Konstantin Yakovlevich Mikhaylovsky (; 1834–1909) was a Russian engineer of

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

origin.

Works

Mikhaylovsky designed (with

Nikolai Belelubsky Nikolai Apollonovich Belelubsky (; ; March 1845, Kharkiv – August 4, 1922, Petrograd) was a distinguished Russian academic specialising in railway and civil engineering. Throughout his life, he became a member of many learned societies and the ...

and Vladimir Berezin) the Alexander Railway Bridge across the

Volga River The Volga (, ) is the longest river in Europe and the longest endorheic basin river in the world. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Caspian Sea. The Volga has a length of , and a catchment ...

near

Syzran Syzran ( rus, Сызрань, p=ˈsɨzrənʲ) is the third largest city in Samara Oblast, Russia, located on the right bank of Saratov Reservoir of the Volga River. Population: History Founded in 1683 as a fortress, Syzran grew into an importa ...

, the first bridge across the lower Volga and at the time of construction (1876–80) the longest bridge in Europe. Mikhaylovsky also designed the Novomariinsky Canal and other canals of the Mariinsky Water System connecting the Volga with the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...

(1882–86). He was chief of construction for the

Samara Samara, formerly known as Kuybyshev (1935–1991), is the largest city and administrative centre of Samara Oblast in Russia. The city is located at the confluence of the Volga and the Samara (Volga), Samara rivers, with a population of over 1.14 ...

–

Ufa Ufa is a city in Russia and the capital of the republic of Bashkortostan. UFA or Ufa may also refer to: Places * Ufa (river), a river in Russia; a tributary of the Belaya * Ufa International Airport, near the Russian city * Ufa railway statio ...

Railway (1885–88), which was opened to Ufa on 20 September (2 October New Style) 1888. He then served as chief of construction of the Ufa–

Zlatoust Zlatoust (; ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Ay River (in the Kama River, Kama drainage basin, basin), west of Chelyabinsk. Population: 181,000 (1971); 161,000 (1959); 99,000 ...

Railway (1888–90), which was opened to Zlatoust on 20 September (2October) 1890. During this period Mikhaylovsky established workshops at Chelyabinsk to supply iron parts for the construction of iron truss bridges by Belelubsky on the Sim and Yuryuzan rivers. The two lines became the Samara-Zlatoust Railway upon absorbing the Orenburg-Samara Railway on 1 (13) January 1893; in 1934 the system became part of South Ural Railways. The next project for Mikhaylovsky was service as chief of construction of the Zlatoust–

Chelyabinsk Chelyabinsk; , is the administrative center and largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia. It is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, seventh-largest city in Russia, with a population ...

Railway (1891–92), which was opened on 22 October (3 November) 1892. He went on to serve as chief of construction of both the

Yekaterinburg Yekaterinburg (, ; ), alternatively Romanization of Russian, romanized as Ekaterinburg and formerly known as Sverdlovsk ( ; 1924–1991), is a city and the administrative centre of Sverdlovsk Oblast and the Ural Federal District, Russia. The ci ...

–Chelyabinsk Railway (1894–96) and the

West Siberian Railway West Siberian Railway (, Zapadno-Sibirskaya zheleznaya doroga) is a Rail operator of Russian Railways and part of the Great Trans-Siberian Railway crossing the Omsk, Novosibirsk, Kemerovo, Tomsk, and Altai regions of the Russian Federation as wel ...

(Chelyabinsk-

Novonikolayevsk Novosibirsk is the largest city and administrative centre of Novosibirsk Oblast and the Siberian Federal District in Russia. As of the 2021 census, it had a population of 1,633,595, making it the most populous city in Siberia and the third-mo ...

, 1892–96). The West Siberian line was opened on 1 (13) October 1896 and the Yekaterinburg-Chelyabinsk line on 10 (22) November 1896. In 1898 Mikhaylovsky was named chairman of the committee formed to plan improvements to the Middle Siberian Railway. The work, which was carried out starting in 1904, included adding a second set of tracks, replacement of 18-pound rail with 20-pound rail, and replacement of wooden bridges with stone construction.eng.rzd.ru, page "Krasnoyarsk Railways." Retrieved 1 April 2019

Life

Mikhaylovsky was born into a noble family in

Chernigov Governorate Chernigov Governorate was an administrative-territorial unit (''guberniya'') of the Russian Empire. It was officially created in 1802 from the disbanded Little Russia Governorate (1796-1802), Little Russia Governorate and had its capital in Cher ...

in 1834. His father was the

Chernihiv Chernihiv (, ; , ) is a city and municipality in northern Ukraine, which serves as the administrative center of Chernihiv Oblast and Chernihiv Raion within the oblast. Chernihiv's population is The city was designated as a Hero City of Ukraine ...

nobleman Yakov Mikhaylovsky. He graduated from the

First Cadet Corps The First Cadet Corps was a military school in Saint Petersburg. History of creation The initiative to create Cadet Corps, cadet corps for noblemen in Russia came from Count Pavel Yaguzhinsky. By the decree of Empress Anna of Russia, Anna Ioanno ...

