What class did Savva Frost belong to? Savva Morozov. Enamored philanthropist

A well-known philanthropist, a capitalist who helped the Bolsheviks, died 110 years ago

This happened on May 26, 1905 on Cote d'Azur, already then a fashionable vacation spot for bohemians and moneybags from all over the world. In Cannes, in a room in the luxurious Royal Hotel, one of the the richest people Russia - Savva Timofeevich Morozov. He died from a pistol shot to the chest. Suicide, the official version said. However, many immediately doubted it. They said that on the eve there were no signs of a tragic denouement: Morozov was going to the casino and was in a normal state of mind ...

Savva Morozov was born in Moscow into a very wealthy Old Believer merchant family that lived along strict laws. They did not use electric lighting in the house, considering it to be demonic power, they did not read newspapers and magazines. For poor academic performance, children were mercilessly beaten.

Savva Morozov received an excellent education, graduated from the 4th Moscow Gymnasium, studied at the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of Moscow University, and in 1885 he was sent to England, to Cambridge, where he studied chemistry, worked on a dissertation and at the same time got acquainted with the organization of textile business at English factories. When his father fell ill, Savva returned to Russia and headed his enterprises: the partnership of the Nikolsky manufactory "Savva Morozov's son and K", as well as the Trekhgorny brewing partnership in Moscow.

When he grew up, he began to look like a Tatar Murza - dense, undersized, with intelligent, slightly slanting eyes and a wide, stubborn forehead.

In business circles, they respectfully said about him: “He is doing business widely! However, it doesn’t come out of the calculation, that’s what’s amazing!

His mother, Maria Feodorovna, had a personal capital of 16 million rubles, and by the time of her death she had managed to double it. It was fantastic money for those times. At the present time - the top lines in the list of the rich according to Forbes magazine.

The merchant Morozov was received in high society, enjoyed the favor of Prime Minister Witte, and even received the honor of being received by Nicholas II himself. For "useful activity and special work under the department of the Ministry of Finance" he was awarded the Order of St. Anne of the 3rd degree, and later - also the Order of St. Anne of the 2nd degree.

But, despite the untold wealth, Morozov himself was modest and unpretentious in everyday life, wore boots with patches, like an Old Believer, did not drink vodka, and diluted wine with water. Often distinguished by very original actions. Early one morning he stopped at a tavern. Wanting to please a rich visitor, the innkeeper offered him champagne. In response, Morozov ordered a bucket of champagne to be brought and sent the horse to drink. The worker tried in vain to get the horse to drink. “You see, even a horse doesn’t drink champagne in the morning, and you stick it to me!” Savva Timofeevich told the innkeeper.

Today he would be called a "progressive entrepreneur": he cared about his workers. He built new barracks for them, established medical care, opened an almshouse for the elderly, arranged a park for folk festivals, and created libraries. At the same time, he constantly expanded production, introduced the most advanced technologies. In the Perm province, he built factories and set up the production of acetic acid, wood and methyl alcohol, acetone, methylated spirits, charcoal and acetic acid salts. All this was used in the textile industry.

He became famous as a generous philanthropist. He donated a lot of money for the construction of shelters and hospitals, was an ardent admirer of the famous Moscow Art Theater, regularly made donations for the construction and development of the Moscow Art Theater, and personally managed its financial part. Under his leadership, the theater building was rebuilt and a new hall for 1300 seats was created. On the badge for the 10th anniversary of the Moscow Art Theater there was an image of its three founders - Stanislavsky, Nemirovich-Danchenko and Morozov.

“This remarkable man was destined to play in our theater an important and wonderful role as a patron of art, able not only to make material sacrifices to art, but also to serve it with all devotion, without pride, without false ambition, personal gain,” Stanislavsky said about him.

The turbulent political events in Russia at the beginning of the 20th century did not pass him by.

He unexpectedly became close to the Bolsheviks - those who openly announced that they wanted to destroy the capitalists and factory owners as a class. Lenin's Iskra was published with Morozov's money, the first legal Bolshevik newspapers were founded. New life” in St. Petersburg and “Struggle” in Moscow, and even congresses of the RSDLP were held.

Morozov illegally smuggled banned literature and typographic fonts to his factory, and in 1905 he hid Nikolai Bauman, one of the Bolshevik leaders, from the police. He gave a lot of money to the political "Red Cross" for arranging escapes from exile, for literature for local organizations and to help those who were involved in the Bolshevik party work. He was friends with the "petrel of the revolution" Maxim Gorky.

Becoming a patron of the Art Theater, Morozov became an admirer of Maria Andreeva, who was said to be the most beautiful actress on the Russian stage. A stormy romance ensued, Morozov bowed before her talent. Passionate and addicted nature, Morozov behaved towards her like a boy, rushed to fulfill her every desire.

However, Andreeva was a hysterical woman, prone to adventures and adventures. She was connected with the Bolsheviks and raised money for them. Comrade "Phenomenon", as Lenin proudly called her, managed to "spin on grandmas", as they would say today, even the rich Morozov. But then Andreeva suddenly became interested in Gorky.

