Booker Igor 04/04/2019 at 9:00

The fact that the ideological opponents of the Westerners and the Slavophils waged a merciless dispute on the pages of the Kolokol magazine and the Den newspaper, accusing each other of all mortal sins, is remembered by many from a school textbook. But this fact is curious: both editions were printed with the money of the same patron - Kozma Soldatenkov. The Russian Medici was a generous sponsor.

There is no letter "e" in the Church Slavonic alphabet, but it is she who makes the name of the Moscow businessman, famous book publisher and owner art gallery Kozma Terentyevich Soldatenkov is unique and recognizable.

About the founder of the famous merchant family, the Old Believer peasant Yegor Vasilyevich Soldatenkov, it is known that in 1795 or 1797 he moved to Moscow from the village of Prokunino near Moscow and enrolled in the second merchant guild. In 1820, for charitable purposes, he donated 20 thousand rubles to the defense of the Fatherland. The amount at that time was comparable to the cost of a small village with serf souls, therefore, Yegor Vasilyevich's business was going uphill.

He had two sons - Terenty and Konstantin. In 1810, the sons in the Rogozhsky part of Belokamennaya owned a paper-weaving factory and traded in bread, cotton yarn and chintz. In 1825, both Soldatenkov brothers were listed as merchants of the first guild. Not much, not less, but during visits to a high-ranking person they had the right to put on a sword and could well expect to receive the title of hereditary honorary citizen.

Terenty had two sons - Ivan and Kozma, the youngest had two daughters - Efrosinya, who lived only five years, and Maria. Brothers and sisters lived in the same house. The boys mastered merchant wisdom, and on weekends they went to the Old Believer church at the Rogozhsky cemetery. After the death of their father, the brothers (of course, honorary citizens and Moscow merchants of the first guild) inherited a huge factory and a whole network of trading shops. The elder brother was at the head of the family business, and Kozma traded in share speculation and fraud on the stock exchange. And although both brothers did not receive a systematic education - oh how they could count a penny. With the death of his brother, Kozma in 1852 became the full owner of the financial empire.

The news of the death of Ivan Terentyevich found Kozma Terentyevich abroad. He just visited the colony of Russian artists in Rome, Naples and Sorrento with a familiar art critic Nikolai Botkin. In Russia, paintings by Russian painters sold very badly, and in the West no one heard anything about the Russian art school. This will continue for quite some time. Even in the first half of the 1920s, the British intelligence officer Sidney Reilly for funding anti-bolshevik uprising will offer underground workers from the "Trust" to steal from Soviet museums and sell abroad only paintings by European masters. The fashion for the Russian avant-garde and abstract art will come a little later.

Botkin took the philanthropist only to good artists, and the 33-year-old Moscow merchant bought canvases from them without bargaining. Leaving for his homeland, he asked the artist Alexander Andreyevich Ivanov to buy paintings for him, which would be exhibited in the future Moscow Soldatenkov Gallery. Friends and acquaintances played with the name of Cosmas - added the name of the Medici to it - known kind also patron of the arts.

Arriving in the Mother See, Kozma Terentyevich made a grand gesture and, in memory of his late brother, bought out all the Moscow defaulters who were there from the debtor's prison for 30 thousand rubles. Among which were mainly nobles and representatives of creative bohemia. So the rich man secured publicity in the circles of the intelligentsia and aroused the neighing of tight-fisted merchants. Many enemies of the tsarist regime, such as Herzen and Ogarev, became friends of Soldatenkov-Medici. With the money of this philanthropist and patron of the arts, Herzen's "The Bell" and the supplement "General Veche" were published.

Soldatenkov's house on Myasnitskaya Street turned into a refuge for "unreliable persons", and Kozma Terentyevich himself fell into the ranks of "Westerners who want unrest and indignation." As soon as this was reported to Soldatenkov, he instantly counted the required amount for the mouthpiece of the Slavophile movement, the weekly literary and political newspaper Den, and at his own expense published a collection of articles by B. N. Chicherin. The collection opened with an article by Chicherin, written by him in collaboration with K. D. Kavelin, "A Letter to the Publisher of Kolokol". This policy document expressed a fundamental disagreement with Herzen regarding the assessment of the French Revolution of 1848 as "a bloody revolt of an unbridled mob." Alexander Ivanovich Herzen publicly called the "Russian Medici" a cretin, but he continued to ask for money for the publication of The Bell.

Kozma Soldatenkov was in a civil marriage with the Frenchwoman Clemence Dubois. Clemence Karlovna gave birth in 1854 to a son, who was named Ivan Ilyich Baryshev. The father really wanted a real writer to come out of his son. The son took the literary pseudonym Myasnitsky and wrote humorous sketches from the life of the Moscow merchants, which were published in the then popular publications "Dragonfly", "Alarm Clock" and others. In the capital and in Moscow, his comedies-farces were staged, which were also a success.

Kozma Terentyevich divided his fortune between Clemence Karlovna, who was owed 150,000 rubles, son Ivan Ilyich - 25,000 rubles, servants and peasants - 50,000 rubles, 100,000 rubles to distribute to the poor and beggars, half a million to support almshouses and all real estate went to nephew Vasily Ivanovich Soldatenkov. The art gallery and library were bequeathed to the Rumyantsev Museum. He donated 1,300,000 rubles for the construction of a vocational school and about two million rubles for a free hospital.

