As a result, this entire glass and crystal empire, along with two rich houses in the capital, painted by Aivazovsky and Vasnetsov, was inherited by the middle-aged, already single, official Nechaev. Along with his wealth, he also received a double surname. The years lived in poverty left an indelible mark on Nechaev-Maltsev. He was known as a very stingy person, allowing himself to be spent only on gourmet food. Professor Ivan Tsvetaev, the father of the future poetess, became a friend of the rich man. During rich feasts, he sadly calculated how many building materials could be bought with the money spent by the gourmet. Over time, Tsvetaev managed to convince Nechaev-Maltsev to allocate 3 million rubles required to complete the construction of the Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow. It is interesting that the philanthropist himself did not seek fame. On the contrary, for the entire 10 years that construction was underway, he acted anonymously. The millionaire went to unimaginable expenses. So, 300 workers he hired mined special white frost-resistant marble right in the Urals. When it turned out that no one in the country could make 10-meter columns for the portico, Nechaev-Maltsev paid for the services of a Norwegian steamship. Thanks to a patron of the arts, skilled stonemasons were brought from Italy. For his contribution to the construction of the museum, the modest Nechaev-Maltsev received the title of Chief Chamberlain and the Diamond Order of Alexander Nevsky. But the “glass king” invested not only in the museum. With his money, a Technical School appeared in Vladimir, an almshouse on Shabolovka, and a church in memory of the murdered on Kulikovo Field. For the centennial anniversary of the Museum of Fine Arts in 2012, the Shukhov Tower Foundation proposed to give the institution the name of Yuri Stepanovich Nechaev-Maltsov instead of Pushkin. However, the renaming never took place, but a memorial plaque appeared on the building in honor of the philanthropist.

Alexander Ludwigovich Stieglitz (1814-1884). This baron and banker was able to donate 6 million from his fortune of 100 million rubles to good causes. Stieglitz was the richest man in the country in the second third of the 19th century. He inherited his title of court banker, along with capital, from his father, the Russified German Stieglitz, who received the title of baron for his services. Alexander Ludvigovich strengthened his position by acting as an intermediary, thanks to whom Emperor Nicholas I was able to conclude agreements on external loans for 300 million rubles. Alexander Stieglitz in 1857 became one of the founders of the Main Society of Russian Railways. In 1860, Stieglitz was appointed director of the newly created State Bank. The baron liquidated his company and began to live on interest, borrowing luxury mansion on the Promenade des Anglais. The capital itself brought Stieglitz 3 million rubles a year. Big money did not make the baron sociable; they say that even the barber who cut his hair for 25 years never heard the voice of his client. The millionaire's modesty took on painful traits. It was Baron Stieglitz who was behind the construction of the Peterhof, Baltic and Nikolaevskaya (later Oktyabrskaya) railways. However, the banker remained in history not for his financial assistance to the tsar and not for the construction of roads. His memory remains largely due to charity. The Baron allocated impressive sums for the construction of the Technical Drawing School in St. Petersburg, its maintenance and museum. Alexander Ludvigovich himself was no stranger to art, but his life was devoted to making money. The adopted daughter’s husband, Alexander Polovtsev, managed to convince the banker that the country’s growing industry needed “scientific draftsmen.” As a result, thanks to Stieglitz, a school named after him and the country’s first museum of decorative and applied arts appeared (the best part of its collections was eventually transferred to the Hermitage). Polovtsev himself, who was Alexander III's Secretary of State, believed that the country would be happy when merchants began to donate money to education without the selfish hope of receiving a government award or preferences. Thanks to his wife’s inheritance, Polovtsev was able to publish 25 volumes of the Russian Biographical Dictionary, but because of the Revolution this good deed was never completed. Now the former Stieglitz School of Technical Drawing is called Mukhinsky, and the marble monument to the philanthropist baron was thrown out of it long ago.

Gavrila Gavrilovich Solodovnikov (1826-1901). This merchant became the author of the largest donation in Russian history. His fortune was about 22 million rubles, 20 of which Solodovnikov spent on the needs of society. Gavrila Gavrilovich was born into the family of a paper merchant. The future millionaire was introduced to business from childhood, so he never really learned to write or express his thoughts. But at the age of 20, Solodovnikov had already become a merchant of the first guild, and at the age of 40 he earned his first million. The businessman became famous for his extreme prudence and frugality. They say that he did not hesitate to eat yesterday's porridge and ride in a carriage without tires on the wheels. Solodovnikov conducted his affairs, albeit not entirely cleanly, but he calmed his conscience by drawing up a well-known will - almost the entire merchant’s fortune went to charity. The patron made the first contribution to the construction of the Moscow Conservatory. A contribution of 200 thousand rubles was enough to build a luxurious marble staircase. Through the efforts of the merchant, a concert hall with a theater stage was built on Bolshaya Dmitrovka, where ballets and extravaganzas could be staged. Today it has become the Operetta Theater, and then it housed the Private Opera of another philanthropist, Savva Mamontov. Solodovnikov wanted to become a nobleman, for this he decided to build a useful institution in Moscow. Thanks to the philanthropist, a Clinic for Skin and Venereal Diseases appeared in the city, equipped with all the most interesting things. Today, its premises house the Moscow Medical Academy named after I.M. Sechenov. At that time, the name of the benefactor was not reflected in the name of the clinic. According to the merchant's will, his heirs were left with about half a million rubles, while the remaining 2,014,7700 rubles were spent on good causes. But at the current exchange rate this amount would be about 9 billion dollars! A third of the capital went to the development of zemstvo women's schools in a number of provinces, the other third to the creation of vocational schools and a shelter for homeless children in the Serpukhov district, and the remaining part to the construction of houses with cheap apartments for poor and lonely people. Thanks to the will of the philanthropist, in 1909 the first “Free Citizen” house with 1,152 apartments for single people appeared on 2nd Meshchanskaya Street, and the “Red Diamond” house with 183 apartments for families was built there. With the houses came the features of communes - a store, a dining room, a laundry, a bathhouse and a library. On the ground floor of the house there was a nursery and kindergarten for families; the rooms were offered with furniture. Only officials were the first to move into such comfortable apartments “for the poor.”

