Mikhail Ivanovich Tereshchenko (; ; 18 March 1886 – 1 April 1956) was the
foreign minister
In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...
of
Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
from 18 May 1917 to 7 November 1917 . He was also a major Ukrainian landowner, the proprietor of several
sugar
Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose
Glucose is a sugar with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecul ...
factories, and a
financier
An investor is a person who allocates financial capital with the expectation of a future return (profit) or to gain an advantage (interest). Through this allocated capital the investor usually purchases some species of property. Types of in ...
.
Biography
Born to a rich
Tereshchenko family of a sugar factory owners, entrepreneurs, philanthropists, and art patrons of
Ivan Nikolaevich (1854–1903) and
Elizabeth Mikhailovna. Mikhail had a younger brother Mykola (1894–?). His uncle Aleksandr Tereshchenko (1856–1911) worked in
Saint-Petersburg
Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...
. Mikhail Tereshchenko graduated from
Kiev University
The Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv (; also known as Kyiv University, Shevchenko University, or KNU) is a public university in Kyiv, Ukraine.
The university is the third-oldest university in Ukraine after the University of Lviv and ...
and
Leipzig University
Leipzig University (), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 December 1409 by Frederick I, Electo ...
. In 1910, he joined the
Freemasonry
Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...
and became one of the five prominent Masons in
Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
(the other four being
Aleksandr Konovalov,
Alexander Kerensky
Alexander Fyodorovich Kerensky ( – 11 June 1970) was a Russian lawyer and revolutionary who led the Russian Provisional Government and the short-lived Russian Republic for three months from late July to early November 1917 ( N.S.).
After th ...
,
Nikolai Nekrasov, and
Ivan Yefremov). Mikhail Tereshchenko was a member of the Fourth
State Duma
The State Duma is the lower house of the Federal Assembly (Russia), Federal Assembly of Russia, with the upper house being the Federation Council (Russia), Federation Council. It was established by the Constitution of Russia, Constitution of t ...
(he shared the views of the
Russian Progressive Party). In 1912–1914, Tereshchenko was the owner of a private
publishing house
Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, the term publishing refers to the creation and distribu ...
''Sirin'' in
St Petersburg
Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...
, which published
Andrey Bely's pioneering novel
Petersburg in three installments in 1913–1914. During
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, he took part in organizing the
Red Cross
The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...
hospitals. In 1915–1917, Mikhail Tereshchenko was the chairman of the
Military Industry Committee of the Kiev district and deputy chairman of the All-Russian Military Industry Committee.
After the
February Revolution
The February Revolution (), known in Soviet historiography as the February Bourgeois Democratic Revolution and sometimes as the March Revolution or February Coup was the first of Russian Revolution, two revolutions which took place in Russia ...
of 1917, Mikhail Tereshchenko was appointed Minister of Finance of the
Provisional Kerensky Government. In April 1917, Tereshchenko (together with Kerensky and Nekrasov) was actively seeking to create a governmental interparty coalition with the Socialists. On 5 May 1917, he was appointed minister of foreign affairs after the resignation of
Pavel Milyukov
Pavel Nikolayevich Milyukov ( rus, Па́вел Никола́евич Милюко́в, p=mʲɪlʲʊˈkof; 31 March 1943) was a Russian historian and liberal politician. Milyukov was the founder, leader, and the most prominent member of the C ...
. Tereshchenko continued his foreign policy course, which led to his conflict with
Minister of War
A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...
Alexander Verkhovsky, who had considered Russia to be unable to continue the war. He was a member of the
Directorate in September 1917. Tereshchenko was known to support the Ukrainian government that led to the establishment and recognition of the
General Secretariat in Ukraine 1917.
On the night of 26 October, Mikhail Tereshchenko was arrested in the
Winter Palace
The Winter Palace is a palace in Saint Petersburg that served as the official residence of the House of Romanov, previous emperors, from 1732 to 1917. The palace and its precincts now house the Hermitage Museum. The floor area is 233,345 square ...
with other ministers of the Provisional Government and placed into the
Peter and Paul Fortress
The Peter and Paul Fortress () is the original citadel of Saint Petersburg, Russia, founded by Peter the Great in 1703 and built to Domenico Trezzini's designs from 1706 to 1740 as a star fortress. Between the first half of the 1700s and early ...
while his office was temporarily held by
Anatoly Neratov. In the spring of 1918, Tereshchenko escaped from prison and fled to
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
with the
Tereshchenko blue diamond, sold in 1984 for $4.6 million, by Christie's later on, to Robert Mouawad, a famous Lebanese jeweller. Tereshchenko was one of the supporters of
allied intervention in
Soviet Russia
The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (Russian SFSR or RSFSR), previously known as the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and the Russian Soviet Republic, and unofficially as Soviet Russia,Declaration of Rights of the labo ...
. In 1920s and 1930s, he was engaged in financial activities in
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
and
Madagascar
Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...
.
Personal life
Tereshchenko was an active member of the irregular
freemasonic lodge, the
Grand Orient of Russia’s Peoples.
[
] Along with Kerensky,
Alexander Galpern, Yefremov, Kolyubakin and Nekrasov, he was a member of the lodge "La Petite Ourse" (Ursa Minor), which was founded in 1910 in
St. Petersburg. This lodge was considered the coordinating lodge of the entire Grand Orient of Russia's Peoples.
References
External links
Михаил Иванович Терещенкоa
Вашъ Кіевъ(Your Kiev) project.
Терещенко дал деньги на киевскую консерваторию. 120 лет назад родился бизнесмен и меценат Михаил Терещенко ''Газета по-украински'', 24.3.06,
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tereshchenko, Mikhail
1886 births
1956 deaths
20th-century Russian politicians
Ministers of foreign affairs of Russia
Emigrants from the Russian Empire to France
Emigrants from the Russian Empire to Monaco
Politicians from the Russian Empire
Leipzig University alumni
Members of the Grand Orient of Russia's Peoples
Members of the 4th State Duma of the Russian Empire
Ministers of the Russian Provisional Government
Politicians from Kyiv
People from Kievsky Uyezd
Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv alumni
Mikhail
Businesspeople from Kyiv
White Russian emigrants to France
White Russian emigrants to Monaco
Ukrainian Freemasons
20th-century Russian businesspeople
20th-century Russian landowners
Prisoners of the Peter and Paul Fortress