According to the will of Kozma Terentyevich, a "hospital for all the poor who are in Moscow, without distinction of ranks, estates and religions, called the Soldatenkov Hospital" was built at his expense. In 1920, the hospital was named after Sergei Petrovich Botkin, the life physician of the Tsar Alexander III and brother Nikolai Botkin, with whom Kozma once wandered through the workshops of Russian artists. Sergei Petrovich was a worthy man and a wonderful physician, but he had nothing to do with Soldatenkov's hospital.

October 22, 1818 born in Moscow - Moscow businessman, textile manufacturer and major book publisher. Owner of an art gallery and an old Naryshkin estate "Kuntsevo".

When the manifesto on the abolition of serfdom came out, a rumor spread throughout the peasant country: in fact, the tsar did not sign anything, but simply the generous Soldatenkov bought all the peasants and set them free. This story about how fatally the external obscures the main thing is a kind of charitable parable. Kozma Terentievich Soldatenkov- one of the most unusual figures in the history of Russian patronage. Contemporary Pavel Mikhailovich Tretyakov, he seemed to be doing about the same thing - earning money, and with what he earned he bought paintings by outstanding or, at least, promising artists. Sometimes the same artists. Nevertheless, the attitude in bohemian society towards them was different.

Pavel Mikhailovich loved, respected and feared. When he appeared in someone's workshop, he was greeted with awe. Showcased all the brightest and most interesting. They themselves were ready to pay extra, if only the picture was in the famous gallery. Yes, and it was not necessary Tretyakov to visit all these workshops - they themselves went to him, and they themselves brought, and showed, and waited in trepidation for a decision. Absolutely indifferent to alcohol, despising any idleness, Pavel Tretyakov valued every minute of his time. When guests came to his wife, he immediately went to his office. And this way of life, this unearthly, and some kind of cosmic detachment from worldly goods, made acquaintance with Tretyakov even more tempting, more status.

Soldatenkov is a completely different matter. He was 14 years older than Tretyakov, but when Pavel Mikhailovich decided to start collecting in 1850s years, he did not even remember the existence of Kozma Terentyevich. Meanwhile, in his mansion at the current address Myasnitskaya, house number 37, reigned Kozma Terentyevich Soldatenkov, " butcher patron, as the artists called him. Or " Butcher's Medici”, but this is already with a touch of irony.

Vera Pavlovna, Tretyakov's daughter, described Soldatenkova as follows:

He always went about in the summer in a gray frock coat, in a gray cape and a gray felt hat with a large brim. He was small, thick, broad, with an ugly, but intelligent, expressive face ... He wore a small beard and rather long hair combed back; he felt great strength, physical and mental, often found among Russian Old Believers.

And here is another description of the appearance of Kozma Terentyevich:

He was a man of about forty, rather stout and ugly, pockmarked, with small pig eyes; he spoke very hastily and as if confused in words; he waved his arms, minced his legs, laughed ... in general, he gave the impression of a stupid, spoiled and extremely proud guy. He himself considered himself an educated person, because he dressed in German and lived, although dirty, but openly, knew rich people - and went to the theater, and patronized cascading actresses, with whom he spoke in some unusual, supposedly French. The thirst for popularity was his main passion: thunder, they say, Golushkin, all over the world! Either Suvorov or Potemkin - or Kapiton Golushkin! This same passion, which overcame his innate stinginess, threw him, as he expressed it not without self-satisfaction, into the opposition (he used to say simply “in position”, but then he was taught) - brought him together with the nihilists: he expressed the most extreme opinions, he made fun of his own Old Believers, ate fast food, played cards, and drank champagne like water. And he got away with everything; therefore, he said, I have everything where it should be, the bosses are purchased, every tear is sewn up, all mouths are stopped up, all ears are covered.

It would be possible to sue such a thing, but only the author of these lines secured himself. This is the merchant's description Golushkin, derived I. S. Turgenev in the novel "Nov". Everyone perfectly understood who exactly Golushkin was written off from, giggled on the sidelines, but preferred to remain silent so as not to divert from themselves those generosities that Kozma Terentyevich willingly bestowed on his bohemian contemporaries.

It seemed that Soldatenkov himself did not believe that he was worthy to communicate with these magical people, breathe the same air with them, share a common meal. He was generally inclined to belittle his merits. Everything that Kozma Terentyevich was up to seemed to him frivolous and secondary.

There is a known case when he released a luxurious collection Nekrasov with color illustrations highest quality and gold trim. He was advised to give a circulation of 5 rubles per book, but Soldatenkov only chuckled - here, they say, jokers. I gave one and a half rubles each, having a profit of twenty kopecks per copy.

The circulation sold out in two days. On the third day, that Nekrasov went to second-hand booksellers for six rubles. The price continued to rise, and the writer who came to Moscow Alexandr Duma he was terribly glad of a profitable purchase - he found this book for sixteen rubles, and everywhere it cost forty.

