“Merchant Voivode”: how Savva Morozov changed Russian industry. Literary and historical notes of a young technician

A famous philanthropist, capitalist who helped the Bolsheviks died 110 years ago

This happened on May 26, 1905 on the Cote d'Azur, already then a fashionable vacation spot for bohemians and moneybags from all over the world. In Cannes, in a room at the fashionable Royal Hotel, one of 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 the day before nothing foreshadowed a tragic outcome: Morozov was going to the casino and was in a normal state of mind...

Savva Morozov was born in Moscow into a very rich Old Believer merchant family that lived according to strict laws. They did not use electric lighting in the house, considering it a demonic force, and did not read newspapers and magazines. Children were punished mercilessly for poor academic performance.

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 his dissertation and at the same time became acquainted with the organization of the textile industry in English factories. When his father fell ill, Savva returned to Russia and headed his enterprises: the partnership of the Nikolskaya manufactory “Savva Morozov’s son and Co,” as well as the Trekhgornoye Brewing Partnership in Moscow.

When he grew up, his appearance began to resemble a Tatar Murza - dense, short, with intelligent, slightly slanted eyes and a wide, stubborn forehead.

In business circles they said about him with respect: “He does business extensively!” However, it doesn’t come out of the calculation, that’s what’s surprising!”

His mother Maria Fedorovna had a personal capital of 16 million rubles, and by the time of her death she managed to double it. This was fantastic money at that time. At present, they are at the top of the list of rich people according to Forbes magazine.

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 activities and special works Department of the Ministry of Finance" was awarded the Order of St. Anne, 3rd degree, and later also the Order of St. Anne, 2nd degree.

But, despite his 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 his wine with water. He was often distinguished by very original actions. Early one morning he stopped at a tavern. Wanting to please the rich visitor, the innkeeper offered him champagne. In response, Morozov ordered a bucket of champagne to be brought and sent the horse to be watered. 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’re pushing it on me!” Savva Timofeevich said to 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, set up a park for public festivities, and created libraries. At the same time, he constantly expanded production and introduced the most advanced technologies. In the Perm province he built factories and established the production of acetic acid, wood and methyl alcohol, acetone, denatured alcohol, 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 fan 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 with 1,300 seats was created. The badge for the 10th anniversary of the Moscow Art Theater featured an image of its three founders - Stanislavsky, Nemirovich-Danchenko and Morozov.

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

The turbulent political events in Russia at the beginning of the twentieth century did not bypass him.

He suddenly became close to the Bolsheviks - those who openly declared that they wanted to destroy the capitalists and factory owners as a class. With Morozov's money, Lenin's Iskra was published, the first legal Bolshevik newspapers Novaya Zhizn in St. Petersburg and Borba in Moscow were established, and even congresses of the RSDLP were held.

Morozov illegally smuggled prohibited literature and printing fonts into his factory, and in 1905 hid one of the Bolshevik leaders, Nikolai Bauman, from the police. He gave a lot of money to the political “Red Cross” for organizing 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.

Having become a patron of the Art Theater, Morozov became a fan of Maria Andreeva, as they said, the most beautiful actress on the Russian stage. A whirlwind romance began, Morozov admired her talent. A passionate and addicted nature, Morozov behaved towards her like a boy, rushing 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 “promote the rich man Morozov with money,” as they would say today. But then Andreeva unexpectedly became interested in Gorky.

This was a strong blow for Savva Timofeevich. Morozov, of course, could not resist the then most popular writer and rival in Russia, the relationship 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 present himself as a tramp, when everyone around knows very well that his grandfather was a rich merchant of the second guild and left the family a large inheritance?”

However, even after Andreeva and Gorky began to live together, Morozov still took tender care of Maria Fedorovna. When she was on tour in Riga and 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 business sphere. When Morozov decided to give workers the right to part of the profits received, his mother immediately decisively removed her son from capital management. And after on January 9, 1905, a demonstration heading to the Winter Palace with a petition was shot in St. Petersburg, Savva Timofeevich experienced a strong nervous shock, it became clear to him what revolutionary changes threatened the country. As a result, he completely retired from business, became sad and fell into severe depression. Gorky wrote in his article about Morozov: he admitted to him that he was afraid of going crazy.

Rumors spread throughout Moscow about his madness. Savva Timofeevich began to avoid people, spending a lot of time in complete solitude, not wanting to see anyone. A council of doctors diagnosed him with a severe nervous disorder, expressed in excessive agitation, anxiety, and insomnia. Doctors recommended sending Morozov 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”. This is where something mysterious happened.

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

What or who forced Savva to act in such a strange way remains 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 as one might have expected. 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. Next to the body of the murdered man, the police found a note in which he asked not to blame anyone 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 harm. own life. Zinaida Grigorievna herself did not immediately inform the police about the fleeing stranger. Morozova probably 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 training, Leonid Borisovich Krasin, whom Morozov appointed in 1904 to lead 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 Bolshevik Combat Technical Group. In Moscow, in Gorky’s apartment, Krasin’s workshop was equipped, which was guarded by 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 a walnut,” Trotsky recalled. Krasin also personally organized bandit raids on bank crews in order to seize money. The “engineer’s” military merits were highly appreciated by his comrades-in-arms, and he was appointed treasurer of the Central Committee.

There are also completely ominous details in the biography of Comrade Krasin. Thus, he believed in the future resurrection of the dead, especially great historical figures, believing that decisive role achievements of science and technology will have to play a role in this. It is no coincidence that Krasin was one of the initiators of preserving Lenin’s body and erecting a mausoleum on Red Square.

