Five centuries of the Stroganov family. The Stroganovs - Russian salt industrialists Stroganov merchants brief biography

CHAPTER FIVE. The origin of the Zaporozhye Cossacks and their history before the impostor. - Description of their country and settlement. - Impostor on the Don. - The origin of the Don Cossacks and their relationship to the Moscow state. - The impostor enters the service of Prince Vishnevetsky. - Everyday life

The Stroganovs are one of the most famous families in Russia. The salt dynasty, exceptional in its scale of activity and unheard of wealth, did not leave the political and economic arena of Russia for five centuries. Its representatives developed new territories in the Urals, organized the famous campaign of the conqueror of Siberia Ermak entirely with their own money, helped the militia of Minin and Pozharsky, Peter I in his war with the Swedes, and were also famous philanthropists. And even the appearance of beef stroganoff - one of the most popular dishes of Russian cuisine - the world owes to Stroganov.

Stroganov Anika Fedorovich

The young salt worker Anika turned out to be a very successful entrepreneur, and things were going well for him. His new salt enterprises opened not only in Solvychegodsk, but also in other more remote areas, and brought in good income. But Anika did not intend to stop there.

Development of the Middle Kama region

Periodic raids on these territories by the adjacent warlike Siberian Khanate greatly annoyed the king. Having made sure that the Stroganovs were asking for truly uninhabited lands, Ivan the Terrible in 1558 signed a letter of credence, which granted the Stroganov family wild forest possessions on both sides of the Kama.

Having moved to the Urals, the Stroganovs very quickly attracted people here and began to look for salt brines and set up brewhouses.

They settled down thoroughly, establishing farms similar to those in Solvychegodsk, only larger. Having cleared previously deserted places of forests, they plowed up the lands and built cities and fortresses.

Really rich deposits were discovered here, from the development of which and the trade of the extracted salt by the Stroganovs, and enormous wealth was acquired. Anika Stroganov became the richest industrialist in Rus', even richer than the tsar. The Stroganovs, receiving more and more powers, created their own practically independent state.

Ermak and the Stroganovs - annexation of Siberia

At the end of his life, Anika Stroganov retired from business, leaving a huge inheritance to his sons, took monastic vows and entered a monastery.

His sons Gregory and Yakov successfully continued his work, but at this time Kuchum came to power in the Siberian Khanate, dreaming of seizing the eastern Russian lands, and the situation on the border worsened - the Stroganovs had to repel constant raids by the Siberians.

Ivan the Terrible, having granted them vast new lands, began talking about seizing the Siberian kingdom. Gregory and Yakov began to prepare for the upcoming campaign, stocking up on the necessary weapons and equipment, but soon both died. Then their children got down to business. There was a catastrophic shortage of people for the upcoming campaign, but they found a way out.

In those days, Cossacks under the leadership of the dashing Ermak were operating on the Volga. It was to them that Nikita and Maxim sent a letter: “...We have fortresses and lands, but there are few squads; come to us to defend Great Perm and the eastern edge of Christianity.” Soon, a detachment of Ataman Ermak in the amount of 500 people arrived, and, united with a fairly significant army of the Stroganovs, fully equipped with everything necessary, set out on a campaign against Khan Kuchum. A huge amount of money was spent on his equipment, and there was no government support at all.

As a result, the army of Khan Kuchum was defeated, and the Siberian Khanate fell. And the enormous merit in this goes not only to Ermak, who is considered to be the conqueror of Siberia, but, of course, to the Stroganovs as well.

Aristocrats and philanthropists Stroganovs

At the end of the 17th century, the sole owner of all the wealth accumulated by the Stroganovs was Grigory Dmitrievich Stroganov, who turned out to be the only heir and immediately turned into the largest industrialist and richest man in Russia. It was then that the saying was in use: “You won’t be richer than Stroganov.”

He provided generous support to Peter I in all his endeavors, it was especially valuable during the Northern War, for which a grateful Peter subsequently granted his sons a baronial title, “for the merits of their ancestors.”

In St. Petersburg, on the corner of Nevsky Prospekt and the Moika River embankment, there is a famous building - the Stroganov Palace.

It was built in 1754 according to the design of the famous architect F.B. Rastrelli on the initiative of two sons of Grigory Dmitrievich - Nikolai and Sergei. This magnificent building, which became one of the best possessions of the Stroganovs, belonged to the famous family from 1754 to 1918, its first owner was Sergei Grigorievich.

The Stroganov barons, like their ancestors, continued to engage in philanthropy, patronizing talents and glorifying their family. One of their descendants, Alexander Sergeevich, was an honorary member of the Academy of Arts. Having then become its president, Alexander Stroganov supported young talented artists, paying for their studies abroad.