Margarita Kirillovna Morozova (Mamontova) (1873-1958). This woman was related to both Savva Mamontov and Pavel Tretyakov. Margarita was called the first beauty of Moscow. Already at the age of 18, she married Mikhail Morozov, the son of another famous philanthropist. At 30, Margarita, pregnant with her fourth child, became a widow. She herself preferred not to deal with the affairs of the factory, whose co-owner was her husband. Morozova breathed art. She took music lessons from composer Alexander Scriabin, whom for a long time financially supported him to give him the opportunity to create and not be distracted by everyday life. In 1910, Morozova donated the art collection of her deceased husband to the Tretyakov Gallery. A total of 83 paintings were transferred, including works by Gauguin, Van Gogh, Monet, Manet, Munch, Toulouse-Lautrec, Renoir, and Perov. Kramskoy, Repin, Benois, Levitan and others). Margarita financed the work of the publishing house “Put”, which until 1919 published about fifty books, mainly on the topic of religion and philosophy. Thanks to the philanthropist, the magazine “Questions of Philosophy” and the socio-political newspaper “Moscow Weekly” were published. On her Mikhailovskoye estate in the Kaluga province, Morozova transferred part of the land to the teacher Shatsky, who organized the first children's colony here. And the landowner supported this establishment financially. And during the First World War, Morozova turned her house into a hospital for the wounded. The revolution destroyed both her life and her family. The son and two daughters ended up in exile, only Mikhail remained in Russia, the same Mika Morozov, whose portrait Serov painted. The factory owner herself lived out her days in poverty on summer cottage in Lianozovo. Personal pensioner Margarita Kirillovna Morozova received a separate room in a new building from the state several years before her death.

Savva Timofeevich Morozov (1862-1905). This philanthropist donated about 500 thousand rubles. Morozov managed to become a model of a modern businessman - he studied chemistry at Cambridge, and studied textile production in Liverpool and Manchester. Returning from Europe to Russia, Savva Morozov headed the Nikolskaya Manufactory Partnership, named in his honor. The managing director and main shareholder of this enterprise remained the industrialist's mother, Maria Fedorovna, whose capital was 30 million rubles. Morozov's progressive thinking said that thanks to the revolution, Russia would be able to catch up and overtake Europe. He even drew up his own program of social and political reforms, which aimed to transition the country to a constitutional regime of government. Morozov insured himself for the amount of 100 thousand rubles, and issued the policy to bearer, transferring it to his favorite actress Andreeva. There, in turn, she transferred most of the funds to the revolutionaries. Because of his love for Andreeva, Morozov supported the Art Theater; he was paid a 12-year lease for premises in Kamergersky Lane. At the same time, the contribution of the patron was equal to the contributions of the main shareholders, which included the owner of the gold-canvas manufactory Alekseev, known as Stanislavsky. The reconstruction of the theater building cost Morozov 300 thousand rubles - a huge amount for those times. And this despite the fact that the architect Fyodor Shekhtel, the author of the Moscow Art Theater Seagull, did the project completely free of charge. Thanks to Morozov’s money, the most modern stage equipment was ordered abroad. In general, lighting equipment first appeared in the Russian theater here. In total, the patron spent about 500 thousand rubles on the Moscow Art Theater building with a bronze bas-relief on the facade in the form of a drowning swimmer. As already mentioned, Morozov sympathized with the revolutionaries. Among his friends was Maxim Gorky, and Nikolai Bauman was hiding in the industrialist’s palace on Spiridonovka. Morozov helped deliver illegal literature to the factory, where the future People's Commissar Leonid Krasin served as an engineer. After a wave of revolutionary uprisings in 1905, the industrialist demanded that his mother transfer the factories to his complete subordination. However, she achieved the removal of her obstinate son from business and sent him with his wife and personal doctor to Cote d'Azur. Savva Morozov committed suicide there, although the circumstances of his death turned out to be strange.

I. Kramskoy "Portrait of P. M. Tretyakov"

Domestic philanthropy is a unique phenomenon. And if we consider that Russia is now going through difficult times, then the issue of patronage can be considered relevant.

Nowadays, culture is in a difficult situation; not only provincial libraries and theaters need support, but even famous, world-famous museums and other cultural institutions.

Patrons founded factories, built railways, opened schools, hospitals, orphanages... To talk in detail about everyone, you need the format of not an article, but a whole book, and more than one. We will focus only on some names.

But first, about the term “philanthropy” itself. The Russian synonym is the concept of “charity”. But where did borrowing come to us?

History of the term "philanthropy"

Maecenas- a person who helps the development of science and art free of charge and provides them with material assistance from personal funds. The common name “patron” comes from the name of the Roman Gaius Cilnius Maecenas (Mecenata), who was a patron of the arts under Emperor Octavian Augustus.

Bust of Maecenas in one of the parks in Ireland

Guy Tsilny Maecenas(c. 70 BC - 8 BC) - ancient Roman statesman and patron of the arts. A personal friend of Octavian Augustus and a kind of minister of culture under him. The name of Maecenas as a fan of fine arts and patron of poets became a household name.

During the civil war in the Roman Empire, he arranged the reconciliation of the warring parties, and after the end of the war, during Octavian’s absence, he conducted state affairs, was free from sycophancy and ingratiation, boldly expressed his views and even sometimes restrained Octavian from imposing death sentences. The poets of that time found a patron in him: he helped Virgil return the estate that had been taken from him, and gave his estate to Horace. He died, mourned by the whole people, and not just by his friends.

F. Bronnikov "Horace reads his poems to Maecenas"

However, charity in Russia is not such a rare thing. This system of donation began to take shape with the adoption of Christianity in Rus': after all, the first almshouses and hospitals began to be built at monasteries, and the majority of patrons of the 19th century came from the merchant Old Believer environment. P. A. Buryshkin, a researcher of the Moscow merchants, believed that merchants used their labor and income “they looked not only as a source of profit, but as the fulfillment of a task, a kind of mission assigned by God or fate. They said about wealth that God gave it for use and would demand an account for it, which was partly expressed in the fact that it was in the merchant environment that both charity and collecting were unusually developed, which were looked upon as the fulfillment of some divinely appointed task ». Period XVIII-XIX centuries. gave Russia so many benefactors that it is called the “golden” age of philanthropy. There are especially many such monuments to human mercy in Moscow. For example, Golitsyn Hospital.

Golitsyn Hospital

City Clinical Hospital No. 1 named after. N.I. Pirogov

Golitsyn Hospital was opened in Moscow in 1802 as a “hospital for the poor.” Currently this is the Golitsyn building of the First City Clinical Hospital.