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

There is also an incredible version that Morozov’s death in Cannes was actually staged. It was known that the merchant had never owned a weapon and did not know how to handle it. He was not registered at the Royal Hotel; in any case, his signature was not in the guest register.

The body of the deceased was not officially opened, but the next day the French police already had a bullet removed from the body. 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 was photographed, there was not even a description of the scene of the incident...

In Moscow, the coffin, which arrived from Cannes, was not opened. From Cannes the body was transported in a coffin made of bog oak, sealed in zinc, which was placed in a wooden box. The body was taken to the cemetery in a mahogany coffin covered with varnish. 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 in Cannes was, in fact, staged. However, why and why this could have been done, and where Savva Timofeevich himself later ended up is unknown...

And after the death of Savva Morozov, he did not immediately find peace. According to Christian canons, suicide is a terrible sin; a suicide cannot be buried in church and church rituals. The Morozov clan, using money and connections, began to seek permission for a funeral in Russia, citing the fact that it was suicide in a state of passion. In the end, permission was received, Morozov was buried at the Rogozhskoye cemetery.

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

Especially for "Century"

Savva Timofeevich Morozov (born February 3 (15), 1862 - death May 13 (26), 1905) - Russian entrepreneur, philanthropist.

The largest calico manufacturer Savva Morozov. He continued the Timofeevich line among the descendants of his famous grandfather Savva Vasilyevich.

Savva Morozov's childhood years

Savva Morozov was born in 1862 in Moscow into the Old Believer merchant family of Timofey Savvich and Maria Fedorovna Morozov. His childhood years were spent in his parents’ spacious estate on Bolshoi Trekhsvyatitelsky Lane. The Morozov family was very rich. Peace and order reigned in the family. Ros Savva grew up in complete prosperity. The mansion on Bolshoi Trekhsvyatitelsky Lane had a winter greenhouse and a huge garden with gazebos and flower beds. Young man brought up in the spirit of religious asceticism, in exceptional severity.

Priests from the Rogozh Old Believer community served in the family chapel every day. The extremely pious mistress of the house, Maria Fedorovna, was always surrounded by hangers-on. Occupying a 2-story mansion with 20 rooms, she did not use electric lighting, considering it a demonic force. For the same reason, I didn’t read newspapers and magazines, and shunned literature, theater, and music. But the new generation of the richest merchants was brought up in a new way. The Morozov family had governesses and tutors, children were taught secular manners, music, foreign languages.

Studies. Homecoming

1881 - Savva enters the natural sciences department of the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of the Moscow Imperial University, from which he graduates in 1887 with a diploma in chemistry. In 1885–1887 he studied chemistry at the University of Cambridge, at the same time becoming acquainted with the organization of the textile industry in factories in Manchester (England).

1887 - after the Morozov strike and his father’s illness, he was forced to return to Russia and take over management of affairs. Savva Morozov was then 25 years old. He was like his father in character: he made decisions quickly and forever. He said about himself: “If anyone gets in my way, I will cross and not blink.”

In the early 1880s, 1.6% of the shares of the family enterprise Partnership of the Nikolskaya Manufactory “Savva Morozov's son and Co.” belonged to the five children of the owners - Timofey Savich and Maria Fedorovna. Among them was Savva Jr. However, since 1886, he became part of the management of the Nikolskaya manufactory “Savva Morozov’s son and Co.” The main and main shareholder of the manufactory was Savva’s mother Maria Fedorovna: she owned 90% of the shares. In production matters, Savva could not help but depend on his mother. In reality, he was a co-owner-manager, and not a full owner.

Innovations in production

When Savva became one of the directors of the manufactory, the equipment at the factory was already outdated, there was a shortage of fuel, and a crisis had broken out and competition had increased. It was necessary to rebuild the whole thing on the fly. He orders the latest equipment from England. The father categorically disagreed - it was expensive, but Savva broke Timofey, who had fallen behind in life. The old man did not accept his son’s innovations, but in the end he was forced to give in: fines were canceled at the manufactory, prices were changed, and new barracks were built.

After the father died, the mother became the managing director of the Partnership, and Savva Morozov, a chemical engineer by training who studied in England, heads production and is in charge of equipment and product quality issues. Maria Fedorovna got angry when Savva gave orders first in his own way, as he considered necessary, and only then came up: “Here, mama, allow me to report...” But she could not help but be proud of her son. He was a wonderful host.

Expansion of the empire

Things went brilliantly at the Partnership. Nikolskaya manufactory was in third place in Russia in terms of profitability. Morozov's products began to displace English fabrics even in Persia and China. At the end of the 1890s, 13,500 people were employed in the factories; about 440,000 pounds of yarn and almost two million meters of fabric were produced here every year.

Savva Morozov was also the director of the Trekhgorny Brewing Partnership in Moscow.

He owned cotton fields in Turkestan, the acquisition of which was started by his father.

In 1890, Morozov bought an estate in the Urals in the village of Vsevolodo-Vilva, Perm province. The main goal there was the presence of forests as raw materials for the production of chemical reagents. Reagents were needed to create new dyes used in manufacturing. In Vsevolodo-Vilva, Savva Timofeevich converted a former ironworks into a chemical plant. He opened another plant of the same profile on the Ivaka River.