The merchant was not offended by reproaches for such blunders, as well as by a dismissive attitude towards himself. He enjoyed life with might and main, and not without reason believed that he was lucky. Actor Mikhail Shchepkin revealed the reason for this joy, explaining at the same time some naivety in matters related to art:

Soldatenkov was born and raised in a very rude and ignorant environment on the Rogozh outskirts of Moscow, did not receive any education, was barely educated in Russian literacy, and spent all his youth in “boys” at the counter of his rich father, receiving copper pennies from him for daily feeding in cold shopping arcades ". He was happy with what he had, and admonished his son: “Write, Vanka, if you become a writer, I’ll write off all my fortune on you.”

One of his contemporaries described housing» Kozma Terentyevich:

In the bedroom above the bed of the owner hangs the "Madonna" by Plockhorst, and in one of the mezzanine rooms - the original "Magdalena" praying before the crucifixion, the work of Maes, which in lithographs and various copies went around all of Russia. In the owner's office, in the corner of the back wall, you will find the originals of two Fedotov genres known from drawings: "The Widow" and "The Aristocrat's Breakfast". Between the landscapes you can find Meshchersky's "Winter", Orlovsky's "Sea Views", Bogolyubov's "Sorrento" and four paintings by Aivazovsky: "Chumak Convoy in the Steppe", "Patmos Island", "Sea View" and "Yalta": two paintings by Lageris belong to his the best things: "Capri" and "Pontic Marshes". You will also stand in front of Shishkin's "Forest".

And the famous collector Alexey Bakhrushin wrote:

His house is a museum in which I was once, which I consider an honor and pleasure, as well as a visit to the Tretyakov Gallery.

Soldatenkov did not spare money for paintings, in contrast to the same Tretyakov, who liked to bargain with artists to the penny. He spent them generously and with ease. He was not limited to fees - the tables were bursting on Myasnitskaya from treats for bohemian figures.

And in gratitude, he received mostly bullying. " Why don't you treat us with asparagus, Kozma Terentyevich?"- one of the many freeloaders once quipped. " Asparagus, my friend, bites - five rubles a pound", - answered the rustic Soldatenkov. And thus gave rise to a new wave of anecdotes.

When, at the request of an unknown archaeologist to finance an absolutely senseless, but at the same time very costly expedition, Soldatenkov refused, he received it right in front of all the society present: “ You are not Cosma Medici, but some kind of Cosma the coachman».

Actor of the Maly Theater D. T. Lensky wrote poetry:

Dinner was very bad for us.
there was also a little mind;
Pogodin spoke to us,
and Kuzma paid the money.

What can I say: myself Chekhov, who for many generations has been revered as a model of the Russian intellectual (recall Dovlatov's " however, I only want to be like Chekhov"), joined in the general laughter. One day, arriving at the mansion on Myasnitskaya, Anton Pavlovich began to examine the latest collection of paintings and chuckled at the same time. " What, the pictures are bad?"- the patron was upset. " No, the pictures are good, but why, Kozma Terentyevich, did you hang them up so badly?».

And Soldatenkov, meanwhile, considered his expenses for art insufficient to justify his own stay on earth. After all, all these paintings, books and sculptures were bought, by and large, for themselves. But what about for others?

And now - about the main thing. Of course, it is interesting to know that our hero was the first owner "The woods" Shishkin, but is it really that important?

Kozma Terentyevich was a member of the Board of Trustees of the Art and Industry Museum, a full member of the society of lovers of commercial knowledge at the Academy of Commercial Sciences, a member of the board of the charitable society at the Basmannaya Hospital, a member of the Board of Trustees of Guerrier's Women's Courses, and the founder of the Advisor K. T. Soldatenkov's Almshouse of Commerce.

After the death of Kozma Terentyevich, according to his will, most of his capital went to the construction of one of the largest Moscow hospitals - a free hospital for the poor, regardless of class and religion. AT Soviet time this hospital was known as Botkinskaya, and only relatively recently its historical name, Soldatenkovskaya, was returned to it. And in 1990, here, on the territory of the hospital, a monument to the philanthropist was opened. That is, our Soldatenkov built the Botkin hospital.

And when in 1861 In the year a tsarist manifesto was issued on the abolition of serfdom, a rumor immediately spread around the country - they say that in fact the tsar did not sign anything like that, but simply the generous Soldatenkov bought all the peasants from the landowners and set them free. And this case speaks about the personality of Kozma Terentyevich much more than all the numerous memoirs, anecdotes, figures and other historical documents.

Kozma Terentievich Soldatenkov went down in history as a successful entrepreneur, and as a patron of the arts, and as an educator.

Kozma Terentyevich Soldatenkov was born on October 22, 1818 in Moscow and was the second son of a wealthy Old Believer merchant Terenty Yegorovich Soldatenkov, in late XVIII century, who moved with his brother Konstantin from the Bogorodsk district to the Mother See and launched an active business activity here. The main business of the Soldatenkovs was focused on textile production.

Almost nothing is known about the childhood of the most famous representative of this merchant dynasty, and, apparently, it did not differ much from how most of the merchant sons of those years spent their early years. Kozma was raised in piety, strictness and obedience, and most of his time, like his elder brother Ivan, he spent in his father's shop, helping him with the housework and in practice studying the wisdom of the merchant's business.

