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-eig ...
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 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. 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 December ...
. 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
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-eig ...
(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 Nove ...
,
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 (he shared the views of the
Russian Progressive Party). 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, Андр ...
's pioneering novel
Petersburg in three installments in 1913–1914. During
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, he took part in organizing the
Red Cross
The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure respect for all human beings, and ...
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 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. 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 som ...
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 ( rus, Зимний дворец, Zimnij dvorets, p=ˈzʲimnʲɪj dvɐˈrʲɛts) is a palace in Saint Petersburg that served as the official residence of the Russian Emperor from 1732 to 1917. The palace and its precincts now ...
with other ministers of the Provisional Government and placed into the
Peter and Paul Fortress 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 ...
. 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 the ...
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 area ...
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.
[
] 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
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 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
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