Savva Morozov with his wife, Zinaida Grigorievna

Personal life. Zinovia Grigorievna

Savva's infatuation with his cousin's wife caused a lot of noise. Zinovia Grigorievna comes from an Old Believer merchant family. At the age of 17, her parents married their daughter to a wealthy representative of the Morozov dynasty. The marriage was not happy. Zinovia began dating Savva Morozov. She wrote in her memoirs: “When my love for Savva Timofeevich began, I was 18 years old, I didn’t know whether I should decide to divorce...”

The divorce, initiated by Zinovia Grigorievna, nevertheless took place in 1887. Almost a year and a half passed after Zinovia’s divorce, when her pregnancy confronted them with the need to legitimize their relationship. The Old Believers considered marrying a divorcee a “sin and shame” that cast a shadow not only on the newlyweds, but also on their relatives. According to Zinovia Grigorievna, her father said: “It would be easier for me, daughter, to see you in a coffin than to endure such a shame.” Maria Feodorovna said this about this: “The first groom in Moscow, and who he brought into the house... That your Zinovia without a dowry is not so bad, divorce is what’s bad.”

The wedding of a 26-year-old groom and a 21-year-old bride took place on June 24, 1888. As a gift, Savva Morozov bought a house on Bolshaya Nikitskaya in the name of Zinovia Grigorievna, where the young people began to live separately from their parents. Soon Zinovia began to be called by the more secular name Zinaida.

Savor

The intelligent but vain wife adored luxury and reveled in social success. Her husband indulged her every whim.

In the early 1890s, he purchased a mansion with a garden on Spiridonovka and registered it in his wife’s name. The house was immediately dubbed the “Moscow miracle”. The house of extraordinary style - a combination of Gothic and Moorish elements welded together with Art Nouveau plasticity - immediately became a metropolitan landmark.

There, the married couple received guests and organized balls, where one could meet Mamontov, Botkin, Chaliapin, Gorky, Chekhov, Stanislavsky, Boborykin and other prominent people of Russia. Knipper-Chekhova recalled one of these balls: “I had to attend Morozov’s ball. I have never seen such luxury and wealth in my life.”

The wife's personal apartments were furnished with unprecedented luxury. The owner's office and bedroom looked more than modest. The only decoration is a bronze head of Ivan the Terrible by Antokolsky on the bookcase. The asceticism of the room decoration was reminiscent of a bachelor's home.

In relation to himself, Savva Timofeevich was extremely unpretentious, even stingy - at home he walked around in worn-out shoes, and on the street he could appear in patched shoes. Zinaida tried to have only the best: if there were toilets, then the most incredible ones; if there were resorts, then the most fashionable and expensive ones. One day Zinovya Grigorievna was invited to Grand Duchess Ksenia Alexandrovna, the Tsar’s sister. The guest's bouquet was so beautiful and luxurious that the highest lady bit her lips in envy. Morozov's wealth and power had no equal in the country. The best trotters in Russia, “Tashkent” and “Neyada,” owned by Savva Morozov, won almost all prestigious races at Moscow hippodromes.

Z.G. Morozova sparkled in society, trying to turn her house into a secular salon. She “easily” visited the Tsarina’s sister, the wife of the Moscow Governor-General, Grand Duchess Elizaveta Fedorovna. Evenings, balls, and receptions were commonplace. Zinaida Grigorievna was constantly surrounded by secular youth and officers. Savva turned a blind eye to all this. The mutual frantic passion quickly passed and grew into indifference, and then into complete alienation. They lived in the same house, but practically did not communicate. Even four children could not save this marriage.

Savva Morozov and Maria Andreeva

New hobby. Maria Andreeva

It so happened that Savva Timofeevich became interested in the Moscow Art Theater actress Maria Andreeva. For her sake, Morozov provided great assistance to the Moscow Art Theater: the construction of the building alone cost him 300,000 rubles. She was considered the most beautiful of Russian actresses, but she did not have a special artistic gift. Using Morozov’s selfless love for herself, she extracted money from him and spent it on dubious enterprises. When Maria Fedorovna became common-law wife Gorky, Morozov still did not stop caring for her reverently. When, while on tour in Riga, she was hospitalized with peritonitis and was on the verge of death, it was S.T. Morozov who looked after her. He bequeathed to her an insurance policy in the event of his death.

Loneliness

Personal disappointments gradually narrowed the circle of loneliness.

Morozov remained in complete isolation. A talented, smart, strong, rich man could not find a shoulder to support. He had no friends in his circle; the society of merchants was unimaginably boring for him. He contemptuously called his colleagues “a wolf pack.”

Savva Timofeevich at one time became interested in the revolutionary movement. He financed the publication of the Social Democratic newspaper Iskra, and with his funds the first Bolshevik legal newspapers Novaya Zhizn and Borba were established. Morozov illegally smuggled prohibited literature and printing fonts into his factory, and in 1905 hid one of the Bolshevik leaders, Bauman, from the police. He was friends with M. Gorky and was closely acquainted with Krasin. Over time, understanding came true attitude to him from the side of his “comrades”: the Bolsheviks saw in him only a stupid cash cow and shamelessly used his money.

Shocked tragic events On January 9, 1905, Savva Timofeevich told the Chairman of the Committee of Ministers, Witte, about the need to put an end to autocracy; drew up a note demanding freedom of speech, press and unions, universal equality, inviolability of person and home, compulsory school education, public control over the state budget.

Strike

1905, February - there was a strike at his Nikolskaya manufactory. Then Morozov demanded that the management of the Partnership accept the workers’ conditions and transfer into his hands complete management of affairs at the factory. The mother was so frightened that she insisted on removing her son from work.