The Golitsyn hospital was built according to the design of the architect Matvey Fedorovich Kazakov using funds bequeathed by Prince Dmitry Mikhailovich Golitsyn “for the establishment in the capital city of Moscow of an institution pleasing to God and useful to people.” When developing the project, Kazakov used the principle of an urban estate. The prince's cousin, the actual privy councilor, Chief Chamberlain Alexander Mikhailovich Golitsyn, was directly in charge of the construction.

Opened in 1802, it became the third hospital in Moscow of the civil department. Representatives of all segments of the population, except for serfs, were admitted to the Golitsyn hospital for free treatment - “...both Russians and foreigners, of every gender, rank, religion and nationality.”

In 1802, the hospital had 50 beds, and in 1805 - already 100. Additionally, in 1803, an almshouse for incurable patients with 30 beds was opened at the hospital. Christian Ivanovich Tsinger served as the hospital manager for many years. During the Patriotic War of 1812, when Moscow was occupied by Napoleon's troops, he remained alone in the hospital and managed to prevent its looting, and also saved the hospital money left for his safekeeping. For conscientious service, Christian Ivanovich Tsinger received the title of hereditary nobleman.

And now a little about whose funds this hospital was built.

Dmitry Mikhailovich Golitsyn (1721-1793)

A. Brown "Portrait of Prince Dmitry Mikhailovich Golitsyn"

Prince Dmitry Mikhailovich Golitsyn- Russian officer and diplomat from the Golitsyn family. In 1760-1761 Acted as ambassador in Paris, and then was sent as ambassador to Vienna, where he played a major role in improving relations between the Russian court and Emperor Joseph II. He was one of the first among Russians to become interested in collecting paintings by old masters (artists of Western Europe who worked before the beginning of the 18th century).

D. M. Golitsyn was famous philanthropist. He bequeathed 850 thousand rubles, income from two estates of 2 thousand souls and his art gallery to the construction and maintenance of a hospital in Moscow. His will was carried out by his cousin, Prince A.M. Golitsyn. Until 1917, the hospital was maintained at the expense of the Golitsyn princes, and then by the will of D.M. Golitsyn was violated by subsequent heirs - the sale of his gallery.

He died in Vienna, but his body, at the request of his relatives and with the highest permission, was transported to Moscow in 1802, where he was buried in a crypt under the church of the Golitsyn Hospital.

True patrons of the arts never sought to advertise their activities; rather, on the contrary. Often, when carrying out a major charity event, they hid their names. It is known that Savva Morozov, for example, rendered great help in the founding of the Art Theater, but at the same time set the condition that his name should not be mentioned anywhere. Our next story is about Savva Timofeevich Morozov.

Savva Timofeevich Morozov (1862-1905)

Savva Timofeevich Morozov

He came from an Old Believer merchant family. He graduated from high school, and then from the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of Moscow University and received a diploma in chemistry. I talked with D. Mendeleev and wrote it myself research work about dyes. He also studied at Cambridge University, where he studied chemistry, and then in Manchester - textiles. He was the director of the Partnership of the Nikolskaya Manufactory “Savva Morozov’s Son and Co.” He owned cotton fields in Turkestan and several other partnerships, where he was a shareholder or director. He was constantly involved in charity: in his factories he introduced maternity pay for working women, and awarded scholarships to young people studying in the country and abroad. It is known that at his enterprises the workers were more literate and educated. He also helped needy students at Moscow University.

In 1898, he became a member of the Partnership for the establishment of a theater in Moscow and regularly made large donations for the construction and development of the Moscow Art Theater, and initiated the construction of a new theater building. The most modern equipment for the stage was ordered abroad with his money (lighting equipment in the domestic theater first appeared here). Savva Morozov spent about half a million rubles on the Moscow Art Theater building with a bronze bas-relief on the facade in the form of a drowning swimmer.

Unfortunately, connections with the revolutionary movement, as well as personal circumstances, led S.T. Morozov to premature death.

The Bakhrushin family in Moscow was called “professional philanthropists.” In 1882, the Bakhrushins donated 450,000 rubles to the city for the construction of a hospital. This action marked the beginning of a whole series of similar charities. And the family’s total donations (large ones only) amounted to more than 3.5 million rubles.

The Bakhrushin family had a tradition at the end of the year, if it was financially prosperous, to allocate a certain amount to help the poor, sick, and students. They carried out charitable activities both in Zaraysk, where their parents were from, and in Moscow. According to the memoirs of contemporaries, the Bakhrushin family never gravitated towards luxury. A free hospital with two hundred beds for the terminally ill, a city orphanage and a shelter for village children from poor families, a free house where needy widows with children and female students lived, kindergartens, schools, free canteens and dormitories for female students - this is far from complete a list of their benefactors. Vasily Alekseevich wrote a will, according to which five universities (Moscow University, Moscow Theological Academy and Seminary, Academy of Commercial Sciences and a men's gymnasium) received money for scholarships for students. Four theaters, including the Korsh Theater, were built partly with the money of the Bakhrushins.

Alexey Alexandrovich Bakhrushin (1865-1929)

Alexey Alexandrovich Bakhrushin

Merchant, philanthropist, famous collector, founder of the famous theater museum, which he donated to the Academy of Sciences in 1913.

A. Bakhrushin graduated from a private gymnasium and took up the family business - “Partnership of leather and cloth manufactory Alexey Bakhrushin and Sons.” But gradually he became interested in collecting and retired. Under the influence of his cousin, Alexei Petrovich Bakhrushin, he became a collector, and his interest in theatrical antiquities did not immediately awaken. Posters, programs for performances, photographic portraits of actors, sketches of costumes, personal belongings of artists - all this was collected in Bakhrushin’s house and became his passion. His son recalled that they laughed at Bakhrushin: “People around him looked at this as a whim of a rich tyrant, mocked him, offered to buy a button from Mochalov’s trousers or Shchepkin’s boots.” But this passion gradually took shape into a serious hobby, and on October 29, 1894, Bakhrushin presented an entire exhibition to the public. It was this day that Bakhrushin considered the founding day of the Moscow Literary and Theater Museum. He tried to most fully present the history of Russian theater from its very origins. He organized “Bakhrushin Saturdays,” which were very popular among actors and theatergoers. A. Yuzhin, A. Lensky, M. Ermolova, G. Fedotova, F. Shalyapin, L. Sobinov, K. Stanislavsky, V. Nemirovich-Danchenko visited him. Soon a tradition arose of not coming empty-handed. For example, the star of the Maly Theater Glikeria Nikolaevna Fedotova presented Bakhrushin with all the gifts that she had accumulated over the years of her stage life. His collection, which gradually became extensive and diverse, had three sections - literary, dramatic and musical.