Not only benefit

It seems that Kozma had one quality that greatly distinguished him from many of his peers: he, not particularly educated and growing up in a simple environment, far from a highly cultured life, was interested not only in material goods, but also in values ​​of a higher order. However, it must be admitted that Kozma Terentyevich also had remarkable business acumen. Entering the years and having received from his father the share of the family business due to him, Kozma actively went into business and increased the capital received.

Nevertheless, the craving for beauty did not let go of the young merchant: at first he became interested in collecting paintings, and then, one fine day, taking a well-deserved vacation, he went to travel abroad. In Italy, Kozma Terentyevich became especially close to a representative of another famous merchant family, Nikolai Petrovich Botkin. The younger generation of the elite Moscow merchant dynasty of the Botkins turned out to be close to Soldatenkov in spirit, and one must think that their completely non-commercial addictions at one time caused a lot of anxiety to the head of the family, the founder of the famous tea company, Peter Kononovich Botkin. Four of the nine sons of the merchant had no passion for the family business. His first son, Vasily, became a famous writer and art historian; the second, Nikolai, with whom Solodovnikov became friends, a traveler, a friend of writers, among his close acquaintances, in particular, was Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol, and artists. Another son of the "tea king", Mikhail, chose the career of an artist and collector, and the youngest offspring of the founder of the dynasty, Sergei, became a renowned doctor and public figure. After many, many years, in another Russia, when both Kozma Terentyevich and Sergey Petrovich will rest in peace for a long time, their names will be destined to “meet” again: in 1920, one of the largest and most authoritative Russian hospitals, founded according to the will of Kozma Terentyevich Soldatenkov, and until that time bore his name, will be renamed the hospital named after Sergei Petrovich Botkin.

Nikolai Petrovich Botkin did not skimp on introducing Soldatenkov to his friends from the art world. So, thanks to Botkin, Soldatenkov met Alexander Andreevich Ivanov, who has long lived in Italy and for almost 20 years has been working on his “world plot” - the painting “The Appearance of Christ to the People”. At the request of Soldatenkov, who really wanted to assemble his own art gallery, the basis of which would be the works of Russian artists (as the researchers point out, such a desire was formed by the merchant after he bought the painting Karla Bryullova Bathsheba), Ivanov became his guide and adviser in the art world. Several sketches, including the first sketch of the painting "The Appearance of Christ to the People", Soldatenkov also acquired from Ivanov. By the way, it is believed that the collection of Russian visual arts Kozma Terentyevich for several years older than that that was collected Pavel Mikhailovich Tretyakov .

Sad news awaited Soldatenkov's home: in 1852, his elder brother Ivan died, having bequeathed to his brother the management of the family business and entrusted him with the upbringing of his only son. Soldatenkov treated his nephew like his own child, and after the death of a famous merchant, he became the heir to his enterprises. Kozma Terentyevich himself never entered into a legal marriage and was considered a bachelor. However, he had a girlfriend. She became the beautiful Frenchwoman Clemence Dupuy, with whom the merchant lived in a civil marriage. In Moscow, they liked to joke about the strangeness of this union. The fact is that Mademoiselle almost did not speak Russian, and Soldatenkov did not speak a single foreign language, including French. However, the language barrier did not prevent their life together - it was long and happy.

book enterprise

The beginning of the 50s was the time of Soldatenkov's formation both as a major entrepreneur and as a philanthropist and educator. In Kozma Terentievich, two rare qualities were happily combined. On the one hand, he was a very gifted businessman, with an iron grip and good intuition, thanks to which his numerous transactions ended in unfailing success. On the other hand, a feeling was developed in Soldatenkov, which today is called social responsibility, expressed in a great desire to serve society and his native country not in word, but in deed. And yet he seemed to have been endowed with an enviable sense of proportion, which allowed his two inclinations to peacefully coexist with each other. Soldatenkov donated huge amounts of money to his social projects, but no matter how large-scale his projects were, they never brought him material damage. And despite all his generosity, and in some cases, reliability in relation to those who asked him for help, he, unlike many other Russian entrepreneurs-educators, did not go bankrupt helping and enlightening others. At the same time, Soldatenkov never let his proclivity for commerce triumph over his social mission.

In the 50s, the inquisitive Kozma Terentyevich, apparently through the same Botkins, became close friends with the Moscow Westerners, whose head was Timofey Nikolayevich Granovsky, and despite his patriarchal upbringing and primordially Russian origin imbued with the ideas of a social movement that advocated the development of Russia along the Western European path. From this acquaintance began the educational stage of the merchant's life.

In 1856, Soldatenkov, in partnership with Nikolai Mikhailovich Shchepkin (the son of a great actor and Westerner), opened the Book Publishing Partnership of K. Soldatenkov and N. Shchepkin, in Soviet years acquired the reputation of the first Russian ideological publishing house. It was an absolutely non-commercial project, nevertheless it turned out to be profitable. The partners began to publish the works of leading and for various reasons hitherto little known to the general public Russian writers and foreign authors. In particular, the first 12-volume collected works in Russia were published here. Vissarion Belinsky, works by Timofey Granovsky, poetry Nikolai Nekrasov , Alexey Koltsov, Nikolai Ogarev, Dmitry Grigorovich, collections "Folk Russian Tales" and "Folk Russian Legends" by Alexander Afanasyev, works by Adam Smith. All the books were well and expensively designed, but they cost nothing at all, and therefore their circulation did not lie on the shelves.