He was also the director of the Public Library, the project of which he himself was the author of. Under his supervision and with his significant financial support, the Kazan Cathedral was built, the architect of which was Andrei Voronikhin, for whom it was Stroganov who at one time paid for his education and helped him to become a public figure.

Anyone who is interested in Russian history will certainly be interested in the story of how

Legacy of the Stroganov dynasty

So what did the Stroganovs leave for Russia? It seems that wherever you look - in literature, music, painting, architecture, geography, production and industry, no, no, the name of one of the representatives of this great dynasty will pop up.

Salt mining. Founding of cities, fortresses, monasteries and temples

Solvychegodsk was founded in the 14th century by residents of the city of Chernigov (that is, on the Chernaya River) in 1515. In 1515, not far from two small towns - Chernigov and Vybor on the U Solka River near Lake Solonikha, Aniky Stroganov set up the first salt boiler. The name “Solvychegodsk” itself comes from the fact that they initially settled near Salt Lake, which is why back in the 15th century the settlement was called Usolye (or the city of Usolsk). Since the end of the 15th century, this city, which had an excellent location on the trade route, was attractive both to settlers who were looking for work here, and to merchants and traders. The Stroganovs invested a lot of money in this city, rebuilding it.

Later, the Stroganovs build Orel-town. The founding of the fortress-city occurred six years after they received the famous charter and the construction of the first town - Konkora-Pyskora, on the banks of the Kama, “opposite the mouth of the Yaiva River”, the “town of Orlov” appeared, originally called Kergedan. The location was not chosen by chance: there were salt mines nearby, and the wooden fortress was supposed to protect them from possible raids by the local population. In 1570, the garrison and residents of Kankor were transferred to Orel-gorod. The history of the new center of the Ural patrimony of the Stroganovs begins. The town was built wisely: it had five corner towers, two of which were “deaf”, without gates, and three were “pass-through”. The walls of the town were initially fortified, and later three of them were replaced by wooden frames reinforced with an earthen embankment.

Oryol-gorod was a powerful and protected fortress. The houses here were built from thick logs, firmly and for a long time. Mica or bull bubbles were inserted into the windows, so the rooms were always twilight.

The huts were placed in such a way as to prevent them from being drowned by water; the Kama was nearby and one should not forget about the power of the river. Within the boundaries of Orel-town, judging by written sources, there was “a church with a wooden cathedral in the name of Praise of the Blessed Virgin Mary with chapels, the Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Life-Giving Cross of the Lord, the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.”

The Vvedensky Monastery in Solvychegodsk was founded by the sons of Aniky Stroganov on the run of the Usolka River. Yakov, Gregory and Semyon erected a wooden cathedral in the monastery in the name of the Entry of the Mother of God into the Temple; after the consecration of the cathedral, Anika himself donated the “Introduction” icon to the cathedral. The monastery experienced its best years later, under Grigory Dmitrievich Stroganov. He personally created several choirs of serf peasants, who sang in the church at the monastery. In 1688, there was a fire and instead of the burnt wooden cathedral, Grigory Stroganov built a stone one; the work lasted eight years. This was the first building in the style later dubbed “Stroganov Baroque” by historians. The carved seven-tiered iconostasis of the cathedral was made by a team of Moscow carvers led by master Grigory Ivanov. The icons were painted by the Stroganov serf icon painter Stepan Narykov, who studied abroad and adopted the style and technique of painting there.

Stroganov icon painting

Stroganov icon painting is a completely unique phenomenon for Rus'. It originated under the influence of wealthy, God-abiding industrialists. The Christian faith was one of the fundamental foundations of life for the Stroganovs. In any fortress that they built in Siberia and the Urals there must be a church, and there must be icons in it. It is possible to ask to send icons from Moscow, but these requests were not always fulfilled. Therefore, the Stroganovs wisely decided to raise icon painters at home, on their own land.

Most of the best Stroganov icons were painted for Maxim and Nikita, the very same ones who equipped Ermak to conquer Siberia. Scientists believe that most likely they decided to create their own icon-painting workshops, where they gathered the best masters from all over the country. The icons of this letter are distinguished by their light, clean colors, carefully painted details, “preciousness” of the letter, multi-figure compositions and landscape sketches. Stroganov’s icon painters became some kind of revolutionaries in such a traditional art as icon painting; they began to complement the images of saints with a fantastic landscape with strange plants and bizarre clouds in the sky, and everyday objects. People and nature were depicted very realistically. Procopius Chirin became the most famous icon painter of the Stroganov school. From a simple apprentice he became a royal court icon painter, and Stroganov icons settled in the houses of the royal nobility and in the churches of Moscow. No less skilled craftsmen continued to work in Solvychegodsk - Emelyan Moskvitin, Istoma Savin and his sons - Nazariy and Nikifor.