It became for Savva Timofeevich with a strong blow. Morozov, of course, could not resist the then most popular writer and rival in Russia, relations between them deteriorated. “What a disgusting person, indeed! - Savva Timofeevich once exclaimed in his hearts, referring to the "Petrel of the Revolution." “Why does he appear to be a tramp when everyone around knows very well that his grandfather was a wealthy merchant of the second guild and left a large inheritance to the family?”

However, even after Andreeva and Gorky began to live together, Morozov still tenderly cared for Maria Fedorovna. When she was on tour in Riga, she was hospitalized with peritonitis and was on the verge of death, it was Morozov who looked after her.

Soon the millionaire began to have problems in the business sphere. When Morozov decided to give the workers the right to a part of the profits, his mother immediately decisively removed her son from capital management. And after on January 9, 1905, a demonstration was shot in St. Petersburg, heading to the Winter Palace with a petition, Savva Timofeevich experienced a strong nervous shock, it became clear to him what revolutionary changes threatened the country. As a result, he completely retired, became homesick and fell into a severe depression. Gorky wrote in his article about Morozov that he confessed to him that he was afraid of going crazy.

Rumors spread around Moscow about his madness. Savva Timofeevich began to avoid people, spent a lot of time in complete solitude, not wanting to see anyone. A council of doctors made a diagnosis: a severe nervous disorder, expressed in excessive excitement, anxiety, and insomnia. Doctors recommended that Morozov be sent abroad for treatment.

And so, accompanied by his wife Zinaida Grigorievna, Savva Timofeevich left for Cannes ...

Shortly before this, Morozov stopped helping the Bolsheviks. However, this turn of affairs clearly did not suit the revolutionaries, who did not want to lose their “cash cow” at all. This is where something mysterious happened.

Shortly before his death, Morozov suddenly insured his life for 100 thousand rubles “to bearer”. In fact, it was a death sentence to himself, signed with his own hand.

What or who forced Savva to act in such a strange way remained a mystery. He handed the insurance policy to Maria Andreeva. A significant part of these funds was then transferred by Comrade Phenomenon to the fund of the Bolshevik Party.

It all ended the way you might have imagined. In May, a shot rang out in Morozov's apartment in Cannes. Zinaida Grigorievna ran into her husband's room and found him shot through the heart. Through the open window, she noticed a man in a raincoat and hat running away. Near the body of the murdered police found a note in which he asked no one to blame for his death. Morozov's personal doctor noted with surprise that the dead man's hands were neatly folded on his stomach, and his eyes were closed by someone. The wife stated that she did not close her late husband's eyes.

However, the true circumstances of the death of Savva Morozov were revealed only several decades later, when his relatives were able to talk about the tragedy without fear of own life. Zinaida Grigorievna herself did not immediately inform the police about the runaway stranger. Probably Morozova feared for her children. She was sure that Krasin was guilty of Savva's death, for many years it was family secret, about which it was customary to speak only in a whisper.

Who was this Krasin, whom some historians actually consider the organizer of the murder of Savva Morozov? An engineer by education, Leonid Borisovich Krasin, whom Morozov appointed in 1904 to supervise the construction of his power plant, was a mysterious person. He was well versed not only in electricity, but also in the manufacture of explosive devices, heading the Combat Technical Group of the Bolsheviks. In Moscow, in Gorky's apartment, Krasin's workshop was equipped, which was guarded by the Georgian thugs of the legendary Kamo. It was here that the bombs that exploded at Stolypin's residence in August 1906 were made. “Krasin dreamed of creating a portable bomb the size of Walnut" Trotsky recalled. Krasin also personally organized bandit raids on bank crews in order to seize money. The military merits of the "engineer" were highly appreciated by his comrades-in-arms, and he was appointed treasurer of the Central Committee.

There are already completely sinister details in the biography of Comrade Krasin. So, he believed in the coming resurrection of the dead, first of all, the great historical figures, assuming that decisive role the achievements of science and technology will have to play in this. It is no coincidence that Krasin was one of the initiators of the preservation of Lenin's body and the construction of a mausoleum on Red Square.

Zinaida Grigoryevna did not believe in her husband's suicide until the end of her life. But, at the insistence of the mother of the deceased, the official version was nevertheless adopted: suicide on the basis of nervous breakdown. “Let’s leave everything as it is,” she decided. “I won’t allow a scandal.”

There is also incredible version about the fact that Morozov's death in Cannes was generally staged. It was known that the merchant never owned weapons and did not know how to handle them. He was not registered at the Royal Hotel, in any case, his signature was not found in the guest log.

The body of the deceased was not officially opened, but the French police already had a bullet removed from the body the next day. However, it did not match the caliber of the revolver found in the room. No fingerprints were found on the weapon.

The note was also not written by Morozov. Contrary to the rules established by the French criminal police, neither the place of death nor the body were photographed, there was not even a description of the scene ...