A few years later, the partnership between Shchepkin and Soldatenkov broke up: according to researchers, the intellectual Shchepkin could not come to terms with the patriarchal merchant habits of Kozma Terentyevich in managing the company, and Soldatenkov continued his publishing activities alone, maintaining the educational policy of the enterprise. Thanks to him, Russian readers got acquainted with the works Ivan Turgenev(Soldatenkov published the first edition of "Fathers and Sons"), in verse Afanasia Feta, Yakov Polonsky, Seeds of Nadson, historical works Vasily Klyuchevsky. The merit of Kozma Terentyevich, who published a huge number of translated works, is also in the popularization of Western scientific thought. So, Soldatenkov published “Essays on Primitive economic culture» Sieber, Weber's General History (in translation Nikolai Chernyshevsky), "Roman History" by Mommsen, "History of the Decline of the Roman Empire" by Gibbon. Produced by the publisher and world classics, including Homer and Shakespeare. In addition, Soldatenkov published cheap textbooks and books for reading for peasant children.

In the early 60s, Soldatenkov incurred the displeasure of the authorities, which, however, did not cause him much inconvenience. The fact is that the Moscow Westerners, to whom he belonged, were in very close contact with the London political emigrants - Alexander Ivanovich Herzen and Nikolai Platonovich Ogarev, and, to be honest, Soldatenkov often financially supported the publishing projects of these restless freethinkers.

Later, Kozma Terentyevich broke up with the Westerners, at least with their radical wing, but until the end of his life he adhered to liberal views.

As for Soldatenkov's main business, there was no altruism in it at all. The merchant was the owner of one of the largest textile enterprises in Russia, was actively engaged in the trade in cotton products, participated in the organization of a number of manufacturing enterprises: the Huebner Albert Partnership, the Emil Tsindel Partnership, the Danilov Manufactory Partnership, was a shareholder of the Savva Morozov Son and Co. Nikolskaya Manufactory Partnership . In addition, in the late 50s, Soldatenkov became one of the founders and a member of the board of the most ambitious and large-scale enterprise in the then Russian textile industry - the famous Krenholm Paper Manufactory Partnership. Kozma Soldatenkov was among the founders and board members of a well-known insurance company - the Moscow Fire Insurance Company, a member of the board of directors of the Moscow Accounting Bank.

Artwork and more

Until the end of his life, Kozma Terentyevich remained true to his passion for collecting. As he had planned, the basis of his collection were the works of Russian artists. Among the pearls of Russian art, carefully preserved by the patron, were "The Widow" and "Breakfast of an Aristocrat" by Pavel Fedotov, "Seeing the Dead" and "Tea Party in Mytishchi" Vasily Perov, "Self-portrait against the background of a window overlooking the Kremlin" Vasily Tropinin, "Spring is big water" Isaac Levitan, sculptures by Matvey Chizhov, Mark Antokolsky, Nicholas Laveretsky. There were also works of Western art in the collection, but mostly copies.

A special place in Soldatenkov's collection was occupied by icons, which he, who had been a very religious person all his life, apparently treated not only as works of art. Basically, these were works of the Stroganov school, and among the priceless - Andrey Rublev's Spas.

Another passion of Kozma Terentyevich was bibliophilia, his collection of books and magazines consisted of 20 thousand publications.

Soldatenkov's collection was housed in the huge house of the philanthropist, acquired by him in the mid-1950s on Myasnitskaya Street. This repeatedly rebuilt mansion included the chambers of the end of the 17th century. Soldatenkov expanded it, and for his art collection he singled out luxuriously furnished rooms with spectacular names: “Pompeian”, “Byzantine”, “Antique”, “Moorish”, “Svetelka”. The collection was available for public viewing - to see it, only the permission of the owner was required.

Kozma Terentyevich enjoyed the love of representatives of Bohemia, they liked to visit his hospitable house famous writers, among which Anton Pavlovich Chekhov , Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy, Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev, as well as critics, scientists, public figures, actors. As for the artists, they could not get enough of such a collector, because very often he paid a higher price for a painting than he was asked, simply in order to support its author.

As you know, Soldatenkov did not receive a systematic education, but this did not prevent him from communicating on an equal footing with the first intellectuals of his time. Apparently, he was a very interesting and intelligent interlocutor, as well as a hospitable host who knew how to warmly and naturally receive any guest. Kozma Terentyevich generally knew how to get along with people and find mutual language and with those in power, and with fellow merchants, and with representatives public thought, and with Bohemia. He even managed to befriend members of rival political camps.