When he tried to object, she shouted: “And I don’t want to listen!” If you don’t leave on your own, we’ll force you.”

Savva Morozov fell into severe depression. Rumors about his madness began to spread throughout Moscow. He began to avoid people, spending a lot of time in complete solitude, not wanting to see anyone. At the insistence of his wife and mother, a consultation was convened. Doctors recommended sending the “patient” for treatment abroad.

Death of Savva Morozov

Accompanied by his wife, Savva left for Cannes. There, in May 1905, he was found dead in a hotel room, shot through the chest. Morozov was 44 years old. According to the official version, the tycoon committed suicide, but another version cannot be ruled out: he could have been killed by staging a suicide.

It turned out to be unprofitable for the French and Russian sides to conduct an investigation. Savva Morozov’s mother also insisted on suicide, fearing the publicity of her son’s financial affairs and his connections with revolutionaries. The body was brought to Moscow in a closed metal coffin. A medical commission was created in the capital, which issued an expert opinion on the affective state of the tycoon before his death, which made it possible to bury the deceased in the Rogozhskoye cemetery.

Most of Savva Timofeevich's fortune went to his wife, who, shortly before the revolution, sold shares in the manufactory. Beloved actress Maria Andreeva received 100,000 rubles under an insurance policy.

After her husband's suicide in 1905, Zinaida decided to sell the house. As a result, the house was purchased for 870,000 rubles, along with all the furnishings, by Mikhail Ryabushinsky. The new owner settled here with his wife, Bolshoi Theater ballet dancer Tatyana Fominichnaya Primakova. The life of a talented person ended tragically.

With Abba Morozov - one of the richest people Russian Empire beginning of the twentieth century, philanthropist and philanthropist. How did he go down in history? Sofya Bagdasarova reports.

Savva Timofeevich Morozov was a representative famous dynasty merchants-Old Believers. The millionaire managed the family enterprise - the Nikolskaya textile manufactory, as well as other companies and factories. Cool character, powerful intellect, excellent education (chemistry at Cambridge), bearish physique, huge fortune - Savva Morozov was a very prominent figure in business at the beginning of the twentieth century.

His patronage

The Morozov family became famous for its success in trading activities, and love for the arts: for example, his cousin Ivan Abramovich collected a collection of impressionists, which the Pushkin Museum and the Hermitage are now proud of. But Savva Timofeevich preferred intangible values ​​and was very simple in everyday life: he could walk in worn-out shoes with patches, and among the works of art he kept in his office only a bust of Ivan the Terrible by Mark Antokolsky.

He took care of his workers (he abolished fines, introduced benefits for pregnant women, etc.), built hospitals, maternity shelters, and donated to the publication of books. Sympathizing with the revolutionary movement, he sponsored the publication of the newspapers Iskra, Novaya Zhizn and Borba.

The most important, perhaps, was his contribution to the creation of the Moscow Art Theater (Chekhov Moscow Art Theater): Morozov spent a colossal amount of about half a million rubles on the construction of its building and other needs.

However, if necessary, Morozov also understood fine arts. For example, he ordered the relief “Swimmer”, which decorated the entrance to the Moscow Art Theater, to Anna Golubkina, who had just returned from Paris.

His women

Savva married with scandal, stealing his wife from his poorer relative Sergei Vikulovich Morozov. His wife Zinaida was a woman of great intelligence, as contemporaries wrote - “dexterous, with an insinuating expression of black, intelligent eyes on an ugly but significant face.” Morozov adored her and showered her with money and gifts.

For Zinaida, he built a luxurious mansion on Spiridonovka. The building in a pseudo-Gothic spirit was erected by Fyodor Shekhtel, for whom this became one of the key works. The interior of the mansion is even more ornate than the exterior - no wonder Zinaida was reproached for the bad taste of the nouveau riche, and they also slandered that at receptions she allowed herself to make the train of her dress longer than that of the Empress, and the bouquet more luxurious than that of the Grand Duchess.

The couple had four children. Over time, their relationship cooled. Morozov's new passion in the last years of his life was one of the most beautiful women Russia - Moscow Art Theater actress Maria Andreeva. Who, in addition, was the life partner of Maxim Gorky and one of the active figures in the revolutionary movement. He also showered her with money - only it was not spent on pearls and diamonds, but on underground activities.

Zinaida Morozova

Zinaida Morozova with her daughters

Maria Andreeva and Maxim Gorky in Repino

Maria Andreeva

His death

In 1905, Savva’s mother, the official owner of the Nikolskaya manufactory, concerned about his behavior and revolutionary views, took control of the enterprise from him. Morozov became isolated and stopped going out into society. Rumors spread that he had gone mad. In April 1905, a council created to assess his health decided that he was in a state of health. nervous disorder, which manifests itself either in excessive excitement, insomnia and anxiety, or in attacks of melancholy and a depressed state.

Morozov and his wife went abroad for treatment. On May 13, he was found dead in a hotel room in Cannes with a Browning in his hand. Nearby there was a note: “I ask you not to blame anyone for my death.” However, all family members and many friends were sure that Morozov had actually been killed. A possible motive was also mentioned - his insurance policy for 100 thousand rubles, which ended up with Andreeva. The news of the death of the industrialist led to panic on the stock exchange.

Morozov was buried according to Christian rites, in the Old Believer Rogozhskoe cemetery, next to his ancestors, as if there was no certificate from the French police about suicide.