In Moscow, the coffin that arrived from Cannes was not opened. From Cannes, the body was transported in a coffin of bog oak, sealed in zinc, which was placed in wooden box. The body was delivered to the cemetery in a mahogany coffin covered with lacquer. When unloading from the train, the wooden box with Morozov's coffin was carried by only two workers, the box was very light and small. This gave rise to rumors that Morozov's death at Cannes was, in fact, staged. However, why and why this could be done, and where Savva Timofeevich himself later ended up, is unknown ...

And after the death of Savva Morozov did not immediately find peace. According to Christian canons, suicide is a terrible sin, a suicide cannot be buried in a church and buried in church rites. The Morozovsky clan, using money and connections, began to seek permission for a funeral in Russia, referring to the fact that it was a suicide in the heat of passion. In the end, permission was obtained, Morozov was buried at the Rogozhsky cemetery.

The moral of this mysterious history? Apparently, first of all, in the fact that happiness is not in money. Savva Timofeevich was only 44 years old, and he had everything in his life that many could dream of - wealth, a huge business, talents. However, finding himself in the tenacious hands of adventurers who deftly extorted money from him, and himself carried away by the revolutionary chimera, which he later became disappointed with, he inevitably came to a tragic ending.

Especially for "Century"

150 years ago, on February 15, 1862, the famous Russian industrialist and philanthropist Savva Timofeevich Morozov was born.

Savva Timofeevich Morozov was born on February 15 (3 according to the old style) February 1862 in a very rich Old Believer merchant family, was a hereditary honorary citizen Moscow. He belonged to one of the most famous families in the history of Russian business.

Savva Morozov received a good education: in 1881 he graduated from the 4th Moscow gymnasium, studied at the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of Moscow University, where he attended lectures by Vasily Klyuchevsky on history, and in 1885 he went to England, to Cambridge, where he studied chemistry, worked on dissertation and at the same time got acquainted with the organization of textile business in English factories.

In 1886, after his father's illness, he was forced to return to Russia and take charge of affairs. He headed the joint partnership of Savva Morozov's Nikolsky manufactory son and Co., as well as the Trekhgorny brewing partnership in Moscow.

Having become the head of the Nikolskaya manufactory, Savva Morozov paid much attention to improving the social, living and working conditions of workers. He built new barracks for the workers and provided exemplary medical care. An almshouse was opened for the elderly workers. Morozov also took care of the leisure of the workers - in Nikolskoye, at the expense of the factory owners, a park was arranged for folk festivals, libraries were organized, and the building of a stone theater was laid.

In 1888, Savva Morozov married his divorced relative Zinaida Grigoryevna Zimina. For his wife, Morozov built on Spiridonovka, a quiet aristocratic Moscow street, a mansion with a garden (now the Reception House of the Russian Foreign Ministry). The mansion was built by the architect Fyodor Shekhtel in a fashionable late XIX century neo-gothic style.

The house quickly became a popular place. To receive an invitation to a reception from the wife of Morozov was considered an honor by the highest-ranking officials of the city. Morozov himself did not like these high-society salons, rarely appeared there and felt superfluous.

In business circles, Morozov enjoyed great influence: he headed the committee of the Nizhny Novgorod Fair, was a member of the Moscow branch of the Council of Trade and Manufactories and the Society for Promoting the Improvement and Development of the Manufactory Industry, was elected an elector of the Moscow Exchange Society and remained so until the end of his life.

In 1892, Savva Morozov was awarded the Order of St. Anna, 3rd degree, "for useful activities and special work under the department of the Ministry of Finance", in 1896 he was once again awarded one of top awards Russian Empire- Order of St. Anne, 2nd degree.

Morozov was engaged in the development of the chemical industry and Ural factories. In the early 1890s, he acquired property in the Perm province, rebuilt factories there and launched the production of acetic acid, wood and methyl alcohol, acetone, denatured alcohol, charcoal and acetic acid salt. All these products have been used in the textile industry.

Legends about the untold wealth of Morozov roamed among the people. At the same time, he was modest and unpretentious in everyday life. He is doing charity work and donating money to build shelters and hospitals.

Great was Morozov's help to national culture. He was an ardent admirer of the Moscow Art Theatre, gave him great help, regularly made donations for the construction and development of the Moscow Art Theater, and was in charge of its financial part. Under his leadership, the theater building was rebuilt and a new hall for 1300 seats was created. This construction cost Morozov 300 thousand rubles, and the total amount spent by him at the Moscow Art Theater approached half a million.

“This remarkable man was destined to play in our theater an important and wonderful role of a patron who knows how not only to make material sacrifices to art, but also to serve it with all devotion, without self-love, without false ambition, personal gain,” said Konstantin about Savva Morozov Stanislavsky.

On the badge for the 10th anniversary of the theater there was an image of its three founders - Stanislavsky, Nemirovich-Danchenko and Morozov.