Metallurgy

When salt ceased to bring significant profits, the Stroganovs switched their attention to the extraction and production of iron and copper. It must be said that they poured iron almost from the beginning of their rule in Siberia - they had to make weapons out of something in order to defend their possessions. Later, metallurgical manufactories began to bring in good income, and the main bet was made on them. In 1726, they built the Taman copper smelter on the Tamanka River, in the Solikamsk estate. Subsequently, seven ironworks appeared in the Stroganov possessions: Bilimbaevsky, Yugo-Kama, Kusye-Alexandrovsky, Domryansky, Ochersky, Khokhlovsky and Nytvensky. Copper was also produced at the Nytvensky plant - in 1759, Baroness M.A. Stroganova received permission from the Berg College to build six copper smelting furnaces here. But the construction of factories was not limited only to the Stroganov lands. Alexei. Stroganov in 1758 founded the Trinity-Satkinsky plant in the upper reaches of the Satka River, on land purchased by his father from the Bashkirs. Then, however, this plant was sold to I.L. Luginin. By 1765, the Stroganovs owned twelve factories, and in total during the 18th century they built fourteen metallurgical enterprises. By the end of the century, only six factories remained in their hands - Bilimbaevsky, Domryansky, Ochersky, Kynovsky, Ekaterino-Syuzvinsky and Elizaveto-Nerdvinsky.

Among the noble entrepreneurs of the Urals was Prince M. M. Golitsyn, who married A. A. Stroganova, who brought him half of the Kusye-Alexandrovsky plant as a dowry. In 1760, Golitsyn built a new Nytva iron and copper smelting plant in the Kungur province on the Nytva River, and in 1785 - the Arkhangelo-Pashiysky Plant on the Pashie River. From the dowry taken from Baroness V.A. Stroganova (part of the Kusye-Alexandrovsky and Yugo-Kama plant), the factory economy of Prince Boris Shakhovsky began. In the 1780s. this economy was replenished by the Lysvensky and Bisersky factories. The farms of the senator and chamberlain V.A. Vsevolozhsky and the court jeweler I.L. Lazarev were also genetically connected with the Stroganov factories: the Pozhvensky factory, which formerly belonged to the Stroganovs, went to the former in 1773, and the Chermoz and Khokhlovsky factories to the latter.

Patronage, collecting and support of artists

Each of the Stroganov dynasty had an extraordinary passion for art, and with incredible insight they distinguished the greatest creations from trifles. Statues, paintings, engravings, furniture, coins, books, prints were brought to Russia from abroad, but their talents were constantly supported in their own country.

The place where the magnificent collections were kept was the Stroganov Palace, built by Rastrelli. The collection was started by Baron Sergei Grigorievich Stroganov, his son Alexander continued his father’s hobby. He not only brought beautiful paintings, statues, and ceramics from Europe, but also exhibited them. His art gallery was especially famous, becoming widely known thanks to the publication of catalogs prepared by the collector himself. The 1793 catalog mentions 87 paintings by fifty-five Western European artists. In the 1800 edition, the gallery already contained 116 works by seventy-two painters. The collection included works by Italian, French, Dutch, Flemish and Spanish masters. The count clearly gave his preference to Italian painters, mainly Renaissance artists and academicians of the 17th century. Later, paintings by Russian masters appeared in the collection. The Mineral Cabinet was of particular interest in the Stroganov Palace. Here, according to the recollections of contemporaries, a collection of minerals found in Russia and various European countries was collected, as well as many interesting fossils: corals, mollusks, fish, turtles, plants.

Alexander Sergeevich Stroganov patronized talents both in art and literature. Derzhavin, Bortnyansky, Bogdanovich, Krylov, Zhukovsky, and Martos enjoyed his support.

Under Count Sergei Grigorievich Stroganov, the collection of paintings became a kind of museum. One of the first collections of icon paintings in Russia was created in the palace, in which works by masters of the Stroganov school made up the largest and most significant part of the collection. But besides this, absolutely extraordinary things were exhibited in the halls of the palace: furniture, snuff boxes, vases made of colored stone with bronze, chandeliers and candelabra, small bronze figurines. The count collected both Russian and Byzantine coins. It was collecting coins that became the passion in the life of his son, Alexander. By the end of his life, his collection numbered more than fifty thousand coins. Another son of Sergei Stroganov, Pavel, began his collecting with early Italians, and not only paintings, but wooden figurines, furniture, and ceramics. Later, after his travels, paintings by Dutch and Flemish masters appeared in the collection.