The life and death of factory owner Savva Morozov are full of mysteries. The main one is the mysterious death of a philanthropist

May 13 (26), 1905 on Cote d'Azur in a luxurious room at the Cannes Royal Hotel, the famous Russian entrepreneur and philanthropist Savva Timofeevich Morozov. At that moment he was effectively removed from the management of his factories. According to the official version, because of this, his mental state was on the verge of a deep crisis, and there was no one nearby who could help him survive the depression. But is that really how things were?

Savva Morozov was born in 1862 in Orekhovo-Zuevo into a wealthy merchant family. In 1881, he graduated from the Moscow gymnasium, and in 1885, from the natural sciences department of the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of Moscow University. In 1885-1887, he studied chemistry at the University of Cambridge, at the same time becoming familiar with the organization of production in England, working in a textile factory in Manchester and preparing to defend his dissertation.

And since 1887, the future philanthropist became the owner-manager of the Partnership of the Nikolskaya Manufactory “Savva Morozov’s Son and Co.” - instead of his retired father. At his factory, he introduced noticeable improvements for workers: he abolished the merciless system of fines, established scholarships for students, and built new bedrooms. Soon, Savva Morozov headed a group of chemical plants, became a member of the Moscow branch of the Council of Trade and Manufactures and the Society for Promoting the Improvement and Development of the Manufacturing Industry.

PASSION FOR THE THEATER AND... THE REVOLUTIONARY MOVEMENT

Savva Timofeevich’s real passion was the Moscow Art Theater (MAT), into which he invested not only huge amounts of money, but also his whole soul.

In 1898, Morozov became a member of the theatrical partnership formed by K.S. Stanislavsky and V.I. Nemirovich-Danchenko. And after that, he regularly made donations for the construction and development of the Moscow Art Theater and managed its financial part. According to historians, the patron’s expenses for the theater in 1898-1902 amounted to at least two hundred thousand rubles. He spent another three hundred thousand in 1902 on a new theater building.

At the beginning of the 20th century, Savva Timofeevich suddenly became interested in liberal ideas, and Zemstvo constitutionalists began to gather for semi-legal meetings in a mansion on Spiridonovka.

In addition, Morozov was associated with the revolutionary movement and financed the publication of the Social Democratic newspaper Iskra. With his funds, the first Bolshevik legal newspapers “New Life” and “Fight” were established. He illegally smuggled prohibited literature into his factory, and in 1905 he hid one of the Bolshevik leaders N.E. from the police. Bauman.

IN THE PHOTO: Most likely, the beautiful actress Maria Andreeva acted under the influence of the famous expropriator, revolutionary Lev Krasin

When a strike broke out at the Nikolskaya manufactory, Savva Timofeevich entered into negotiations with the workers, but... was removed from management by them.

The circle of loneliness was inexorably shrinking. Oddly enough, the millionaire remained completely isolated. Surprisingly, this one is certainly talented, smart and strong man I was never able to find support in life. His wife had been annoying him for a long time. He had no friends in his circle (he contemptuously called merchants and manufacturers “a wolf pack,” and they responded to him with fearful and vindictive dislike). Gradually, an understanding of the true attitude towards him on the part of his “comrades” came: it is clear that the Bolsheviks saw in him only a rich man and shamelessly used his money.

It is believed that Savva Timofeevich fell into severe depression. Be that as it may, doctors recommended sending him abroad for treatment.

“I ASK YOU NOT TO BLAME ANYONE FOR MY DEATH”

Accompanied by his wife, in April 1905, Savva Timofeevich went first to Berlin and then to Cannes. It was there that he committed suicide in a room at the Royal Hotel.

Many of the circumstances surrounding this suicide are still unclear.

They said, for example, that nothing foreshadowed a tragic outcome. Cannes clearly benefited the entrepreneur. On that terrible day, he was going to visit the casino and was in a great mood. After breakfast, he walked his wife to the lobby - it was time for her to go to the dressmaker. The receptionist handed him a note. There was nothing in it except a clearly marked question mark. Savva Timofeevich depicted next to Exclamation point and said to the receptionist:

If the sender comes by, please pass on my reply to him.

After that, he reassured his wife:

No need to worry, darling. Go about your business.

At lunch, Savva Timofeevich had an excellent appetite: he ordered oysters with white wine. Zinaida Grigorievna could not be happier. Her husband’s treatment in Cannes gradually turned into something like a new honeymoon for them.

After lunch, Savva Timofeevich announced:

It's hot, I'll go and rest a little.

Zinaida Grigorievna stayed to talk with the doctor, and then went up to the room and sat down in front of the mirror to put herself in order. And at that moment I heard the sound of a shot...

Savva Morozov was lying on the floor in a pool of blood. Near him they found a nickel-plated Browning and a piece of paper on which was written: “I ask you not to blame anyone for my death.” There was no signature or date. But what surprised me most personal doctor millionaire N.N. Selivanovsky - the deceased’s hands were folded on his chest, his eyes were closed, and the window into the garden was open.

He then asked Zinaida Grigorievna:

Did you close his eyes?

The unfortunate woman shook her head negatively.