Over time, A.A. Bakhrushin began to think about the fate of his wealth. He really wanted all of Moscow to have access to them. But when he proposed to transfer his museum to the ownership of the Moscow city government, the city leaders, as soon as they heard about it, began to brush it off in every possible way: “What are you talking about?! The Tretyakov and Soldenko meetings and I have suffered enough grief. And here you are with yours! Excuse me, for Christ’s sake!..”

His son, Yu.A. Bakhrushin recalled: “My father was in despair - the huge collection, which even then cost hundreds of thousands, offered free to government institutions, turned out to be of no use to anyone. It turned out to be impossible to break the bureaucratic inertia.” Interested unique collection only the Academy of Sciences. It took four years to settle the formalities, and only in November 1913 did the transfer of the museum to the Academy of Sciences take place.

Theater Museum named after A.A. Bakhrushin

Russian patrons of the arts were educated people, so they tried to develop priority branches of domestic science, open galleries and museums to educate the country's population, help in the construction of theaters...

In this regard, we may recall Tretyakov Gallery, Shchukin and Morozov collections of modern French painting, Moscow private opera S.I. Mamontov, Moscow private opera S.I. Zimin, the already mentioned Moscow Art Theater, the Museum of Fine Arts, for the construction of which the factory owner, large landowner Yu.S. Nechaev-Maltsov spent more than 2 million rubles, Philosophical and Archaeological Institutes, Morozov Clinics, Commercial Institute, Alekseev, Morozov Trade Schools, etc. Let's look at at least one example.

Moscow Private Russian Opera (Mamontov Opera)

Savva Mamontov supported this endeavor financially and morally. At first, the private opera troupe consisted of Italian and Russian singers, among whom were F. Chaliapin and N. Zabela, and the scenery and costumes were created by M. Vrubel. The years of Chaliapin's performances at the Mamontov Opera (he remained a soloist for four seasons - from 1896 to 1899) saw the rise of his artistic career. Chaliapin himself noted the importance of this time: “From Mamontov I received the repertoire that gave me the opportunity to develop all the main features of my artistic nature, my temperament”. Mamontov's patronage made it possible for Chaliapin's talent to fully reveal itself. The singer himself said: “S.I. Mamontov told me: “Fedenka, you can do whatever you want in this theater! If you need costumes, tell me and there will be costumes. If we need to stage a new opera, we’ll stage an opera! All this dressed my soul in festive clothes, and for the first time in my life I felt free, strong, able to overcome all obstacles.”

Savva Ivanovich Mamontov (1841-1918)

I. Repin "Portrait of S.I. Mamontov"

S.I. Mamontov was born into a wealthy merchant family. He graduated from high school, and then entered St. Petersburg University, later transferred to Moscow University, where he studied at the Faculty of Law. Mamontov’s father was engaged in the construction of railways, but his son was not attracted to this occupation, he was more interested in theater, although at the insistence of his father he had to delve into the family business, the construction of railways, and after the death of his father, take the post of director of the Moscow-Yaroslavl Railway Society. At the same time, he actively supported different kinds creative activity, made new acquaintances with artists, helped cultural organizations, and organized home performances. In 1870, Mamontov and his wife bought the estate of the writer S.T. Aksakov in Abramtsevo, it later becomes the center artistic life Russia.

Abramtsevo Estate

Russian artists I.E. lived and worked here for a long time. Repin, M.M. Antokolsky, V.M. Vasnetsov, V. A. Serov, M. A. Vrubel, M. V. Nesterov, V. D. Polenov and E. D. Polenova, K. A. Korovin, as well as musicians (F. I. Chaliapin and others) . Mamontov provided significant support to many artists, including financial support, but was not involved in collecting activities.

However, in the 1890s, Savva Mamontov became bankrupt. Of course, not without the “help” of the state and the intrigues of interested parties (Director of the International Bank A. Yu. Rotshtein and Minister of Justice N. V. Muravyov). Mamontov was arrested and put in Taganskaya prison, his property was described. Despite all the efforts of Mamontov's friends and the positive opinion of the workers, he spent several months in prison. The release of Savva Mamontov was deliberately prevented by N.V. Muravyov, who purposefully searched for information about Mamontov’s abuses, but could not find anything.

In prison, Mamontov sculpted sculptures of guards from memory. The famous lawyer F.N. Plevako defended Savva Mamontov in court, witnesses said only good things about him, the investigation established that he did not embezzle money. The jury acquitted him, after which the courtroom erupted in applause.

Yaroslavl. Opening of the monument to Savva Mamontov

S. Mamontov's property was sold out almost completely, many valuable works went into private hands. The railway became state property at a cost significantly lower than the market value; part of the shares went to other entrepreneurs, including Witte’s relatives.

All debts were paid off. But Mamontov lost money and reputation and was no longer able to engage in entrepreneurial activity. Until the end of his life, he retained his love for art and the love of his old friends - artists and musicians.

Savva Ivanovich Mamontov died in April 1918 and was buried in Abramtsevo.

Varvara Alekseevna Morozova (Khludova) (1848-1918)

Varvara Alekseevna Morozova

In memory of her husband Abram Abramovich Morozov, she built a psychiatric clinic on Devichye Pole, which, together with the purchased plot of land, was transferred to Moscow University, marking the beginning of the creation of the Clinical Town on Devichye Pole. The cost of construction and equipment of the clinic amounted to more than 500,000 rubles, a huge amount of money at that time. The construction of the clinic was one of its first charitable activities. Somewhat earlier, during the life of her first husband, Varvara Alekseevna established an elementary school and craft classes at them. Initially, the school was located in the house of A. A. Morozov on Bolshaya Alekseevskaya Street, but later moved to a new, special building built for it, on a site specially acquired for it in 1899, donated to the city in 1901. This school was one of the first vocational schools in Moscow. The buildings of the Rogozh girls' and men's primary schools were also built at the expense of V. A. Morozova.

V. A. Morozova made a great contribution to the creation of educational institutions: Prechistensky Work Courses and the City People's University named after. A. L. Shanyavsky. He received 50 thousand rubles from V.A. Morozova. Thanks to her participation and active assistance, a dormitory was built for students of the Imperial Technical School. In 1885, V. A. Morozova founded the first free public reading room in Moscow named after. I. S. Turgenev, designed for 100 readers and had a rich book fund. She donated significant funds to the needs of Moscow University. At her factory there was a hospital, a maternity hospital, and a trade school for child workers.