At the beginning of the 20th century, Morozov became keenly interested in politics. He maintained relations with the leaders of the liberal movement, semi-legal meetings of the Cadets took place in his mansion on Spiridonovka. Then revolutionary views led him to close contact with the Bolshevik Party. With his money, the Iskra newspaper was published, the first legal Bolshevik newspapers Novaya Zhizn in St. Petersburg and Borba in Moscow were founded, party congresses of the RSDLP were held. Morozov illegally smuggled forbidden literature and typographic fonts to his factory, and in 1905 he hid Nikolai Bauman, one of the leaders of the Bolsheviks, from the police. He was friends with Maxim Gorky, was closely acquainted with Leonid Krasin.

In February 1905, when Morozov planned to carry out extreme transformations at his factory, which were supposed to give workers the right to a part of the profits, his mother removed him from management, and the events of January 9, 1905, which went down in history as "Bloody Sunday", became a real shock for him. In addition, Morozov began to have problems in family life because of his passion for actress Maria Andreeva.

As a result, Savva Morozov actually retired, fell into a deep depression and avoided communication. The council, convened by relatives, diagnosed him with a severe nervous breakdown, expressed in excessive excitement, anxiety and bouts of melancholy.

On the recommendation of doctors, Morozov, accompanied by his wife, left for Cannes. Here, May 26, 1905, on the shore mediterranean sea, in the Royal Hotel room, the 44-year-old magnate was found dead, shot through the chest. According to the official version, Morozov committed suicide. Many circumstances of this suicide are still not clear. They said that on the eve there were no signs of a tragic denouement - Morozov was going to the casino and was in a normal mood.

Savva Morozov did not immediately find peace after death. According to Christian canons, a suicide cannot be buried according to church rites. The Morozovsky clan, using money and connections, began to seek permission for a funeral in Russia. The authorities were presented with confusing and rather contradictory testimonies from doctors that the death was the result of a "sudden onset of passion", so it cannot be regarded as an ordinary suicide. Finally, permission was granted. The body of Savva Morozov was brought to Moscow in a closed metal coffin and buried at the Rogozhsky cemetery. The tombstone on his grave was made by the sculptor Nikolai Andreev, the author of the famous monument to Nikolai Gogol.

The material was prepared on the basis of information from RIA Novosti and open sources

Born in the village of Zuevo, Bogorodsk district, Moscow province. Grandson of the founder of the Morozov dynasty, Savva Vasilyevich Morozov. The son of a major textile manufacturer, the founder of the Nikolskaya cotton manufactory, an Old Believer Timofey Savvich Morozov and Maria Fedorovna, nee Simonova.

He received his primary education at the 4th Moscow Gymnasium. Then he studied at the natural department of the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of Moscow University, from which he graduated in 1885. He continued his studies at Cambridge in England, where he studied chemistry, was going to defend his dissertation, but returned to Russia to head the family business.

Upon his return, he took over the management of the family Nikolskaya manufactory. He was the director of the Trekhgorny Brewing Association in Moscow, headed the committee of the Nizhny Novgorod Fair, was a member of the Moscow branch of the Council of Trade and Manufactories and the Society for Promoting the Improvement and Development of the Manufactory Industry. "For useful activity and special works" he was awarded the Orders of St. Anne of the 3rd and 2nd degrees.

S.V. Morozov is one of the largest patrons of the Moscow Art Theater, to whose cause he devoted a lot of time and soul. Stanislavsky recalled: “This remarkable man was destined to play in our theater an important and wonderful role of a patron of art, able not only to make material sacrifices to art, but to serve it with all devotion, without pride, without false ambition and personal gain.”

Savva Timofeevich was married to the daughter of a Bogorodsk merchant of the second guild, G.E. Zimina Zinaida Grigorievna Zimina. In her first marriage, she was Morozov's cousin, Sergei Vikulovich Morozov, whom she divorced and a few years later married Savva Morozov. Their romance made a lot of noise in Moscow, and caused a storm of protests in the family. Divorce, marriage to a divorced woman is a terrible sin in the Old Believer environment. Nevertheless, Morozov insisted on his own and the wedding took place. For his beloved wife, Savva Timofeevich built according to the project of F.O. Shekhtel luxury home at Spiridonovka. Had four children: Maria - married to I.O. Kurdyukov; Elena; Timothy; Savva.

The merchant Morozov provided all kinds of support to the revolutionary forces of Russia: he gave money for the publication of Iskra, smuggled printing typefaces, hid the revolutionary Bauman from the police, himself delivered forbidden literature to his factory, but most importantly, he provided considerable financial assistance to the revolutionaries. He was a close friend of M. Gorky. Towards the end of his life, he tried to break ties with the Bolsheviks by reconsidering his political views.

In 1898, Morozov met Maria Fedorovna Zhelyabuzhskaya, nee Yurkovskaya, an actress of the Moscow Art Theater with the stage name Andreeva. This was Morozov's last strong passion, which ended in a tragic break for him - in 1904, the actress Andreeva became civil wife M. Gorky.

In 1905, Savva Timofeevich was in the deepest mental crisis. Rumors circulated in Moscow about his madness. The family decided to send him to France. In Cannes, in a hotel room on May 13, 1905, at four in the afternoon, Morozov was found dead. The official version - shot himself. Currently, there are two versions of what actually happened in Cannes: Morozov committed suicide due to harassment by the Bolsheviks, or he was killed by the Bolsheviks themselves.

