Nikolay Alexandrovich Vtorov (russian: Никола́й Алекса́ндрович Вто́ров; – 20 May 1918) was a

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

industrialist A business magnate, also known as a tycoon, is a person who has achieved immense wealth through the ownership of multiple lines of enterprise. The term characteristically refers to a powerful entrepreneur or investor who controls, through perso ...

. According to a 2006

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...

study, which excluded the ruling

House of Romanov The House of Romanov (also transcribed Romanoff; rus, Романовы, Románovy, rɐˈmanəvɨ) was the reigning imperial house of Russia from 1613 to 1917. They achieved prominence after the Tsarina, Anastasia Romanova, was married to th ...

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

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 ...

, owning an estimated 60 million

rubles The ruble (American English) or rouble (Commonwealth English) (; rus, рубль, p=rublʲ) is the currency unit of Belarus and Russia. Historically, it was the currency of the Russian Empire and of the Soviet Union. , currencies named ''rub ...

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 mn, Эрхүү, ''Erhüü'', ) is the largest city and administrative center of Irkutsk Oblast, Russia. With a population of 617,473 as of the 2010 Census, Irkutsk is ...

businessman who set up a trans-

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...

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 ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

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". He has been called "the first to break the age-old traditions in favor 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 de facto defense 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 revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and adopt a socialist form of government ...

and pledged loyalty to the

Bolshevik The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...

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 Soviet people ( rus, сове́тский наро́д, r=sovyétsky naród), or citizens of the USSR ( rus, гра́ждане СССР, grázhdanye SSSR), was an umbrella demonym for the population of the Soviet Union. Nationality policy in th ...

, are still in operation: * City of

Elektrostal Elektrostal (russian: Электроста́ль, from Russian Электро (Elektro), lit: Electricity, Electric and Сталь (Stal), lit: Steel) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in Moscow Oblast, Russia, located east of Mo ...

(former Zatishye) foundries and defense plants * City of

Noginsk Noginsk (russian: Ноги́нск) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Noginsky District in Moscow Oblast, Russia, located east of the Moscow Ring Road on the Klyazma River. Population: History Fo ...

(former Bogorodsk) foundries and defense 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, Russia. The la ...

(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 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 residence of the ...

, was seized by the Soviet government in 1918 and has since housed the

United States Ambassador to the Soviet Union United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two fi ...

(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 Russian industrialists Russian murder victims People murdered in the Soviet Union Unsolved murders in the Soviet Union

Biography

Life and career

Death and legacy

See also

References

External links