The Stroganovs were familiar with Pushkin’s family, and it was Count Grigory Stroganov who took upon himself the organization of the funeral of the brilliant poet, and his wife herself was personally on duty at the bedside of the wounded poet. Count Stroganov ensured that death in a duel was recognized as murder and not suicide, and the poet was buried in St. Isaac's Cathedral.

Here is what Zhukovsky wrote about this: “Count Stroganov, who can no longer be accused of either frivolity or demagoguery, as a relative, took upon himself all the costs of Pushkin’s funeral; he called his trusted man and instructed him to arrange everything. And precisely because Count Stroganov took upon himself all the costs of the funeral, it happened that they were carried out in the most brilliant manner, in accordance with the noble character of the count. He invited the bishop, and as soon as he refused to perform the ceremony, he invited three archimandrites. He appointed St. Isaac's Cathedral for the funeral, and the reason for the appointment was the simplest, he was told that Pushkin's house belonged to the parish of St. Isaac's Cathedral; therefore, it was impossible to appoint another church; It was impossible to even think about the Stable Church; it was a court church. To have a funeral service there, one had to obtain special permission, which was not necessary, because they had in mind the parish church...”

Stroganov took upon himself further concerns about the poet’s family. Count Grigory Stroganov also became the guardian of the poet’s children and his property. Through his petition, the Pushkin family received 150 thousand silver rubles from the Tsar.

The Stroganovs noticed talented people wherever they were. The painter and architect Voronikhin was a serf of the Stroganovs. At first, the talented young man studied in the workshop of the famous Ural icon painter Gavrila Yushkov, one of the Stroganov art schools. The most capable students of such schools were sent to continue their studies in large cities. The serf's skill attracted the attention of Count Alexander Stroganov, and in the spring of 1772 Andrei Voronikhin was sent to study in Moscow.

Over four years of diligent study and construction work, Andrei Voronikhin acquired not only the concept of architecture as a science, but also experience in drawing up plans for individual parts and entire buildings. At the same time, Andrei did not give up painting. In the hours free from architecture, he painted miniature portraits on enamel and made sketches of architectural landscapes. Later, Andrei is sent to St. Petersburg at the disposal of Count Stroganov. Seeing the special talents of the young man, the count, a man of great soul, showed him almost fatherly care. Voronikhin was given a room to live in the count's palace and a room to work on drawings and drawings. A few years later, the count gave the talented young man his freedom. And even after this, Voronikhin did not leave Stroganov; for some time he lived in the palace, performing important architectural work. Later, it was to him that the count entrusted the construction of the Kazan Cathedral - the main work of his life. According to his contemporaries, and even his descendants, Voronikhin coped with this honorable duty superbly.

Beef a la Stroganov

Beef Stroganoff, meat Stroganoff style, beef Stroganoff style, all these are the names of a classic culinary dish - beef Stroganoff. The dish, named in memory of Count Stroganov, became famous and loved all over the world. At the same time, there are two legends about the origin of this dish.

Governor-General of Novorossiya Alexander Grigorievich Stroganov, a famous philanthropist and collector who donated a huge library to Tomsk University, the founder of Odessa University, was an incredibly hospitable person. He was one of the first to have an open table in Odessa - anyone right off the street could come and dine with the count. Some gastronomy researchers believe that the count's chefs decided to cut the beef into strips and serve it in a thick sauce just to save money - you can't feed the whole of Odessa with tenderloin and baked boiled pork! Another version of the origin of this dish is more prosaic than the desire of the count's chefs to save money.

It is known that the Governor General attached special importance to a good table. A person who has eaten hastily or tastelessly, according to Stroganov, is not only incapable of perceiving art - he cannot even properly communicate with his interlocutor! And, of course, the count kept exclusively high-class chefs, ordering them straight from Paris. The count did not spare money for the cooks, paying them a hefty salary. But in his old age, Stroganov’s cooks did not stay long, the count was very picky, and many of the great cooks considered him capricious. And only one of the French chefs managed to satisfy Count Stroganov’s requests. The fact is that the count’s teeth became very bad in his old age, I didn’t want to admit it, so the cooks changed. And the new chef Andre Dupont, by cutting the beef into strips and serving them with sauce, pleased the count so much that he called this dish his estate. The most interesting thing is that Dupont was not a skilled cook, and his recommendations were fake. The young man went to Russia with exorbitant ambitions, just in case he got away with it. And, as they say, I came at the right time and in the right place.