Mikhail Abramovich Morozov (1870-1903)

V. Serov "Portrait of M.A. Morozov"

The largest philanthropist of his time. With his funds, the Institute of Malignant Tumors was established (currently the building houses the Moscow Scientific Research Institute of Oncology named after P. A. Herzen), and the hall of Greek sculpture in the Museum of Fine Arts. Various amounts were allocated to the conservatory and the Stroganov School to support young artists, performers and musicians. In the collection of M.A. Morozov read 60 icons, 10 sculptures and about 100 paintings, including works by contemporary French and Russian artists.

M.A. Morozov is the successor of the Morozov dynasty of patrons of the arts, merchant, entrepreneur, collector of Western European and Russian paintings and sculptures. He is the eldest son of the famous Moscow merchant Abram Abramovich Morozov and Varvara Alekseevna Morozova (Khludova), the elder brother of the collector and philanthropist Ivan Abramovich Morozov, the husband of the famous philanthropist and hostess of the Moscow literary and musical salon Margarita Kirillovna Morozova, the father of Mikhail Mikhailovich Morozov (Mika Morozov), a scientist -Shakespeare scholar and pianist Maria Mikhailovna Morozova (Fiedler). Hereditary honorary citizen. Director of the Tver Manufactory Partnership, member of the Moscow City Duma, honorary justice of the peace, chairman of the merchant meeting, collegiate assessor. Director of the Russian Musical Society.

Ivan Abramovich Morozov (1871-1921)

V. Serov "Portrait of I.A. Morozov"

Replenished M.A., who passed on after his brother. Morozov collection of a large number of paintings by impressionists and post-impressionists. After the revolution, the collection was nationalized and on its basis the II Museum of New Western Art was organized (the I Museum was the Shchukin collection). In 1940, the collection was partially disbanded into the Museum fine arts, partly to the Hermitage. For example, his collection included the famous painting by P. Picasso “Girl on a Ball” ».

P. Picasso "Girl on a Ball"

Pyotr Ivanovich Shchukin (1857-1912)

Petr Ivanovich Shchukin

He collected and donated to the state a collection that formed the basis of the collection of the Historical Museum. Until the end of his life he remained the curator of the museum and continued to bear all expenses, pay salaries to employees and replenish the museum’s funds.

Sergei Ivanovich Shchukin (1854-1936)

D. Melnikov "Portrait of S.I. Shchukin"

Moscow merchant and art collector, whose collection marked the beginning of the collections of French modernist painting in the Hermitage and the State Museum of Fine Arts. A.S. Pushkin.

He collected a rich collection of paintings of modern Western painting, recognized years later as masterpieces of world art. According to his will, he donated his collection to the state.

E. Degas "Blue Dancers"

Shchukin bought paintings according to his taste, preferring the impressionists, and then the post-impressionists. Shchukin managed to collect the best examples of contemporary French art. He confessed to his daughter: “If you experience a psychological shock after seeing a painting, buy it”. In the collection of S.I. Shchukin had, for example, the painting “Blue Dancers” by E. Degas, as well as paintings by Monet, Picasso, Gauguin, Cezanne.

Fyodor Pavlovich Ryabushinsky (1886–1910)

F. Chumakov "Portrait of F.P. Ryabushinsky"

From a family of Russian industrialists and bankers. He was a passionate traveler and became interested in geography, an interest in which led him to the idea of ​​organizing a scientific expedition to Kamchatka. With his plan, F. P. Ryabushinsky turned to several scientific institutions in Moscow and St. Petersburg, but did not find support from them. Only the Russian Geographical Society agreed to participate in its implementation.

At his expense, the expedition was carried out in 1908–1910. and named after him.

Organizational issues of the expedition were resolved by F. P. Ryabushinsky with scientists: oceanographer Yu. M. Shokalsky and cartographer P. P. Semenov-Tyan-Shansky. F. P. Ryabushinsky took over the financing of the expedition. He himself wanted to participate in it, but his illness did not allow him to do this. In 1910, he died of tuberculosis, but bequeathed to his relatives to see the expedition to the end.

Yuri Stepanovich Nechaev-Maltsov (1834–1913)

I. Kramskoy "Portrait of Yu.S. Nechaev-Maltsov"

At the age of 46, Nechaev-Maltsov unexpectedly became the owner of an empire of glass factories, having received it by will. His uncle, diplomat Ivan Maltsov, was the only one in Tehran who survived the events at the Russian embassy in Tehran, when the poet-diplomat Alexander Sergeevich Griboyedov died. Maltsov left diplomacy and continued the family business: glass production in the town of Gus. He brought the secret of colored glass from Europe and began producing profitable window glass. This entire crystal and glass empire, along with two mansions in the capital, painted by Vasnetsov and Aivazovsky, was given to the middle-aged bachelor official Nechaev, and with them a double surname.

Professor Ivan Tsvetaev (father of Marina Tsvetaeva), who was organizing the Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow, met him and convinced him to give 3 million for the completion of the Museum.

Yu.S. Nechaev-Maltsov not only did not want fame, but throughout the 10 years while the Museum was being created, he maintained anonymity. 300 workers hired by Nechaev-Maltsov mined white marble of special frost resistance in the Urals, and when it turned out that 10-meter columns for the portico could not be made in Russia, they chartered a steamship in Norway. From Italy he ordered skilled stonemasons.

With his money, a Technical School in Vladimir, an almshouse on Shabolovka and a church in memory of those killed on the Kulikovo Field were founded.

Entrance to St. George's Cathedral, donated by Yu. S. Nechaev-Maltsov to the city of Gus-Khrustalny

A philanthropist is a person who, from personal motives and on a voluntary basis, contributes to the development of science and art, namely, sponsors the activities of outstanding personalities and financially patronizes museums, galleries, research centers and similar institutions. World and National history knows many examples of such selfless individuals. However, the time period from the 19th to the 20th century deserves special attention, because during this period there was a real flourishing of philanthropy in Russia.

About the causes of the phenomenon

The tradition of taking temples, hospitals, theaters, schools under one’s care, or showing mercy towards individual artists, scientists, dancers, etc. began its rapid revival in the Russian Empire in the 17th century, reaching an unprecedented rise by the 2nd half of the 19th century . The main representatives of the movement were wealthy merchants, who, unlike their Western colleagues, had less commercial spirit, but more faith in mission, destiny and God.