, participated in the

Crimean War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...

, and was promoted

Podporuchik ''Podporuchik'' ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, потпоручник, potporučnik, , , , , ) is the most junior officer in some Slavic armed forces, and is placed below the rank of lieutenant, typically corresponding to rank of second lieutenant in English ...

(second lieutenant) in 1858. He was educated as an engineer at the Institute of Transport (today the St. Petersburg State Transport University), graduating in 1861. For many years, Mikhaylovsky worked on creating the modern infrastructure of

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

needed for commerce such as the export of wheat to Europe (as in the case of the Mariinsky Water System) or the transportation of cargo and passengers to and from the western regions of Russia across Siberia to the Far East (as in the case of the

Trans-Siberian Railway The Trans-Siberian Railway, historically known as the Great Siberian Route and often shortened to Transsib, is a large railway system that connects European Russia to the Russian Far East. Spanning a length of over , it is the longest railway ...

). Mikhaylovsky was made a Privy Councillor (equivalent to German

Geheimrat was the title of the highest advising officials at the imperial, royal, or princely courts of the Holy Roman Empire, who jointly formed the ''Geheimer Rat'' reporting to the ruler. The term remained in use during subsequent monarchic reigns in Ge ...

) in 1899 and an

Active Privy Councillor Active Privy Councillor (, deystvitelnyi taynyi sovetnik) was the civil rank (ru: чин / chin) in the Russian Empire, according to the Table of Ranks introduced by Peter the Great in 1722. That was a civil rank of the 2nd class and equal to those ...

, a high civilian rank equivalent to full general or admiral, in 1907. Mikhaylovsky died in St. Petersburg on 9 (22) September 1909 and was buried in the

Nikolskoe Cemetery Nikolskoe Cemetery () is a historic cemetery in the centre of Saint Petersburg. It is part of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, and is one of four cemeteries in the complex. The third cemetery to be established in the monastery complex, the Nikolskoe ...

in the

Alexander Nevsky Monastery Saint Alexander Nevsky Lavra or Saint Alexander Nevsky Monastery was founded by Peter I of Russia in 1710 at the eastern end of the Nevsky Prospekt in Saint Petersburg, in the belief that this was the site of the Neva Battle in 1240 when Alex ...

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

. The exact location of his grave has been lost.

Honors

During his long service Mikhaylovsky was awarded the following honors: * Order of St. Stanislaus, third class, also second class (for the construction of canals in the Mariinsky Water System), and first class *

Order of Saint Anne The Imperial Order of Saint Anna (; also "Order of Saint Anne" or "Order of Saint Ann") was a Holstein ducal and then Russian imperial order of chivalry. It was established by Karl Friedrich, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp, on 14 February 1735, in hono ...

, third class, second class, and first class *

Order of Saint Vladimir The Imperial Order of Saint Prince Vladimir () was an Imperial Russian order established on by Empress Catherine the Great, Catherine II in memory of the deeds of Vladimir I, Prince of Kiev, Saint Vladimir, the Grand Prince and the Baptizer of ...

fourth class (awarded for the construction of the Alexander Railway Bridge) and second class * Order of the White Eagle *

Bukhara Emirate The Emirate of Bukhara (, ) was a Muslim- Uzbek polity in Central Asia that existed from 1785 to 1920 in what is now Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan. It occupied the land between the Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers, known former ...

's Bukhara Gold Star with diamonds *

Japanese Empire The Empire of Japan, also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was the Japanese nation state that existed from the Meiji Restoration on January 3, 1868, until the Constitution of Japan took effect on May 3, 1947. From 1910 to ...

Order of the Rising Sun The is a Japanese honors system, Japanese order, established in 1875 by Emperor Meiji. The Order was the first national decoration awarded by the Japanese government, created on 10 April 1875 by decree of the Council of State. The badge feat ...

, third class Mikhaylovsky was looked on with the highest Imperial benevolence for the construction of the Imperial road from St. Petersburg to

Tsarskoe Selo Tsarskoye Selo (, , ) was the town containing a former residence of the Russian imperial family and visiting nobility, located south from the center of Saint Petersburg. The residence now forms part of the town of Pushkin. Tsarskoye Selo forms ...

. For his contributions to railway development, Mikhaylovsky was made an honorary citizen of Chelyabinsk and of

Halych Halych (, ; ; ; ; , ''Halitsch'' or ''Galitsch''; ) is a historic List of cities in Ukraine, city on the Dniester River in western Ukraine. The city gave its name to the Principality of Halych, the historic province of Galicia (Eastern Europe), ...

. In 1905 Mikhaylovsky was appointed a member of the Council of Ministers of Transport and Communications. On February 24, 1907, his admirer the Emperor Nicholas II awarded him the rank of Actual Privy Councillor.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mikhaylovsky, Konstantin 1834 births 1909 deaths People from Chernihiv Civil engineers from the Russian Empire Recipients of the Order of Saint Stanislaus (Russian), 1st class Recipients of the Order of St. Vladimir, 2nd class Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 1st class Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Russia) Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun, 3rd class Burials at Nikolskoe Cemetery 19th-century engineers from the Russian Empire