Nikolay Alexandrovich Vtorov (; – 20 May 1918) was an

industrialist A business magnate, also known as an industrialist or tycoon, is a person who is a powerful entrepreneur and investor who controls, through personal enterprise ownership or a dominant shareholding position, a firm or industry whose goods or ser ...

from the

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 ...

. According to a 2006

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

study, which excluded the ruling

House of Romanov The House of Romanov (also transliterated as Romanoff; , ) was the reigning dynasty, imperial house of Russia from 1613 to 1917. They achieved prominence after Anastasia Romanovna married Ivan the Terrible, the first crowned tsar of all Russi ...

, he held the title of Russia's wealthiest man on the eve of

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 ...

, owning an estimated 60 million

rubles The ruble or rouble (; rus, рубль, p=rublʲ) is a currency unit. Currently, currencies named ''ruble'' in circulation include the Russian ruble (RUB, ₽) in Russia and the Belarusian ruble (BYN, Rbl) in Belarus. These currencies are su ...

in gold.

Biography

Life and career

Nikolay owed his fortune to his father, Alexander Vtorov, a successful

Irkutsk Irkutsk ( ; rus, Иркутск, p=ɪrˈkutsk; Buryat language, Buryat and , ''Erhüü'', ) is the largest city and administrative center of Irkutsk Oblast, Russia. With a population of 587,891 Irkutsk is the List of cities and towns in Russ ...

businessman who set up a trans-

Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...

n retail shopping network. Upon his death in 1911, Alexander Vtorov's net worth was estimated at 13.6 million roubles; it passed to Nikolay and his lesser-known brother, who had lived in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

since 1897. Nikolay Vtorov used his father's fortune to take over numerous banks and manufacturing companies; his aggressive takeover policies earned him the nickname of "the Russian

Morgan Morgan may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Morgan – A Suitable Case for Treatment'', also called ''Morgan!'', a 1966 comedy film * ''Morgan'' (2012 film), an American drama * ''Morgan'' (2016 film), an American science fiction thriller * ...

". He has been called "the first to break the age-old traditions in favour of a rational and intelligent organization of commercial business". Upon Russia's entry into World War I, Vtorov became one of the major military contractors for the tsarist government, amassing huge state subsidies to build new manufacturing plants in central Russia; he was the de facto defence industry manager for the whole of the Moscow region.

Death and legacy

Vtorov decided to stay in Russia after the

1917 Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of political and social change in Russia, starting in 1917. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and adopt a socialist form of government following two successive revolutions and a civil war. It ...

and pledged loyalty to the

Bolshevik The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a radical Faction (political), faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with the Mensheviks at the 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, ...

regime. Less than a year later, in May 1918, he was assassinated; the exact circumstances of his death remain unknown. He was buried in the cemetery of the now-defunct Skorbyashensky Monastery in Moscow. Many of Vtorov's largest wartime projects, inherited by the

Soviets The Soviet people () were the citizens and nationals of the Soviet Union. This demonym was presented in the ideology of the country as the "new historical unity of peoples of different nationalities" (). Nationality policy in the Soviet Union ...

, are still in operation: * City of

Elektrostal Elektrostal (, ) is a city in Moscow Oblast, Russia, located east of Moscow. Population: 135,000 (1977); 123,000 (1970); 97,000 (1959); 43,000 (1939). It was previously known as ''Zatishye'' (until 1928). Etymology The name ''Elektrostal ...

(former Zatishye) foundries and defence plants * City of

Noginsk Noginsk (), known as Bogorodsk () until 1930, is a Classification of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Noginsky District, Bogorodsky District in Moscow Oblast, Russia, located east of the Moscow Ring Road on ...

(former Bogorodsk) foundries and defence plants * ''

Zavod Imeni Likhacheva OJSC AMO ZiL, known fully as the Public Joint-Stock Company – Likhachov Plant () and more commonly called ZiL (, was a major Russian automobile, truck, military vehicle, and heavy equipment manufacturer that was based in Moscow. The last ZiL ...

(Originally AMO truck company)'' defunct since 2012. Legacy; MSTs6 AMOZIL company Lesser-known Vtorov plants are still operating all over the city of Moscow. Many have been converted into offices and shopping malls. Vtorov's former residence,

Spaso House Spaso House is a listed neoclassicism, Neoclassical Revival building at No. 10 Spasopeskovskaya Square in Moscow. It was originally built in 1913 as the mansion of the textile industrialist Nikolay Vtorov. Since 1933, it has been the res ...

, was seized by the Soviet government in 1918 and has since housed the United States Ambassador to the Soviet Union (1933–1991) and United States Ambassador to the Russian Federation (1991–present).

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vtorov, Nikolay 1866 births 1918 deaths People from Irkutsk People from Irkutsk Governorate Industrialists from the Russian Empire

Biography

Life and career

Death and legacy

See also

References

External links