The man of the 1800s regarded his business, which in modern times would be called “business,” as a destiny prescribed from above, and therefore performed it conscientiously and honestly (although there were, of course, sometimes exceptions to this rule). Patronage began to be considered almost an obligation in the business community - then it did not so much give status as it helped to find spiritual harmony and pay tribute to the Lord for helping to earn such impressive sums. It was considered normal to save money for oneself, but it was considered much more worthy to use wealth for practical purposes aimed at the benefit of the whole society.

Interesting fact! The famous philanthropists of the world would not have received their name if it were not for one Roman who lived from 70 BC. to 8 AD and served as patron of the arts. The name of this wise and straightforward man, once close to the Emperor Octavian Augustus himself, is Gaius Cilnius Maecenas. It was in his honor that later they began to name all merciful donors on Earth.

Alexander Ludvigovich (1814-1884), who belonged to the “caste” of bankers and had a fortune of 100,000,000 rubles, gave over 6,000,000 to various charitable events. He came from a family of Russified Germans, had a hardworking and decent father, whose merits were marked personally by the Emperor of Russia Nicholas I. The ruler awarded the man the title of baron. Alexander was able to strengthen, develop and continue the achievements of his parent. So, having accepted the duties of the first manager of the State Bank, he began to invest in the construction of railways (Peterhof, Nikolaevskaya, later renamed Oktyabrskaya, and Baltic) and even founded the Main Society dedicated to them. However, these were only the first touches, “tests of the pen.”

First, he donated 5,000 rubles each to the Chesme military almshouse and to naval employees who lost their property in Sevastopol. Then, when Stieglitz retired and continued living on the interest due to him, he gave his modest but virtuous nature full scope. A spinning and cloth mill in Narva, a settlement for workers, a library, a church, a clinic, the maintenance of a Kolomna children's boarding school and an eye hospital in Mokhov - all this would have been impossible without the financial assistance of Alexander Lyudvigovich. However, his main work was the construction in 1876 of the St. Petersburg Central School of Technical Drawing for men and women (now the St. Petersburg State Academy of Arts and Industry named after A. L. Stieglitz), to which the philanthropist first allocated 1,000,000 rubles in silver for construction, and then about another 5,000,000-7,000,000 as bequest. The establishment of such an institution long years forward resolved the problem of the lack of professional engineers in the country necessary to move industry forward.

Baron Stieglitz passed away due to pneumonia. He was a true patriot who never changed the principle of keeping money exclusively in domestic banks, and, at the same time, one of the quietest people in Russia who did not have the habit of saying anything superfluous. The arrangement of his main brainchild, the school, was completed by his son-in-law, a nobleman and representative of the Senate, Alexander Polovtsev, the husband of the adopted daughter of the Stieglitz couple, Nadezhda.

The next famous philanthropist of Russia, Savva Ivanovich (1841-1918), was a descendant of an ancient merchant family. If we talk about him entrepreneurial activity, then here we will talk again about rail tracks, but this time – only about them. Savva, like Stieglitz, continued the work of his father, who was once the director of the Moscow-Yaroslavl Railway Society. For Mamontov Jr., any “capitalist” and “bureaucratic” pursuits were not easy, but thanks to the ability to quickly get carried away, he was able not only to take the post of the above-mentioned association, but also to become a member of the City Duma, and a member of the Society of Lovers of Commercial Knowledge, and the most prominent representative of the capital’s merchants.

As often happened, one of the most famous philanthropists in Russia was distinguished creative character and subtle mental organization. He loved to sculpt (the sculptor Matvey Antokolsky even found Savva Ivanovich’s crafts interesting and worthy of attention), sing (a beautiful bass could easily make a philanthropist a singer, as proven by his successful performance in the Milan opera), and perform theatrical sketches. Because Mamontov failed to make any of these activities his life’s work; he turned them into a hobby, firstly, by establishing a Private Russian Opera on the stage of the Solodovnikov Theater, and, secondly, by establishing a permanent meeting place for the Mamontov circle in the Abramtsevo estate near Moscow. The rich man established a real theater and art studio in his residence, where he began to train peasants and host actors, dancers, writers and other cultural figures.

It was in one of the offices of this philanthropist’s estate that Mikhail Aleksandrovich Vrubel painted his “Demon” (a painting known to any modern person).

Helping creators captivated Mamontov so much that he did not notice how he began to get into debt. This was partly due to an unwisely taken loan of 5,000,000 rubles for the construction of a new railway, which Savva had nothing with which to repay, and partly due to the intrigues of financial and statesmen(A.Yu. Rotshtein, Director of the International Bank, and N.V. Muravyov, Minister of Justice). The merchant ended up behind bars in the Tagansk prison. Despite the fact that Mamontov was released from punishment several months later in the courtroom to deafening applause, many former friends turned their backs on him, and he himself never regained his money, his reputation, or the opportunity to engage in business.

Tretyakov brothers

The merits of the last great patrons of art in Russia of the 19th century are sometimes underestimated and unfairly reduced to mentioning the collection of paintings alone, although this, of course, is extremely significant. We are talking about Pavel Mikhailovich (1832-1898) and Sergei Mikhailovich (1834-1892) Tretyakov, who came from the family of a merchant of the 2nd guild and the owner of 5 trading shops. The brothers did business together - for example, in the Big Kostroma Linen Manufactory they owned, it was not difficult for them to honestly share responsibilities with each other.

Pavel, who was more reserved and uncommunicative by nature, managed the internal policy of the factory, while the younger one, Sergei, arranged meetings with partners and established useful connections at exits and receptions. The two relatives also began collecting works of art - first, in 1851, they purchased a building on Lavrushinsky Lane, which became the main building for the creation of the gallery, and then they began to buy paintings and create their own collection. At the same time, Pavel gravitated more towards domestic painting, and Sergei towards foreign and, in particular, French.

Patronage... The word is not quite familiar to us. Everyone has heard it at least once in their lives, but not everyone can correctly explain the essence of this term. And this is sad, since Russia has always been famous for the fact that charity and patronage of the arts have formed an integral part of its long-standing traditions.

What is patronage?

If you ask anyone you meet what philanthropy is, few will be able to immediately give an intelligible answer. Yes, everyone has heard about wealthy people providing financial assistance to museums, children's sports organizations, aspiring artists, musicians and poets. But is all the assistance provided patronage? There is also charity and sponsorship. How to distinguish these concepts from each other? This article will help you understand these difficult issues.