In the 1860s, the Soldatenkov collection received new premises, and his many acquaintances received another hospitable home. The merchant purchased from the Naryshkin princes an estate and 130 acres of land in Kuntsevo near Moscow. In those years, this picturesque corner was a favorite vacation spot for the elite of the merchant class and the wealthy intelligentsia. With the advent of the new owner of the estate, a cheerful life began to boil in Kuntsevo: in the summer, when Kozma Terentyevich lived here, his bohemian friends began to come here, trying to capture the beauty of Kuntsev and the hospitality of their colorful owner in their works. Here Soldatenkov arranged magnificent holidays for his friends, with sumptuous dinners, concerts and fireworks. He did not forget to help the local peasants, opening, in particular, a children's school in Kuntsevo.

Much is known about other social projects of Kozma Soldatenkov. In particular, he helped many museums. In 1861, he financially supported the creation of the public Rumyantsev Museum in Moscow and, having become an honorary member of the museum, annually donated 1 thousand rubles to it. Helped Soldatenkov and the Art and Industry Museum, and Ivan Vladimirovich Tsvetaev, who conceived the creation of the Museum of Fine Arts in the Mother See.

Soldatenkov was the founder of two Moscow almshouses: one was located at the Rogozhsky Old Believer cemetery, the second - on Meshchanskaya Street. He also donated to houses of charity for widows and orphans, houses of charity for the mentally ill, scholarships for students and high school students.

A well-known businessman, philanthropist, publisher, collector died on May 19 (June 1), 1901 at his dacha in Kuntsevo. He passed away as a merchant of the first guild, a hereditary honorary citizen, an academician of the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts, and an adviser to commerce. According to the memoirs of contemporaries, the entire Mother See saw him off on his last journey, the coffin with the body of the deceased was carried in his arms from the estate to the Rogozhsky cemetery.

last will

A few months before his death, Kozma Terentyevich made a will. It was not like that made by another millionaire, Gavrila Gavrilovich Solodovnikov, who also died in May 1901. He - one of the richest merchants in the country, who during his lifetime was famous for a fair amount of frugality, if not to say stinginess, which, however, did not prevent him from generously donating to charity - expressed his last will with a real Russian scale, leaving the largest donation to social needs in the history of Russia. Of the almost 21 million fortune of Solodovnikov, his numerous relatives got less than one million, the rest went to the creation of women's zemstvo schools, vocational schools for children of all classes, shelters and the construction of social housing for the poor.

The personal fortune of Kozma Terentyevich by 1901 was less than that of Solodovnikov, but also very considerable - over 8 million rubles. Almost half of them went to charity. About 2 million rubles were left for the construction of a free hospital in Moscow "for all the poor, without distinction of rank, class or religion." A few years later, the Moscow city government allocated 10 acres of land for these purposes on the Khodynka field, and in December 1910 the official opening of the hospital named after Kozma Terentyevich Soldatenkov took place. As already mentioned, then this hospital became known as Botkinskaya. The fact that thanks to whom the medical institution appeared was remembered in Russia only in the early 1990s, when a monument to Kozma Terentyevich was erected on the territory of the hospital.

Over 1 million rubles were donated to the creation of a vocational school in Moscow, which was also named after the patron. The remaining funds went to the maintenance of social institutions founded by the merchant during his lifetime, support for the peasants of the village of Prokunino, Bogorodsk district, where the Soldatenkov family came from, and Kuntsev.

Soldatenkov bequeathed his collection of Russian paintings and sculptures (258 paintings and 17 sculptures), as well as the richest library (8 thousand books and 15 thousand magazines) to the Rumyantsev Museum. In 1925, when the museum was liquidated, the collection was distributed among the Tretyakov Gallery, the Russian Museum, the State Library named after V.I. Lenin and other museums Soviet Union. A significant part of the rare icons from Soldatenkov's collection was donated to the Pokrovsky Cathedral of the Rogozhsky cemetery.

As for another social project of Kozma Terentyevich - the publishing house, then with the death of the founder it ceased to exist, the rights to republish many books and unsold copies were transferred to the Moscow authorities.

Anastasia SALOMEEVA
Boss #07 (2009)

Moscow merchant-entrepreneur, publisher, philanthropist, bibliophile, collector of Russian painting, graphics, icons. As a child, he did not receive any education. After the death of his father in the 1850s, he becomes the owner of a large fortune. He allocated a lot of funds for charitable purposes, was actively engaged in educational and publishing activities.

He donated 3,000 rubles for the transportation of RM from St. Petersburg to Moscow, with this money the furnace work, the services of a furniture master, a carpenter, and a locksmith were paid. Then, becoming an honorary member of the museum, for 40 years, until his death, he donated a thousand rubles annually for its development.

News about the Soldatenkov Gallery and references to his collections have been found in literature since the late 1840s. The first purchase, about which there is accurate information, took place in 1852 - this is "Bathsheba" by Bryullov. Therefore, the Soldierenko collection can be considered the very first Moscow collection of Russian painting. It was one of the artistic sights of the city and was close in value to the best museums of its time.

The paintings were in the rooms of a residential mansion on Myasnitskaya (d. 37). The collection was relatively accessible: it was viewed by the public associated with the Republic of Moldova, Moscow University, the Academy of Arts, journalists, artists, teachers and students of the School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, famous figures of Russian culture: I.S. Aksakov, A.P. Chekhov, L.N. Tolstoy and others. In 1865, Soldatenkov bought the Kuntsevo estate and placed some of the paintings there. But mostly in Kuntsevo there were paintings from the collection of Kozma Terentyevich's nephew Vasily Ivanovich Soldatenkov.