The body was transported to Moscow and buried at the Old Believer Rogozhsky cemetery. In Moscow, a rumor spread that the coffin was lowered into the ground empty, and Morozov was alive and hiding somewhere in the depths of Russia.

Nemirovich-Danchenko left some comprehension of the tragic end of Savva Timofeevich: “Human nature cannot stand two equivalent opposing passions. The merchant does not dare to get carried away. He must be true to his element, the element of endurance and calculation. Treason will inevitably lead to a tragic conflict ... And Savva Morozov could be passionately carried away. Until love. Not a woman - this did not play a role for him, but a person, an idea, a public .... He ... gave significant sums to the revolutionary movement. When the first revolution broke out in 1905 and then a sharp reaction, something happened in his psyche, and he shot himself.

Bison Games

Savva Morozov was born in 1862 in the village of Zuevo near Moscow into a wealthy merchant family. From an early age, he had a strong temper, for which he received the nickname Bison. He graduated from Moscow University, then trained in England, preparing to defend his dissertation in Cambridge. But, only after returning to Moscow, he gave vent to passions.

There was a lot of money. Savva did not deny himself anything. It was rumored that once he drove a troika into the hall of the Yar restaurant - for the sake of this case, the beggars hired by him dismantled the wall in Yar for two days, and it’s scary to imagine how much it cost to coordinate this attraction with the administration.

There is, however, other information - supposedly Savva was dissuaded for a long time, nothing helped, but when his acquaintance a gypsy dancer complained that because of this trick the entire gypsy troupe would be left without work for a long time, he abandoned his crazy idea. Allegedly, he understood only this argument.

However, all this is nothing more than tales, only once again emphasizing the full scale of Savva.

Stanislavsky, director of the Art Theater, wrote: "Savva Timofeevich Morozov not only supported us financially, but also warmed us with the warmth of his responsive heart and encouraged us with the energy of his cheerful nature."

Businessman Without Borders

Journalist N. Rokshansky spoke about Savva Timofeevich: “S.T. Morozov is a type of Moscow big businessman. Small, stocky, tightly tailored, agile, with fast-moving and constantly laughing eyes, now a “shirt-guy”, capable of even pranks, now a cautious, businesslike businessman-politician “on his mind”, who firmly knows his line and from norms will not work - neither my God! .. Educated, energetic, decisive, with a large supply of that purely Russian ingenuity, which almost all gifted Russian businessmen flaunt ...

There is strength in S.T. Morozov. And not only the power of money - no! Morozov does not smell of millions. This is just a gifted Russian businessman with exorbitant moral strength.

And the publicist A. Osipov wrote: “An Old Believer and a non-priest, a person with a university education, a chemist by profession, is afraid of tobacco, like grass grown from the womb of a harlot, and supports the works of Ibsen, Hauptmann and the latest Russian whiners. The stage with its businesslike realism, rehearsals, make-up, every little thing of the actor's everyday life, and next to this huge factories that employ thousands of people. Here throwing money, there counting every absentee hour. Ibsen and bezpopovshchina, the system of shops and the staging of symbolic works, what kind of head can withstand it, but the Muscovite doesn’t care.”

Savva Timofeevich did not fit into any framework.

Of course public opinion in principle did not exist for such a person. He could, for example, sit down in the Testovsky tavern with the seditious writer Maxim Gorky and at the same time buzz to the whole hall:

- I am your admirer ... Your relevance attracts me. For us Russians, the strong-willed principle and everything that excites it is especially important.

Savva was friends not only with Gorky, but also with other revolutionary writers, for example, Leonid Andreev.

He saw no boundaries in anything at all. Gorky wrote: “His personal needs were very modest, one could even say that he was stingy with himself, at home he walked in worn-out shoes, on the street I saw him in patched shoes.”

And he confessed: “When I see Morozov behind the scenes of the theater, in dust and trembling for the success of the play - I am ready to forgive him all his factories, which, however, he does not need, - I love him, because he disinterestedly loves art, which I almost I can feel it in his peasant, merchant, acquisitive soul.

However, the story with the theater ended badly. Savva Timofeevich, because of some nonsense, quarreled with the director Nemirovich-Danchenko and left the number of shareholders, in fact, leaving the entire troupe without a livelihood. And if another rich philanthropist, Nikolai Tarasov, had not taken his place in time, the theater would definitely not have survived, and everyone understood this very well.

And city rumor attributed to Savva Morozov a mansion on Vozdvizhenka, made in the form of a Moorish castle. In particular, the critic A. Fevralsky, speaking about the history of the Proletkult theater, which was located here under the new government, wrote that "on the upper part of the walls, not covered with panels, one could see the moldings of the former mansion of Savva Morozov."

In fact, this mansion belonged to Arseny Abramovich Morozov, and had nothing to do with Savva Timofeevich.