Patronage is material or other gratuitous support of individuals provided to organizations, as well as representatives of culture and art.

History of the term

The word owes its origin to the real historical figure. Guy Tsilniy Maecenas - this is whose name has become a household name. A noble Roman nobleman, an ally of Emperor Octavian, became famous for providing assistance to talented poets and writers persecuted by the authorities. He saved from death the author of the immortal “Aeneid” Virgil and many other cultural figures whose lives were under threat for political reasons.

There were other patrons of art in Rome, besides Guy Maecenas. Why did his name become a household name and turn into a modern term? The fact is that all the other rich benefactors would refuse to stand up for the disgraced poet or artist out of fear of the emperor. But Guy Maecenas had a very strong influence on Octavian Augustus, and was not afraid to go against his will and desires. He saved Virgil. The poet supported the political opponents of the emperor and because of this fell out of favor. And the only one who came to his aid was Maecenas. Therefore, the name of the other benefactors was lost in the centuries, but he forever remained in the memory of those whom he unselfishly helped all his life.

The history of patronage

It is impossible to name the exact date of the emergence of patronage. The only undeniable fact is that there has always been a need for assistance to representatives of art from people endowed with power and wealth. The reasons for providing such assistance varied. Someone really loved art and sincerely tried to help poets, artists and musicians. For other rich people, it was either a tribute to fashion, or a desire to show themselves as a generous donor and patron in the eyes of the rest of society. The authorities tried to provide patronage to representatives of the arts in order to keep them in subjection.

Thus, patronage of the arts appeared in the period after the emergence of the state. Both in antiquity and in the Middle Ages, poets and artists were in a dependent position on government officials. It was practically domestic slavery. This situation remained until the collapse of the feudal system.

During absolute monarchy patronage takes the form of pensions, awards, honorary titles, and court positions.

Charity and patronage - is there a difference?

There is some confusion with the terminology and concepts of patronage, charity and sponsorship. All of them involve providing assistance, but the difference between them is still quite significant, and it would be a mistake to draw an equal sign. It is worth considering the issue of terminology in more detail. Of all three concepts, sponsorship and patronage are the most different from each other. The first term means providing assistance under certain conditions, or investing funds in a business. For example, support for an artist may be subject to the creation of a portrait of the sponsor or mention of his name in the media. Simply put, sponsorship involves receiving some kind of benefit. Patronage is selfless and free assistance to art and culture. The philanthropist does not prioritize obtaining additional benefits for himself.

The next topic is charity. It is very close to the concept of patronage, and the difference between them is barely noticeable. This is helping those in need, and the main motive here is compassion. The concept of charity is very broad, and patronage acts as its specific type.

Why do people engage in philanthropy?

Russian philanthropists and patrons of the arts have always differed from Western ones in their approach to the issue of providing assistance to representatives of the arts. If we talk about Russia, then patronage here is material support that is provided out of a feeling of compassion, a desire to help without deriving any benefit for oneself. In the West, there was a moment of benefiting from charity in the form of tax reduction or exemption from them. Therefore, it is impossible to talk here about complete selflessness.

Why, since the 18th century, have Russian patrons of the arts increasingly begun to patronize art and science, to build libraries, museums and theaters?

The main driving force here was the following reasons - the high morality, morality and religiosity of patrons. Public opinion actively supported the ideas of compassion and mercy. Correct traditions and religious education led to such a striking phenomenon in the history of Russia as the flourishing of philanthropy in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Patronage in Russia. History of the origin and attitude of the state to this type of activity

Charity and patronage in Russia have long and deep traditions. They are connected primarily with the time of the appearance of Christianity in Kievan Rus. At that time, charity existed as personal assistance to those in need. First of all, the church was engaged in such activities, opening hospice homes for the elderly, disabled and infirm, and hospitals. Prince Vladimir started the charity by officially obliging the church and monasteries to engage in public charity.

The next rulers of Russia, while eradicating professional beggary, at the same time continued to take care of those truly in need. Hospitals, almshouses, and orphanages for illegitimate and mentally ill people continued to be built.

Charity in Russia has successfully developed thanks to women. Empresses Catherine I, Maria Feodorovna and Elizaveta Alekseevna especially distinguished themselves in helping those in need.

The history of patronage in Russia begins at the end of the 18th century, when it became one of the forms of charity.

The first Russian patrons of the arts

The first patron of the arts was Count Alexander Sergeevich Stroganov. One of the country's largest landowners, the count was best known as a generous benefactor and collector. Traveling a lot, Stroganov became interested in compiling a collection of paintings, stones and coins. The count devoted a lot of time, money and effort to the development of culture and art, providing assistance and support to such famous poets as Gabriel Derzhavin and Ivan Krylov.

Until the end of his life, Count Stroganov was the permanent president of the Imperial Academy of Arts. At the same time, he oversaw the Imperial Public Library and was its director. It was on his initiative that the construction of the Kazan Cathedral began with the involvement of not foreign, but Russian architects.

People like Stroganov paved the way for subsequent philanthropists who selflessly and sincerely helped the development of culture and art in Russia.

The famous Demidov dynasty, the founders of metallurgical production in Russia, is known not only for its enormous contribution to the development of the country's industry, but also for its charity. Representatives of the dynasty patronized Moscow University and founded a scholarship for students from them. They opened the first commercial school for merchant children. The Demidovs constantly helped the Orphanage. At the same time, they were collecting an art collection. It has become the largest private collection in the world.

Another famous patron and philanthropist of the 18th century was Count He was a true connoisseur of art, especially theater.

At one time he was scandalously famous for marrying his own serf, an actress home theater Praskovye Zhemchugova. She died early and bequeathed to her husband not to give up his charity work. Count Sheremetev fulfilled her request. He spent part of the capital on helping artisans and dowry brides. On his initiative, the construction of the Hospice House in Moscow began. He also invested money in the construction of theaters and temples.

The special contribution of the merchants to the development of philanthropy

Many people now have a completely wrong opinion about the Russian merchants of the 19th-20th centuries. It was formed under the influence Soviet films and literary works in which the mentioned layer of society was exposed in the most unsightly way. All merchants without exception look poorly educated, focused exclusively on making a profit by any means, while being completely devoid of compassion and mercy for their neighbors. This is a fundamentally wrong idea. Of course, there are and will always be exceptions, but for the most part, merchants constituted the most educated and knowledgeable part of the population, not counting, of course, the nobility.

But among the representatives of noble families, benefactors and patrons of the arts could be counted on one hand. Charity in Russia is entirely the merit of the merchant class.