A little later, Zinaida Morozova, who unexpectedly became a widow, told the Cannes police that she allegedly saw a man in a hat and raincoat running away from the garden, but no one could confirm her testimony. In addition, the version of suicide was very beneficial to both sides - the French (this eliminated the need to open a case and investigate the crime) and the Russian (it is not known where the strings would be drawn if everything was thoroughly investigated). In addition, an important role in closing the case was played by the mother of the deceased, who understood perfectly well that if the investigation established that her son actively helped the revolutionaries, this would become a big problem. And she harshly suppressed all attempts to find out the truth, saying: “Let's leave everything as it is. I won’t allow a scandal.”

INSURANCE POLICY FOR HUNDRED THOUSAND RUBLES

“Restless Savva” did not find peace even after death. According to Christian canons, a suicide cannot be buried according to church rites, but the Morozov family, using money and connections, began to seek permission for a funeral in Russia.

First of all, it was necessary to obtain permission from the church for a funeral not outside the cemetery fence, where those who committed suicide usually found their final refuge, but directly in the cemetery. For this purpose, doctors’ testimony was provided that the fatal shot could have been fired in a state of “sudden passion,” and therefore the death could not be interpreted as an ordinary suicide.

In the end, the consent of the church was obtained, and the body of the deceased was brought to Moscow in a closed metal coffin. A magnificent funeral was organized at the Rogozhskoye cemetery, and then a funeral dinner was held for nine hundred people.

Naturally, the coffin was not opened, and at the Rogozhskoye cemetery, where the funeral took place, no speeches were allowed to be made over the coffin. But the then Governor-General of Moscow A.A. Kozlov still managed to whisper to the widow: “I don’t believe in conversations about suicide, Savva Timofeevich was too significant and respected a person. It's a huge loss for everyone."

All these circumstances led to the fact that rumors began to circulate in Moscow: there was no Morozov in the coffin, he never left Europe, but was hiding somewhere in France or Switzerland.

Added fuel to the fire famous actress Moscow Art Theater Maria Fedorovna Yurkovskaya, who used the stage name Maria Andreeva. By the way, by the time she joined the theater troupe, this woman was already a convinced Marxist who carried out various party assignments (some researchers believe that meeting Savva Timofeevich was precisely one of these party assignments).

In particular, the writer B.M., who lives in France. Nosik states:

“M.F. Andreeva at that time was already an agent of Lenin, who, amazed at her exploits, called her “Comrade Phenomenon.” Other completely party authors call her “Lenin’s financial agent” and “party emissary”... Lenin did not recognize any moral obstacles in the ways of obtaining money... More subtle operations for the seizure ("expropriation") of other people's money were in charge of the cunning Leonid Borisovich (or Lev Borisovich) Krasin (underground nickname Nikitich). The beautiful Andreeva, most likely, acted under the direct leadership of Krasin, who developed the operation to “expropriate” Morozov’s money.”

Dying

Note from Morozov

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Ru.wikipedia.org

The fact that Savva Timofeevich “breathed unevenly” towards Maria Andreeva was well known. This was a typical vamp woman, whom both Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko idolized, and she, as if to spite them, married the “tramp” Maxim Gorky (she was his common-law wife from 1904 to 1921). So, this lady came to the bank and brought an insurance policy “to bearer”, signed by Savva Timofeevich, who bequeathed in the event of the most irreparable to hand over one hundred thousand rubles to the bearer of this policy. At the same time, she stated that the deceased entrusted the money to her. Then she wrote: “Morozov considered me an absurd lack of money and often expressed the fear that with my love to give everything, I would someday die under a beggar’s fence, that both strangers and relatives would rip me off like a stick. That’s why, being confident that he would not escape a family illness - a mental disorder - he insured his life for one hundred thousand rubles to bearer, giving the policy to me.”

CASH COW OF REVOLUTION

This insurance policy, naturally, served as fertile ground for the wild growth of all kinds of guesses and assumptions. Here, for example, is one of the versions. Convinced that the “cash cow of the revolution” was gradually getting out of control, the “comrades” tried to force Savva Timofeevich to change his mind. Krasin came to Cannes for this purpose. He met a rebellious millionaire on the street and asked him for 1,200 rubles to buy weapons. Morozov resolutely refused. Apparently, Savva Timofeevich was threatened, but he did not succumb to blackmail, and then the fatal shot followed. Such an explanation, by the way, was widely circulated in pre-revolutionary Moscow and even found its way into the memoirs of Prime Minister S.Yu. Witte.

Some believed that the notorious “bearer” insurance policy could well have been stolen by Maria Andreeva. Why not an option: the actress did not want to part with generous lover, preferring to continue to extract money from him, but for some reason he refused to tolerate this in the future, and then she...

There is also another version, which, at first glance, seems simply monstrous. The death of Savva Timofeevich was beneficial to his mother, Old Believer Maria Feodorovna, a very powerful woman with a clear mind and independent views. The point is that in Lately the relationship between them was far from ideal. After Bloody Sunday, the mother contributed to the removal of her son from the management of the factories and, under the pretext that he needed urgent rest, sent him to the Cote d'Azur...

In general, there is no shortage of versions about the cause of Savva Timofeevich’s death. Naturally, first of all, researchers strive to find out who could benefit from the death of an entrepreneur. In particular, A.A. Arutyunov in the book “The Killers of Savva Morozov” writes: “Morozov, carried away by Andreeva, handed her an insurance policy so that she would not die “under a beggar’s fence.” This happened in 1904. Probably, Andreeva told her bosom friend Krasin about this. There is no doubt that it was this professional swindler, L.B. Krasin, and came up with the idea of ​​speeding up the receipt of money under the policy. Moreover, after Bloody Sunday, Morozov turned his back on the Bolsheviks, thereby depriving them of significant material support.

