The houses of Volkov, Osipov or Morozov. Merchant houses are preserved in every Russian city, which today, in addition to historical value, perform some other function. It can be a museum, a house of creativity, a library. Merchant houses form entire residential streets. Built “in good faith” many years ago, they are still suitable for living today.
City merchants
This is a class of people engaged in trade. They were the link between production and the market. Accumulating capital on the resale of purchased products, they developed the Russian economy. All merchants were divided into three guilds depending on the size of the state.
In large cities, wealthy merchants, striving for self-assertion, built mansions and brought about the atmosphere of a noble life, imitating the nobility. In small towns, they built solid manor houses on the central streets. Until now, in small towns, as a reminder of past years, there are merchant houses of Volkov, Peskov or Kutakov.
Merchant names
But no matter what qualities and talents the “manufacturer” was endowed with, no matter what connoisseur of works of art he was, no matter how much cultural baggage he possessed, he was far from immediately, or even never, accepted “on equal terms” among the noble estates.
We know many merchant names that have remained in history, thanks to the nobility and generosity of their owners. These are the Demidovs, Morozovs, Tretyakovs, Mamontovs and many others. And, nevertheless, such unkind epigrams went to cities to acquire mansions that belonged to noble families earlier:
"This castle brings a lot of thoughts, I involuntarily felt sorry for the past:
Where the Russian mind once reigned
Factory savvy now reigns. ”
And perhaps it was a simple envy. Indeed, in small towns, the construction of merchant houses, of course, is simpler, also did not cause the delight of most residents. But these houses today are the history of the city.
The surname of Volkov is very common in Russia, it was often found in the merchant's environment. Each city had its own merchants and houses of Volkov-namesakes. Meet some of them.
Volkov from Vologda
Brothers Pavel and Alexander, merchants of the 1st guild, conducted active trade in the 19th century. Alexander Evstafievich was engaged in charity work: he donated money to the church, in the care of the wounded and sick, and built a hospital. For this he was awarded a gold medal, was elected to the vowels of the provincial Assembly, in the city Duma, was the city head.
His sons, Nikolai and Sergey, continued the work of his father. Nikolai Alexandrovich entered the service of the city Duma, and from 1893 he held the post of mayor. Under him, a telephone, water supply, and electricity appeared in the city, and sequential numbering of houses was introduced.
Of course, he received the main income not from the public service, but from trade affairs, which allowed him to engage in charity work extensively. Nikolai Alexandrovich, his brother and the whole family are registered as hereditary honorary citizens of the city of Vologda.
The family had several houses in the city, one of which was stone. Only one Volkov house in Vologda has survived to this day, which is a monument of wooden architecture of the 19th century.
Volkov from Novozybkov
The small town of Novozybkov in the 19th century received a powerful impetus to progressive growth, and then to fame, when the match industry began to actively develop here. Its founders were F. Maryutin from Vyazma and local merchant Maxim Markovich Volkov. The match factory (pictured) and the Volkov and Sons trading house soon became known throughout Russia.
By the end of the century, annual growth in production, which means jobs and profits, made Novozybkovsky uyezd the largest producer of matches in the empire.
Maxim Markovich is the inventor of the incendiary mass of matches without phosphorus. To ignite the mass, you need to hold it on a rough surface. Soon, its products began to be exported abroad, and in 1908 the Volkov trade house in Novozybkov, together with the Osipov manufacturers, created the match Russian monopoly ROST. Of course, all of them were benefactors of the city.
The Volkov house in the photo, built by the owner of the factory in 1904, adorns Lomonosov Street today. Chopped from logs, decorated with carved decor, in plan it is a T-shaped composition. Since 1948, it has been a city museum of local lore.
Volkov from Glazov
Sending his son-heir Alexander on a trip to Russia in 1837, Emperor Nicholas I told him: "It is impossible to rule a country that you do not know." On that long trip, the future emperor Alexander II drove through the Udmurt districts of the Vyatka province.
Although Nicholas I commanded, “so that they could see things as they are, ” intensive preparations were made for the arrival of the heir in each city. So it was in Glazov: they hastily repaired roads, prepared transportation across the Cheptsa River, and cleaned the villages.
They entered the city at night, and the heir immediately went to the apartment, to Volkov’s merchant’s house. Izhevsk was the next city to be visited.
On the porch of the city Head met Alexander with bread and salt, and in the house - the whole merchant family. The table was set for dinner, in the center stood two caplet sterlet, which struck the heir with its size.
When leaving, the prince gave the merchant an expensive ring and gave 300 rubles for the poor residents of the city of Glazov. And the house of the merchant Ivan Volkov, who gave the night to the future “Tsar Liberator, ” is still standing. He is almost two centuries old.
