Mikhail Ivanovich Tereshchenko (russian: Михаи́л Ива́нович Тере́щенко; uk, Михайло Іванович Терещенко; 18 March 1886 – 1 April 1956) was the foreign minister of

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...

from 18 May 1917 to 7 November 1917 . He was also a major Ukrainian landowner, the proprietor of several sugar 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 most of the time the investor purchases some species of property. Type ...

Biography

Born to a rich

Tereshchenko family Members of the Tereshchenko family have achieved prominence in Ukraine and the world as businessmen, entrepreneurs, philanthropists, and landowners, beginning in the 18th century. The family has Cossack roots and comes from the city of Hlukhiv (n ...

of a sugar factory owners, entrepreneurs, philanthropists, and art patrons of Ivan Nikolaevich (1854–1903) and

Elizabeth Mikhailovna Grand Duchess Elizabeth Mikhailovna of Russia (Moscow, 26 May 1826 – Wiesbaden, 28 January 1845) was the second child and daughter of Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich of Russia and Princess Charlotte of Württemberg who took the name ''Elena Pavl ...

. Mikhail had a younger brother Mykola (1894–?). His uncle Aleksandr Tereshchenko (1856–1911) worked in Saint-Petersburg. Mikhail Tereshchenko graduated from

Kiev University Kyiv University or Shevchenko University or officially the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv ( uk, Київський національний університет імені Тараса Шевченка), colloquially known as KNU ...

and

Leipzig University Leipzig University (german: Universität Leipzig), 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 Decemb ...

. In 1910, he joined the

Freemasonry Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

and became one of the five prominent Masons in

(the other four being Aleksandr Konovalov,

Alexander Kerensky Alexander Fyodorovich Kerensky, ; original spelling: ( – 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 Novembe ...

Nikolai Nekrasov Nikolay Alexeyevich Nekrasov ( rus, Никола́й Алексе́евич Некра́сов, p=nʲɪkɐˈlaj ɐlʲɪkˈsʲejɪvʲɪtɕ nʲɪˈkrasəf, a=Ru-Nikolay_Alexeyevich_Nekrasov.ogg, – ) was a Russian poet, writer, critic and publi ...

, and

Ivan Yefremov Ivan Antonovich (real patronymic Antipovich) Yefremov ( ru , Ива́н Анто́нович (Анти́пович) Ефре́мов; April 23, 1908 – October 5, 1972; last name sometimes transliterated as Efremov) was a Soviet paleonto ...

). Mikhail Tereshchenko was a member of the Fourth

State Duma The State Duma (russian: Госуда́рственная ду́ма, r=Gosudárstvennaja dúma), commonly abbreviated in Russian as Gosduma ( rus, Госду́ма), is the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia, while the upper hous ...

(he shared the views of the

Russian Progressive Party The Progressive Party (russian: Прогрессивная партия), also sometimes known as the Progressists (russian: прогрессисты) was a group of moderate Russian liberals organized in 1912; it had 25 deputies in the Third Duma ...

). In 1912–1914, Tereshchenko was the owner of a private

publishing house Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

''Sirin'' in St Petersburg, which published

Andrey Bely Boris Nikolaevich Bugaev ( rus, Бори́с Никола́евич Буга́ев, p=bɐˈrʲis nʲɪkɐˈlajɪvʲɪtɕ bʊˈɡajɪf, a=Boris Nikolayevich Bugayev.ru.vorb.oga), better known by the pen name Andrei Bely or Biely ( rus, Андре ...

's pioneering novel

Petersburg Petersburg, or Petersburgh, may refer to: Places Australia *Petersburg, former name of Peterborough, South Australia Canada * Petersburg, Ontario Russia *Saint Petersburg, sometimes referred to as Petersburg United States *Peterborg, U.S. Virg ...

in three installments in 1913–1914. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, he took part in organizing the

Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...

hospitals. In 1915–1917, Mikhail Tereshchenko was the chairman of the

Military Industry Committee A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distin ...

of the Kiev district and deputy chairman of the All-Russian Military Industry Committee. After the February Revolution 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 defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in ...

Alexander Verkhovsky Aleksandr Ivanovich Verkhovsky (russian: links=no, Александр Иванович Верховский; November 27, 1886 – August 19, 1938) was a Russian military and political figure. He was briefly the Minister of War of the Provisional ...

, who had considered Russia to be unable to continue the war. He was a member of the

Directorate Directorate may refer to: Contemporary *Directorates of the Scottish Government * Directorate-General, a type of specialised administrative body in the European Union * Directorate-General for External Security, the French external intelligence ag ...

in September 1917. Tereshchenko was known to support the Ukrainian government that led to the establishment and recognition of the

General Secretariat Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived ...

in Ukraine 1917. On the night of 26 October, Mikhail Tereshchenko was arrested in the

Winter Palace The Winter Palace ( rus, Зимний дворец, Zimnij dvorets, p=ˈzʲimnʲɪj dvɐˈrʲɛts) is a palace in Saint Petersburg that served as the official residence of the Emperor of all the Russias, Russian Emperor from 1732 to 1917. The p ...

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 St. 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 1920 ...

while his office was temporarily held by

Anatoly Neratov Anatoly Anatolyevich Neratov (Russian: Анатолий Анатольевич Нератов) (2 October 1863 in Russia – 10 April 1938 in Villejuif, France) was a Russian diplomat and an official of the Russian foreign ministry.Архив А ...

. In the spring of 1918, Tereshchenko escaped from prison and fled to

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

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 ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...

. In 1920s and 1930s, he was engaged in financial activities in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

and

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

Personal life

Tereshenko was an active member of the irregular

freemasonic Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

lodge, the

Grand Orient of Russia’s Peoples The Grand Orient of Russia's Peoples (russian: Великий восток народов России) (GOoRP) was an illegal Co-Freemasonry political organisation which existed in Russia from 1912 until 1917. The organisation was highly politic ...

. Along with Kerensky,

Alexander Galpern Aleksandr Yakovelich Galpern (russian: Александр Яковлевич Гальперн; 1879—28 June 1956), also known as Alexander Halpern, was a Russian Menshevik politician and attorney, who played a significant part in the Russian Rev ...

, Yefremov, Kolyubakin and Nekrasov, he was a member of the lodge "La Petite Ourse" (Ursa Minor), which was founded in 1910 in

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

. This lodge was considered the coordinating lodge of the entire Grand Orient of Russia's Peoples.

References

External links

Михаил Иванович Терещенко
a
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 Foreign ministers of Russia Emigrants from the Russian Empire to France Emigrants from the Russian Empire to Monaco Politicians of 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