And the fact that Krasin, on the instructions of Lenin, Nikitich (Krasin’s nickname), “the magician and wizard of the Bolshevik party,” tried to organize the printing of false banknotes in Berlin, but this matter was stopped in time by the German police. It was Krasin who was the organizer of the planned robbery and murder of the Berlin banker Mendelssohn, which also failed, and the perpetrator of this action, the experienced repeat offender Kamo, summoned by Krasin from Russia to rob the millionaire, was arrested by the secret police...

We could put an end to this, since it is already extremely clear that Savva Timofeevich was killed by the Bolsheviks in order to take advantage of the insurance policy.”

At one time, Nemirovich-Danchenko noted: “Savva Timofeevich could get carried away passionately. Before falling in love." This is how he became interested in the beauty from the Moscow Art Theater Maria Andreeva. And when she began to live with Maxim Gorky, he was terribly worried and even wanted to shoot himself. At the same time, according to some historians, he wrote a note: “I ask you not to blame anyone for my death.” However, remembering his wife and children, he abandoned such madness and gave the note to Andreeva as a keepsake.

All this fits perfectly into the following scheme: when Lev Borisovich Krasin learned about the existence of an insurance policy for one hundred thousand rubles, Morozov’s fate was decided; the party really needed money and... Any fan of detective novels can easily figure out the further course of events involving a “suicide” note written in Morozov’s hand.

Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs V.F. Dzhunkovsky in his “Memoirs”, written after the October Revolution, states: “S.T. Morozov went so far as to give a large sum revolutionaries, and when he finally fell into their clutches, he committed suicide.”

It is difficult to agree with this. Most likely, the point was precisely that Savva Timofeevich did not agree to give the “large sum” that Lenin and Krasin were counting on: events last months undermined his trust in the Bolsheviks. He quarreled with both Gorky and Krasin. Apparently, his relationship with Andreeva also became more complicated.

In a secret report to the Police Department after the funeral of Savva Timofeevich, the Moscow mayor, Count P.P. Shuvalov reported:

“According to the information I received from a completely reliable source, Savva Morozov, even before his death, was in close relations with Maxim Gorky, who exploited Morozov’s funds for revolutionary purposes. Shortly before leaving Moscow, Morozov quarreled with Gorky, and one of the Moscow revolutionaries came to see him in Cannes, as well as revolutionaries from Geneva, who blackmailed the deceased.”

B.M. Nose in the article “ Mysterious death in Cannes" writes:

“The police don’t know how Morozov could be blackmailed, but the assumption of blackmail is quite reasonable. The Bolsheviks had to threaten Savva with something, not only with Browning and further influence on his frayed nerves... As inveterate amateurs, we will look for who could benefit from the murder of Morozov. And we can easily discover that to the same Krasin (with whom the humanist Gorky was in cahoots). Since Morozov is not going to break off a big jackpot for Lenin’s deeds “in an amicable way,” he will have to use an “insurance policy.” It turns out that Andreeva had an insurance policy “to bearer” - Savva’s life was insured for one hundred thousand. How this document came into the hands of Andreeva and whether it was forged or stolen, why Savva signed the death warrant for himself and whether he signed it himself - I cannot say. It is known that love is evil..."

THE FURTHER FATE OF THE WIDOW AND THE “RIDICULOUS LESSER”

According to the will (by the way, not certified by a notary), the heiress S.T. After the death of Morozov, the millionaire became his widow and their four children. Andreeva then sued the widow of the deceased, she lost, and the money went to Lenin through Krasin (Andreeva wrote that - “give the money to L.B. Krasin”). Later, all the materials from this Moscow legal battle about the inheritance were removed from the archives by someone.

By the way, Maria Andreeva became a member of the RSDLP in 1904, that is, a year earlier than Gorky. Then she served as commissar of theaters and spectacles, and in 1919 (on the recommendation of L.B. Krasin) she was appointed commissioner of the expert commission of the People's Commissariat of Foreign Trade for Petrograd. In 1926, the “ridiculous lack of money” received a government appointment to Berlin, where she became the head of the art and industrial department of the Soviet trade mission. She died in 1953 in Moscow and was buried at the Novodevichy cemetery.

After the death of Savva Timofeevich, his widow was left alone with four children in her arms. She stopped going out in society, appearing only at theater premieres. Of course, she had something left, and she very skillfully managed the Morozov funds that were left to her.

In 1907, Zinaida Morozova married again: this time to General Anatoly Anatolyevich Reinbot, who soon became the mayor of Moscow. In 1916, this marriage broke up on the initiative of Zinaida Grigorievna (it is believed that this happened after the general was accused of embezzlement and put on trial). Subsequently, the retired general, having changed his German surname to Russian Rezvy, participated in Civil War. According to one version, he died at the front in 1920, according to another, he was tortured to death in 1918 by the Bolsheviks.

After the revolution, Zinaida Morozova-Reinbot miraculously escaped repression. However, is it a miracle? In 1909, she acquired the Gorki estate in Podolsk district and, having reconstructed it, created a fully electrified dairy farm, livestock and horse yards, built greenhouses and laid out luxurious gardens. There was also a telephone in Gorki that provided communication with Moscow. And what’s interesting is that it was this estate that was chosen for the stay of the seriously ill V.I. Lenin (where he died in January 1924). As for Zinaida Grigorievna, she died in 1947, and now her ashes rest in the Morozov family crypt at the Rogozhskoye cemetery in Moscow.