Considering his collection as a national treasure, Kozma Terentyevich left it according to the will of the Republic of Moldova and thus forever connected his name with it. More than 250 paintings were transferred to the Art Gallery (28 of them were the works of foreign artists, all the rest belonged to the Russian school of painting), about 20 sculptures, not counting antique copies, several hundred sheets of graphics. The library received by the Republic of Moldova consisted of approximately 8 thousand books (many in luxurious bindings) and 15 thousand copies of magazines in Russian on history, literature and social science, including many autographed publications famous people: F.I. Tyutchev, T.N. Granovsky, I.I. Lazhechnikov and others. The monetary value of the entire gift: paintings, engravings, watercolors, bronzes, sculptures and a library - was determined at 500,000 rubles, an astronomical amount at that time .

In Soldatenkov's will, a desire was expressed that all his art collections be grouped in a museum in a special room, and the collection retained the name "Soldatenkovskogo". In 1901, the museum staff fulfilled this wish only partially: the narrowness of the premises and the continuous growth of the gallery in the pre-revolutionary years prevented it. It was decided temporarily, until a new gallery building with overhead light was built, to place the paintings "on special shields" partly in the so-called Rumyantsev Hall (formerly part of the library) - it contained works by the latest artists - partly in various departments and halls of the Art Gallery. The temporary premises of the Soldatenkovskaya Gallery were cramped and insufficiently lit, it was not allowed to copy paintings in it, although the museum administration was constantly asked to copy them. Nevertheless, only with the arrival in the Republic of Moldova, many of the now famous paintings became available to everyone for free review and study.

Prior to receiving the Soldatenkov collection, the museum contained mainly collections of Russian masters of the XVIII - first half of XIX century, the replenishment consisted mainly of works by Russian artists of the second half of the 19th century. The number of exhibits in the Art Gallery has increased by almost one and a half times - from 664 to 939.

It was possible to find documentary evidence of the fate of half of the meeting of Soldatenkov Sr. after the dissolution of the Republic of Moldova. The location of almost 130 paintings is authentically known. Before the Great Patriotic War paintings from the Soldatenkovskaya Hall were placed in 37 museums in 33 cities. The fate of the second half of the collection (according to A.A. Rizzoni, almost all the paintings were acquired by Soldatenkov in Rome through the mediation of A.A. Ivanov) is unknown. At least 22 paintings were handed over to trade organizations. Not a single canvas from the collections of Kozma Terentyevich and Vasily Ivanovich Soldatenkov has yet been found in the lists of paintings that were irretrievably destroyed during the war.

The analysis of Soldatenkov's books received by the Republic of Moldova was carried out by A.I. Kalishevsky. In 2012, N.V. Tumanova identified 300 copies from her personal library. Ownership signs are dedicatory inscriptions and dedications from the most famous figures of Russian culture (including autographs of employees of the Republic of Moldova E.F. Korsh, K.K. Görtz, E.V. Barsov, N.I. Storozhenko, collectors D.A. Rovinsky , N.A. Popova), bookplates, as well as special - printed on colored paper - copies of publications made by the owner. The earliest book found was published in 1831, the latest in 1901.

Kozma Terentyevich Soldatenkov was buried at the Rogozhsky cemetery. His grave has not survived. In 1991, near the administration building of the Botkin hospital, which was called Soldatenkovskaya before the revolution, since it was created according to the spiritual will of Kozma Terentyevich, a monument was erected to him.

Collectors of old Moscow. pp. 305-309.

Ignatovich T.N. Soldatenkov galleries // Moscow Journal. 1999. No. 2.

Tumanova N.V. “And having conquered millions, he did not submit to millions...”: About the book collection of K.T.Soldatenkov // Book in the space of culture. 2012. Issue. 1(8). pp. 16-26.

Polunina N.M. Who is who... S. 366-370.

Biography

Kozma Soldatenkov did not receive a systematic education, but he was distinguished by an outstanding natural mind.

In 1852, after the death of his elder brother Ivan, he began to manage the family business, which was later inherited by his nephew Vasily Ivanovich Soldatenkov (1847-1910).

He was a major textile manufacturer; He became widely known as a patron of art and a disinterested publisher of a number of valuable works. From the late 1840s, he collected paintings mainly by Russian artists (Karl Bryullov, Alexander Ivanov, Vasily Perov, Pavel Fedotov and others). Assistance in their selection was provided by Vasily Botkin's brother, art historian Mikhail Botkin and artist Alexander Ivanov. For the rich and generous patronage of the arts, Soldatenkov received the nickname "Kozma Medici."

He participated in the creation of the largest textile company in Russia - the Partnership of the Krenholm Paper Manufactory in Narva (1857, member of the board), the Moscow Accounting Bank (1869, member of the council). In 1870, he was a co-founder and one of the first shareholders of the Volga-Kama Commercial Bank founded in St. Petersburg. One of the main organizers of manufacturing firms is the Partnership of Manufactories of Albert Gübner (1871), a shareholder of the Partnership of the Nikolskaya Manufactory "Savva Morozov's son and Co" (1873).