"Boring and huge mausoleum"

His house in Moscow, on Spiridonovka was a landmark, and his appearance was an event. The art historian Prince Shcherbatov wrote: An interesting phenomenon there was a newly built palace, huge, extraordinarily luxurious, in the Anglo-Gothic style, on Spiridonovka - the richest and smartest of the merchants Savva Timofeevich Morozov ... the largest patron of the arts. I went with my father to Grand opening of this new Moscow “miracle”, erected on the site of a charming mansion that was demolished famous family Aksakov, the light of the Russian old culture.

All eminent merchants gathered for this evening. The hostess, Zinaida Grigorievna Morozova, a former weaver ...

Here I saw and heard for the first time the young at that time, still rather shy Chaliapin, who was then only ascending the luminary, and Vrubel, who performed an excellent sculpture of dark oak in the Gothic hall, and a large vitro "Faust with Margarita among the Flowers".

True, Gorky did not like it here: Appearance... the houses on Spiridonovka reminded me of a boring and huge mausoleum, for some reason built not in a cemetery, but in the street. The door was opened by a large mustachioed man dressed as a Circassian, with a dagger at his belt; it seemed completely superfluous or accidental among heavy Moscow luxury and a vast vestibule ...

Downstairs, there is a living room wonderfully painted by Vrubel, a cold and deserted hall with columns of pinkish marble, a huge dining room, with a sideboard, gloomy, like a model of a crematorium, and in all rooms there are a lot of rich things of a diverse nature and the same purpose: to prevent a person from moving freely.

In the master's bedroom there is an awesome amount of Sevres porcelain: a wide bed is decorated with porcelain, mirror frames are made of porcelain, porcelain vases and figurines on the dressing table and on the walls, on brackets. It was a bit like a dishware shop.”

“It was an absurd front house,” wrote Mikhail Buryshkin, a historian of Russian merchants and entrepreneur himself, about the mansion.

But Chaliapin liked it here.

Aviators, basket makers, watchmakers

The estate in Odintsovo near Moscow, built by the architect Fyodor Shekhtel, delighted his contemporaries. Local historian N. Chulkov recalled: “Odintsovo, as the estate of the Morozov manufacturers, has been imprinted in my memory since the distant pre-war times. One day in the summer of 1936, we, the children, picking strawberries along the slopes of the Sukromsky ravine, went to the banks of the Rozhai and a fabulous palace appeared in front of us on the opposite bank of the river in all its splendor. Someone who knew and had been here before said: "The Palace of Savva Morozov."

In the rays of the bright June sun, the palace seemed to me like a sailing ship. This first impression of the vision of a floating ship does not leave me now, half a century later, when I see the Morozov Palace.

Savva also became famous for patronage in these places - he supported handicraftsmen from Golitsyn, located nearby. Here, not without his participation in 1891, the first basket workshop was opened. In addition, he paid for the training of handicraftsmen, helped them to establish sales - and in addition to baskets, wicker furniture and even industrial containers for transporting coal were produced here.

He also set up a handicraft museum in Golitsyn. English teachers, which happened here after the death of the patron, in 1911, left an admiring review: "Such an exhibition in terms of the quality and artistry of products would do honor to any country."

He also helped handicraft watchmakers. One of local residents wrote: “My childhood memories include watching watchmakers who sat in their huts by the windows with their wives and children and made watches.” The local watchmakers were trained in Germany.

There was also a peasant theatre, an amazing thing at that time. The scenery for it was made by the famous Valentin Polenov. And among the spectators, Leo Tolstoy himself was once seen. Of course, without the participation of Savva Morozov, all this would have been unthinkable.

He assigned prizes of five hundred rubles to aviators who were fashionable at that time - they competed for speed, who would fly faster. But Ivan Tsvetaev, who came to ask for money for the Museum of Fine Arts, was refused.

Why? Who knows. Maybe he just wasn't in the mood.

Bolshevik manufacturer

By the way, he was no less enthusiastic entrepreneur than a philanthropist. One of the engineers of the Nikolskaya manufactory, owned by Savva Timofeevich, described the owner of this production as follows: “Excited, fussy, he ran hopping from floor to floor, tried the strength of the yarn, put his hand into the thick of the gears and pulled it out unharmed, taught teenagers how to tie in a broken thread. And the newspapers called Savva Timofeevich "a merchant governor."

And with all this, the main object of his sponsorship were the revolutionaries. They, without hesitation, came to the mansion on Spiridonovka, demanded everything more money probably blackmailed their benefactor. Savva Morozov financed the Iskra newspaper and other Bolshevik publications, personally delivered illegal literature to his own factories, own house hid the revolutionaries Bauman and Krasin from the police.

Apparently, over the years, the businessman and revolutionary sponsor got completely confused. He, unexpectedly for all his acquaintances, became the initiator of the movement of Russian manufacturers against the strikers. Already at that time he was not well. Gorky recalled Savva Timofeevich: “One rainy day in the fall, he was sitting in my room at the Knyazhy Dvor Hotel, silently drinking strong tea and annoyingly tapping his fingers on the table. The rain lashed the window, streams of water flowed over the glass, it was very boring, it seemed that the glass would wash away, water would pour into the room and drown us.

- What happened to you? I asked.