Russian spirituality is special. Only a Russian, dying of hunger, can give another a single small piece of bread. And if he has a lot of “pieces”, if a person works hard and has a lot, then giving was already a need.

The Morozov family of merchants was very famous in Russia. The “Bogorodsky first merchant guild” Savva Vasilyevich Morozov (Sava the first, then the family continued with the most famous Morozov - Savva Timofeevich) had five sons, from whom four branches of the famous Morozov business went. Timofey Savvich became the owner of the Nikolskaya manufactory, Elisha and Vikula - Orekhovo-Zuevskaya, Zakhar Savvich owned the Bogorodsko-Glukhovskaya factories, and Abram Savvich - the Tverskaya ones.

So, in order. Savva Vasilyevich (1770–1860) was a serf of the landowner Ryumin. Having married and received a dowry of five gold rubles for his wife, he opens a silk weaving workshop. Savva worked very hard, and only after 23 years he managed to redeem himself and all five sons from serfdom. This cost him a huge amount: 17 thousand rubles in banknotes.

Having become free, he sets about expanding the business. In 1825, he founded a Moscow factory, then famous “Morozov Manufactory”. Calico, chintz and velvet - most wonderful, highest quality- glorified the Morozov family, let's say without exaggeration, for centuries.

The number of plants and factories is increasing, and by 1860, when Savva died, he left his sons colossal capital and an entire industrial empire.

The most famous branch of the family were children youngest son Savva - Timofey Savvich (1823–1889), who was the main manager of his father's capital. Timofey had literally inexhaustible energy and business acumen. Cotton was needed to produce fabric, and Timofey bought land in Central Asia and produced it himself so as not to depend on third-party suppliers.

To cook good specialists for his factories, he established scholarships at the Imperial Technical School, so that engineers who completed the course could train abroad. After that, Morozov hired them. The result of such systematic actions was the hiring of 25,800 specialists and the processing of 250 thousand pounds of cotton.

After the death of Timofey Savvich, his wife, Maria Fedorovna, began to manage the company and became the head of a large family. During her reign, the capital was increased almost five times (to 29.346 million rubles).

Timofey Savvich had five children. The eldest son was the same famous Savva Morozov (1862–1905), known throughout the world as an outstanding philanthropist, one of the founders of the Moscow Art Theater, a friend of K. Stanislavsky and M. Gorky.

He spent more than 300 thousand rubles on the creation of the now legendary Moscow Art Theater. Savva was very gifted: he was a brilliant chemical engineer and a talented leader. He significantly improved the working conditions of the workers of his factories and their families, built free dormitories, hospitals, bathhouses for them, and even a Folk Festival Park in Nikolskoye. But Savva’s fundamental idea is for part of the factory’s profits to be distributed among the workers. During the February unrest of 1905, he decided to include workers among the shareholders. But the domineering mother, who was the main shareholder and manager, removed him from management. Savva was very worried and went to Nice for treatment. And yet his nerves could not stand the test: on May 13, 1905, Savva Timofeevich passed away.

However, whether it was suicide or whether Savva Timofeevich was helped to leave this world remains unclear. All documents have disappeared, the circumstances under which the “suicide” occurred are extremely contradictory and full of inconsistencies. It is known that Savva had a difficult relationship with actress Maria Andreeva, who was engaged by the Bolsheviks.

It was she who was able to instill in him the idea that Bolshevism is a transformative, modernizing, beneficial force. Savva generously lent money to his new acquaintances. He also gave money to Iskra, “ New life" and "Struggle", smuggled typographical fonts, hid his "comrades". It seems that it was assistance to the Bolsheviks that played a fatal role in the fate of Savva.

In 1921, Savva’s eldest son, Timofey, attempted to investigate his father’s death, but was immediately arrested and shot. The youngest, Savva, was sent to the Gulag.

But not all children suffered the same tragic fate. Savva Timofeevich's son Sergei (1860–1944), like his father, was involved in philanthropy - he helped the Stroganov School with money, supported artists V. Polenov and V. Serov, became one of the founders of the Museum of Fine Arts on Volkhonka (now the Museum named after A.S. Pushkin) and the creator of the Handicraft Museum. In 1925 he left Russia and settled in France.

The fate of the wife of one of the brothers, Abram Abramovich Morozov (in the Old Believer branch of the family strictly adhered to the tradition of calling children by Old Testament names), Varvara Morozova, is interesting. Varvara was principled: she believed that money should be spent solely to “treat and teach the people.” And she was passionate about it. With her money, the first cancer clinic was built on Devichye Pole, an almshouse and a school in Tver, and the building of the Turgenev library-reading room at the Myasnitsky Gate, which was later destroyed.

All Morozovs were generous donors. They encouraged cultural and artistic figures with tens of thousands of rubles. As we have already said, Savva Timofeevich (the second) supported the Moscow Art Theater. His brother Sergei Timofeevich became the founder of the Handicraft Museum in Leontyevsky Lane in Moscow. The Morozovs subsidized the newspapers “Voice of Russia” and “Russian Word”.

Today in the Moscow region town of Orekhovo-Zuevo, which was the patrimony of the glorious family, there is not only a monument, but not even a bust of the Morozovs, not a single street is named after them. But they did not work only for themselves and left a luxurious industrial and artistic heritage. But the main thing is not even this, but the fact that this family, as well as the families of other Russian philanthropists, can serve as an example of hard work, determination, confidence and success.