Soldatenkov was a member of the Commercial Court (1854-1858), a member and foreman of the Moscow Exchange Committee (1855-1858); during Crimean War- a member of the Committee for accepting funds from the merchant class for military needs (1855-1856), a member of the Moscow branch of the Council of Trade and Manufactories, an elected member of the Moscow Merchant Assembly, a member of the Moscow City Duma (1863-1876), a member of the Board of Trustees of the Art and Industry Museum (since 1865) ), a full member of the Society of Commercial Knowledge Lovers at the Academy of Commercial Sciences, a member of the board of the charitable society at the Basmannaya Hospital, a member of the Board of Trustees of V. Guerrier's Women's Courses, one of the founders and honorary members of the Society for Assistance to Needy Students. In 1866, Soldatenkov founded the so-called Soldatenkovskaya almshouse (“Almshouse of commerce of adviser K. T. Soldatenkov in memory of February 19, 1861”) for 100 permanent residents of Moscow and visiting “of all classes and confessions, but mainly from former courtyard people.” He provided a two-story brick building for the almshouse (the former 4th Meshchanskaya, now Meshchanskaya Street, 15) and a capital of 15 thousand rubles, then annual additional funding, was her life trustee. In 1894, Soldatenkov transferred 2,400 rubles for plasters from the Munich Glyptotek to Ivan Tsvetaev, who then collected a collection of casts worldwide famous works for the Museum of Fine Arts he created.

Died May 19 (June 1) years in Kuntsevo at the age of 83 and was buried at the Rogozhsky cemetery. In the Soviet years, the grave of Kozma Terentyevich Soldatenkov, as well as the large burial vault of the Old Believer merchants Soldatenkov, were destroyed (section 4 of the cemetery).

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 stored 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. .

In pursuance of Soldatenkov's spiritual will, a vocational school named after K. T. Soldatenkov (1909) (designed by architect Vladimir Sherwood at 37 Donskaya Street) and a city hospital for the poor (until 1920 - Soldatenkovskaya Hospital) were built.

Publishing

Religious beliefs

Soldatenkov took an active part in the life of the Moscow Belokrinitsky community. He financed a trip to London for the Old Believer Bishop of Kolomna Pafnuty (Ovchinnikov) and arranged for his meetings with Nikolai Ogaryov, Alexander Herzen, Vasily Kelsiev. In one of the periods, he was inclined to accept the common faith, which was reported to the Metropolitan of Moscow Filaret (Drozdov) by the chairman of the common faith Nikolsky parish at the Rogozhsky cemetery, V. A. Sapelkin.

In 1862, he welcomed the District Message, compiled by Archbishop Anthony (Shutov) and Xenos (Kabanov).

Moscow addresses

Myasnitskaya, 37

The estate where K. T. Soldatenkov lived included the main house (No. 37), the western wing (No. 33) and the eastern wing (No. 37 p. 3). At the end of the 18th century, there was "the courtyard of the merchant A.I. Dokuchaev in the parish of the Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker on Myasnitskaya."

After the Moscow fire of 1812, the estate was restored in 1819-1821 according to the project of architects O. I. Bove and A. G. Grigoriev; then rebuilt by A.I. Rezanov. Since 1857, Soldatenkov owned it. Here was a huge library and a collection of paintings he had collected. The manager of the estate was his son from a civil marriage with Clemenceau Karlovna Debui (Dupon) - I. I. Baryshev.

In Soldatenkov's home chapel there were icons of the Stroganov school. Signature icons of the 16th century were among the most valuable - "The Burial of John the Evangelist" by the master Nikifor Slavina and "The Sixth Week of the Blind Man" by the master Savin's languor. The pearl of the collection was "The Savior" by Andrei Rublev, acquired by Soldatenkov in the Savvino-Storozhevsky Monastery.

Soldatenkovskaya hospital in Moscow (GKB named after S. P. Botkin)

According to Soldatenkov's will, funds were allocated from his capital for the construction of a free hospital for the poor in Moscow, regardless of class and religion. In 1903, the Moscow city administration allocated 10 acres of land on the Khodynka field. Construction began in 1908, and in 1910 its official opening took place. Currently, the hospital is called the City Clinical Hospital named after S.P. Botkin (2nd Botkinsky proezd, 5; in 1992, a monument to Soldatenkov was erected near the administration building).

Manor Debui - Deminoy

In 1862, the Zolotarev merchants sold the plot (the current address is Sverchkov Lane, 3/2) along with the garden to Kozma Terentyevich Soldatenkov, who built a one-story mansion here for his common-law wife Clemenceau Karlovna Debui (1822-1908).

After Debui's death in 1910, Maria Terentievna Dyomina became the owner of the house. Under her rule, the mansion was rebuilt according to the project of the architect Strukov; in 1967, the second floor appeared and the embassy of Afghanistan was located in the mansion until 2003.

Kuntsevo

Until 1974, the main house was wooden, but lost the belvedere. In 1976, after a fire, it was dismantled and restored in brick, but the original architectural forms were preserved until August 2014, when a new fire again destroyed the reconstructed belvedere and roof.

Notes

1. Here he is buried; miraculously survived the gravestone - Sitnov V.