“I don’t sleep well,” Savva answered reluctantly, wrinkling his face. I see stupid dreams. Recently I saw that some people grabbed me on the street and threw me into the basement, and there were thousands of rats, some kind of rat parliament. Rats sit on tubs, boxes, on shelves and talk like humans. But so, you know that each single word stretches for five minutes, and this slowness is unbearable, painful. Like all the rats know terrible secret and they should say it, but they cannot, they are afraid. A desperately stupid dream, and I woke up in wild anxiety, covered in sweat.

The council, consisting of the country's most prominent psychiatrists, issued a verdict: "A severe general nervous disorder, expressed either in excessive excitement, anxiety, insomnia, or in a depressed state, attacks of melancholy, and so on."

And, as an apotheosis - suicide in 1905 in Cannes. Savva Morozov was found dead in a hotel room. There was a note lying on the floor: “I ask you not to blame anyone for my death.”

According to some researchers, this suicide was staged.

Savva Morozov owned a huge weaving industry, he owned logging and mines. Morozov was the owner of chemical plants and hospitals, newspapers and even a theater.

At the beginning of the 20th century, there were only a little more than two dozen wealthy merchant families in Moscow, and 7 of them bore the surname Morozov. The most noticeable trace in the history of the development of the domestic economy was left by the merchant Savva Morozov. He was not only a textile magnate, merchant and philanthropist, but a highly educated person who supported the Bolshevik Party. He is often called the "new Russian", but not like the modern nouveaux riches, deprived of spirituality, petty tyrants-rich.

Savva Morozov: the beginning of the journey

Savva Morozov was born on February 3, 1862 in the city of Zuevo, Moscow province. His parents were Old Believer merchants. It is from the grandfather of Savva Vasilyevich, a former serf, that the glorious Morozov dynasty originates. The boy's father, Timofey Morozov, stood at the origins of the creation of the Nikolskaya cotton manufactory, headed the Moscow Stock Exchange.

In the photo Savva Morozov

Savva's mother's name was Maria Simonova, her ancestors were also Old Believers who owned paper mills. Savva was the youngest of the six children of the Morozovs. When he was born, four eldest daughters and son Sergei were already growing up in the family, who years later led the Museum of Handicraft Art. Four more Morozov children died shortly after birth.

The childhood of the future merchant and philanthropist passed in the estate owned by the Morozov family. Their house was located next to the Ivanovsky Monastery, in Trekhsvyatitelsky Lane.

When the boy grew up, he was sent to study at the fourth Moscow gymnasium. After graduation, Savva continued his studies at the Imperial Moscow University, preferring the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics. A young man emerged from its walls as a certified physicist. Even before completing his studies, Morozov wrote a long article that covered the topic of developing chemical dyes. In 1885, Savva Morozov entered Cambridge, where he again studied chemistry and wrote a dissertation. It was during these years that the textile industry became his new interest, Savva delved into all the intricacies of production, got acquainted with the process at Manchester factories. In 1886, Morozov returned to Russia, and listened to a course of lectures by a professor.

family business

The working biography of Savva Morozov began upon his return to his homeland. By that time, the father of the family was seriously ill, and young man I had to become the head of the Trekhgorny brewing partnership and head the Nikolsky manufactory, which was called Savva Morozov's son and Co. He began by focusing on improving the lives and working conditions of his workers. Soon his people were already living in the new barracks, could receive a qualified medical care in first-aid posts, Savva created a nursing home for the elderly. Morozov did not spare money for the arrangement of the park, in which the festivities took place, and for the opening of the library. His workers could count on paid maternity leave, Morozov sent the most intelligent and quick-witted workers to study at universities and colleges.

As a result, the workers at Morozov's production were much more developed and more competent than those of other employers. Savva never fired employees without good reason, directors who illegally fired people were threatened with serious punishment. Not a single exhibition or fair was complete without the participation of the Nikolskaya manufactory, and its products always won first prizes. Morozov's workers had a normally equipped life, and therefore they worked with greater efficiency. Their products were of higher quality than those of their neighbors, and they also outpaced their competitors in quantity. The raw material for the work of the manufactory was cotton, which was grown on Morozov's cotton fields in Turkestan.

It is impossible not to note the contribution of Savva Morozov to the development of the domestic chemical industry. In 1890, his factories in the Perm province began to produce chemical reagents - wood and methyl alcohol, acetic acid, denatured alcohol, acetone, charcoal. In 1905 he became one of the founders joint-stock company connected chemical plants "S.T.Morozov, Krel and Ottman". In the 90s, Morozov became the head of the Nizhny Novgorod Fair, became a member of the Council of Trade and Manufactories, and the Society for the Promotion of the Development of Light Industry.

Savva Morozov was a member of the elected Moscow Exchange Society until 1905. He long years headed the Nizhny Novgorod exhibition pavilion, and that is why he was honored to greet the tsar, who arrived at its opening. Morozov's contribution to development Russian industry noted the Ministry of Finance, and in 1892 he was awarded the Order of St. Anne III degree, and in 1896 he was awarded the same order, only II degree. In the early years of the twentieth century Russian entrepreneur Morozov was seriously carried away by liberal ideas.