Beef Stroganoff conquered Russia, and then began its triumphal march around the world. The recipe was enriched with details according to the traditions of different countries. Even before the revolution, “Russian roast” gained popularity in Paris, and from there it spread to restaurants in Europe. After the revolutionary year of 1917, beef Stroganoff, along with emigrants, moved to America through China. There, beef Stroganoff is always served with rice or pasta. By the way, Dupont’s invention is extremely popular in Scandinavian countries - the Swedes love their “Stroganoff sausages,” and the Norwegians prepare stroganoff from dried semi-finished product. And even in distant Brazil there are many lovers of meat bestrogonofe. The recipe for the dish differs from the classic one in that the sauce contains a larger amount of tomato paste, and the beef is replaced with chicken meat, which is more traditional in those places.

"Stroganovka"

Count Sergei Grigorievich Stroganov, when he founded the “Drawing School in Relation to Arts and Crafts” in 1825, probably could not have suspected that his brainchild would later become the leading university in Russia. The school was conceived as an educational institution that would provide Russian enterprises with their own specialists in drawing and painting. The educational institution was absolutely unique for its time; children of both commoners and serfs were accepted there. The main criterion for enrollment was not the high position of the parents, but the talent of the applicant, his ability to draw and be artistic. “The purpose of this institution is,” wrote S. G. Stroganov, “to give young people (from 10 to 16 years old) who devote themselves to various kinds of crafts and skills an opportunity to acquire the art of drawing, without which no artisan is able to give possible perfection in our products.”

After twelve years of existence of the educational institution, Stroganov transfers the school to Moscow, it becomes a state educational institution for training artists of decorative and applied arts. Now the Moscow State Art and Industry Academy named after S. G. Stroganov trains artists in five specialties and seventeen specializations: interior and furniture design, development of decorative and furniture fabrics, trains specialists in various fields of design, historians and art theorists, artists of monumental painting and sculptors, artists of metal, ceramics and glass, restorers of monumental painting, furniture and artistic metal.

Kazan Cathedral

Paul the First initially decided to build the temple according to the design of Charles Cameron. But with the support of Count Alexander Sergeevich Stroganov, who was responsible for the construction, the work was entrusted to Andrei Nikiforovich Voronikhin. His project was approved by Paul on November 114, 1800. This decision was widely discussed in society. It was especially pointed out that Voronikhin was a former serf of the Stroganovs. The commission “On the construction of the Kazan Church” was headed by Count Stroganov. The main idea was the construction of a majestic temple, similar to the Roman Cathedral of Peter and Paul, but exclusively by Russian craftsmen and from domestic materials.

The following materials were used in the decoration of the Kazan Cathedral: Olonets marble, Vyborg and Serdobol granite, and Riga limestone. The external cladding of the walls is made of Pudost limestone (from a quarry near the village of Pudost, eight kilometers from Gatchina). In total, 12,000 cubic meters of this stone were needed. In quarries near Vyborg, 56 granite monoliths were mined, from which columns were hewn for installation inside the building.

The hall of the Kazan Cathedral looks like a palace hall. Voronikhin erected a truly unique structure. The icons for the Kazan Cathedral were painted by V. Borovikovsky, O. Kiprensky, A. Ivanov, F. Bryullo, K. Bryullov.

The length of the building from west to east is 72.5 meters, from north to south – 56.7 meters. The Kazan Cathedral became the tallest temple of the early 19th century. The diameter of the dome exceeds 17 meters. For the first time in world construction practice, Voronikhin used a metal structure.

Four bronze sculptures were placed in the niches of the northern portico: Prince Vladimir (sculptor S. Pimenov), Andrew the First-Called (V.I. Demut-Malinovsky), John the Baptist (I.P. Martos) and Alexander Nevsky (S. Pimenov). At the feet of the latter there is a sword with a lion, the symbol of Sweden. A Russian shield rests on the lion.

Count Stroganov, who considered the construction of the cathedral his life's work, climbed the scaffolding himself and checked the strength of the structure. Discussed the progress of construction with the workers. And sometimes they worked in fifteen-degree frost.

On September 15, 1811, the solemn consecration of the Kazan Cathedral took place. Count Stroganov presented Alexander I with the keys to the temple. At the same time, the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God was carried around the cathedral with a procession of the cross and placed in a carved iconostasis. After this, all any important events in the royal family were celebrated in the Kazan Cathedral with divine services. All members of the royal family were married in the Kazan Cathedral. “Royal days” were solemnly celebrated. The three-hundredth anniversary of the House of Romanov was celebrated especially magnificently.