It was already briefly mentioned above why people began to engage in philanthropy. For most merchants and manufacturers, charity has practically become a way of life and has become an integral character trait. The fact that many wealthy merchants and bankers were descendants of Old Believers, who were characterized by a special attitude towards money and wealth, played a role here. And the attitude of Russian entrepreneurs to their activities was somewhat different than, for example, in the West. For them, wealth is not a fetish, trade is not a source of profit, but rather a duty assigned by God.

Raised on the deep religious traditions, Russian entrepreneurs and philanthropists believed that wealth is given by God, which means that one must be responsible for it. In fact, they believed that they had an obligation to provide assistance. But it was not coercion. Everything was done according to the call of the soul.

Famous Russian patrons of the 19th century

This period is considered the heyday of charity in Russia. The rapid economic growth that began contributed to the amazing scale and generosity of the wealthy.

Famous patrons XIX-XX centuries - entirely representatives of the merchant class. The most prominent representatives are Pavel Mikhailovich Tretyakov and less famous brother Sergei Mikhailovich.

It must be said that the Tretyakov merchants did not have significant wealth. But this did not stop them from carefully collecting paintings by famous masters, spending serious sums on them. Sergei Mikhailovich was more interested Western European painting. After his death, the collection bequeathed to his brother was included in the collection of paintings by Pavel Mikhailovich. Introduced in 1893 art Gallery bore the name of both wonderful Russian patrons of the arts. If we talk only about the collection of paintings by Pavel Mikhailovich, then throughout his life the philanthropist Tretyakov spent about a million rubles on it. An incredible amount for those times.

Tretyakov began collecting his collection of Russian paintings in his youth. Even then, he had a precisely set goal - to open a national public gallery so that anyone could visit it for free and become familiar with the masterpieces of Russian fine art.

We owe the Tretyakov brothers a magnificent monument to Russian philanthropy - the Tretyakov Gallery.

Patron Tretyakov was not the only patron of art in Russia. Savva Ivanovich Mamontov, a representative of a famous dynasty, is the founder and builder of the largest railways in Russia. He did not strive for fame and was completely indifferent to awards. His only passion was the love of art. Savva Ivanovich himself was a deeply creative person, and entrepreneurship was very burdensome for him. According to contemporaries, he himself could become both a magnificent opera singer (he was even offered to perform on the stage of the Italian opera house) and a sculptor.

He turned his Abramtsevo estate into a hospitable home for Russian artists. Vrubel, Repin, Vasnetsov, Serov, and also Chaliapin constantly visited here. Mamontov provided financial assistance and patronage to all of them. But the patron of arts provided the greatest support to theatrical art.

His relatives and business partners considered Mamontov a stupid whim, but this did not stop him. At the end of his life, Savva Ivanovich was ruined and barely escaped prison. He was completely acquitted, but he could no longer engage in business. Until the end of his life, he was supported by all those whom he had selflessly helped.

Savva Timofeevich Morozov is an amazingly modest philanthropist who helped Art Theater with the condition that his name would not be mentioned in the newspapers on this occasion. And the other representatives of this dynasty provided invaluable assistance in the development of culture and art. Sergei Timofeevich Morozov was fond of Russian decorative and applied arts; the collection he collected formed the center of the Handicraft Museum in Moscow. Ivan Abramovich was the patron of the then unknown Marc Chagall.

Modernity

The revolution and the events that followed it interrupted the wonderful traditions of Russian patronage. And after the collapse of the Soviet Union, a lot of time passed before new patrons of modern Russia appeared. For them, patronage is a professionally organized part of their activity. Unfortunately, the topic of charity, which is becoming more and more popular in Russia from year to year, is covered extremely sparingly in the media. Only isolated cases become known to the general public, and most of the work of sponsors, philanthropists and charitable foundations passes by the population. If you now ask anyone you meet: “Which contemporary philanthropists do you know?”, hardly anyone will answer this question. Meanwhile, you need to know such people.

Among Russian entrepreneurs actively involved in charity, first of all, it is worth noting the president of the Interros holding, Vladimir Potanin, who in 2013 announced that he would bequeath his entire fortune to charitable purposes. This was a truly stunning statement. He founded a foundation bearing his name, which is engaged in large projects in the field of education and culture. As Chairman of the Hermitage Board of Trustees, he has already donated 5 million rubles to it.

Oleg Vladimirovich Deripaska, one of the most influential and richest entrepreneurs in Russia, is the founder of the Volnoye Delo charitable foundation, which is financed from the businessman’s personal funds. The Foundation conducted more than 400 programs, the total budget of which amounted to almost 7 billion rubles. Deripaska's charitable organization is engaged in activities in the field of education, science and culture, and sports. The foundation also provides assistance to the Hermitage, many theaters, monasteries and educational centers throughout our country.

Not only large businessmen, but also officials and commercial structures can act as philanthropists in modern Russia. OJSC Gazprom, JSC Lukoil, CB Alfa Bank and many other companies and banks are involved in charity work.

I would especially like to mention Dmitry Borisovich Zimin, founder of Vympel-Communications OJSC. Since 2001, having achieved sustainable profitability of the company, he retired and devoted himself entirely to charity. He founded the Enlightener Prize and the Dynasty Foundation. According to Zimin himself, he donated all his capital to charity completely free of charge. The foundation he created supports fundamental science in Russia.

Of course, modern patronage has not reached the level that was observed in the “golden” years of the 19th century. Now it is fragmentary, while philanthropists of past centuries provided systematic support to culture and science.

Is there a future for philanthropy in Russia?

April 13 is a wonderful holiday - Philanthropist and Patron of the Arts Day in Russia. The date coincides with the birthday of Guy Maecenas, the Roman patron of poets and artists, whose name became the common noun “philanthropist”. The initiator of the holiday was the Hermitage in the person of its director M. Piotrovsky. This day also received a second name - Thank You Day. It was first celebrated in 2005, and I would like to hope that it will not lose its relevance in the future.

Nowadays there is an ambiguous attitude towards philanthropy. One of the main reasons for this is the ambiguous attitude towards wealthy people in the conditions of increasingly strong stratification of society that exist today. No one disputes that wealth is often acquired in ways that are not entirely acceptable to the majority of the population. But among the rich people there are also those who give millions to the development and maintenance of science and culture and other charitable purposes. And it would be great if the state made sure that the names of contemporary Russian philanthropists became known to a wide range of the population.