He met the Zemstvo constitutionalists, then the Social Democrats. Thanks to his money, the newspapers Iskra, Borba, Novaya Zhizn began to appear. A little later, Morozov illegally helped the revolutionary movement, even hiding the Bolshevik Bauman in his house. Savva personally knew Leonid Krasin, a friend of Lenin.

After the events of 1905, later called "Bloody Sunday", Morozov wrote a letter in which he considered the reasons that caused the strikes.

He was going to send it to higher authorities. Morozov wrote that peaceful strikes must not be cracked down on, the workers' right to freedom of speech and the press must not be taken away. He called for all school education and personal integrity.

However, neither his mother Maria Morozova nor the main shareholders of the Nikolskaya manufactory took the side of Savva. In March 1905, they held a meeting and decided to destroy this message. Savva began to experience depression, which was aggravated by a deep nervous breakdown. A month later, Maria Morozova managed to convene a medical council, which included famous doctors- F.A. Grinevsky, G.I. Rossolimo, N.N. Selivanovsky. They carefully studied Savva's condition and strongly recommended that he continue his treatment at the resort.

patronage

Following family traditions, Savva never spared money for charity. Morozov's friends were Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko. In 1898, it was Morozov who stood at the origins of the creation of the Moscow Art Theater, which survived only thanks to the financial injections of the entrepreneur, and to this day is the pride of Russian culture. In 1901, Morozov was in charge of its financial department. Morozov spent a fabulous amount on the construction and maintenance of the theater - five hundred thousand rubles, or two of his annual salaries.

The name of Savva Morozov now adorns the theatre's badge, issued for the tenth anniversary of its founding. There is also a portrait of Nemirovich-Danchenko and Stanislavsky. The entrepreneur did not leave students without attention, constantly sponsoring Moscow University. Morozov participated in the construction of hospitals, almshouses and shelters. In addition, Savva was a well-known horse breeder, he bred thoroughbred trotters, many of which came out winners in Moscow races.

Personal life

In 1888, Zinaida Zimina became the wife of Savva Morozov, whose father was the famous Bogorodsk merchant G.E. Zimin. Prior to this, Zinaida was already married to Morozov's cousin-nephew, but their marriage broke up. Savva was so in love that he did not even wait for the blessing of his parents, who were categorically against this marriage. The religion of their family did not allow them to marry a divorced woman, but Savva insisted on his own. Six months after the wedding ceremony, they already became the parents of their son Timothy. In 1890, their daughter Maria was born, five years later another daughter, Elena, and in 1903, a son was born, named after his father, Savva.

In 1893, the house on Spiridonovka, which previously belonged to the merchant Aksakov, became the property of Savva Morozov. For five years, Savva rebuilt it according to special project, the author of which was F.O. Shekhtel. The new mansion of the entrepreneur soon received the first guests, it was there that frequent balls were held, the guests of which were the most famous people that time.

In 1898, in Morozov's personal life, big changes- he fell in love. His passion was Maria Zhelyabuzhskaya (Yurkovskaya), who served in the Moscow Theater and appeared on its stage under the pseudonym Andreeva. She was a member of the Social Democratic Party and sometimes performed tasks received from Vladimir Ulyanov (Lenin). It was Maria who managed to completely change Morozov's political preferences and convince him to finance their party. Their relationship ended in 1904, the windy mistress left Morozov for the sake of Maxim Gorky. This gap was a blow below the belt for the entrepreneur.

Death

At the insistence of a medical council assembled by his mother, Morozov went straight to Germany in May 1905, and then moved to Cannes. He was accompanied by his wife and doctor Selivanovsky. In Savva's personal life, peace and tranquility again came, he became close to his wife. However, on May 13 (May 26, according to the new style), he was found shot to death in his own room at the prestigious Royal Hotel. Next to him was a note in which the entrepreneur asked no one to blame for his death.

Zinaida Morozova and numerous friends of their family suspected that they simply wanted to present what had happened as a suicide, but in fact Savva was shot dead. However, neither the French nor the Russian authorities were particularly eager to solve this crime. In addition, the mother of the deceased also strongly recommended sticking to the version of suicide, because she did not want everyone to know about her son's relationship with the revolutionaries. The issue of an expert opinion, which confirmed the affective state of the deceased, was taken care of by a medical commission established in Moscow. Thanks to this, Savva Morozov was buried at the Rogozhsky cemetery.

Memory

The name of Savva Morozov has not sunk into oblivion, his life and work are often recreated by domestic filmmakers. In 1967, the film "Nikolai Bauman" was released, where the role of Morozov went to Efim Kopelyan, in another film called "The Red Diplomat. Pages of the life of Leonid Krasin”, the performer of the image of Savva was Donatas Banionis.

In 2007, the multi-part project Savva Morozov was released, in which Sergey Veksler played the main character. Four years later, the documentary project “The Fatal Love of Savva Morozov” was filmed, in which the archives of the Morozov family were used.

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