Savva Timofeevich Morozov is best remembered as a philanthropist, merchant and textile manufacturer, and to a lesser extent as a person who indirectly supported the Bolshevik Party financially. He was a man in Russian Empire very rich, and therefore extremely influential.

Savva Timofeevich, in addition to the "family business" - a huge weaving industry, had his own mines and logging, chemical plants and hospitals, newspapers and even a theater.

And yet, not everyone knows that it was only thanks to his money that the famous Moscow Art Theater, now the Moscow Art Theater, which has become the pride of Russian culture, arose and managed to survive.

Yes, Savva Morozov gave money to the Bolsheviks - or did they extort it from him? - gave legal cover to the main militant of the RSDLP, Leonid Krasin, who worked at his company as an electrician, and famous Nicholas Bauman. Perhaps decency and connection with very dangerous people and killed a millionaire who was found dead in a luxury hotel room in Cannes in 1905? Let's figure it out...

Love and money

IN early XIX century serf Morozov guessed to create his own weaving workshop and turned out to be an intelligent craftsman and resourceful businessman. Soon he managed to redeem himself from serfdom from the master and bought out all his numerous relatives. Having moved to Moscow, famous for its merchant traditions, the founder of the dynasty began to actively expand the weaving business and, after his death, left each of his sons with a weaving factory with a large number of hired workers.

By the beginning of the 20th century, the Morozov family, who adhered to the Old Believer faith, had grown significantly and divided into several independent clans that had their own production and capital. Of these, the richest and resourceful were considered "Timofeevichi", to which Savva Timofeevich belonged. In Orekhovo-Zuev near Moscow, the Timofeevichs owned almost everything: land, factories, kept the police at their own expense, published newspapers, built churches, schools, hospitals, etc.

Maria Fedorovna Morozova (1830-1911) with her son Savva Timofeevich Morozov (1862-1905) and grandchildren Maria, Timofey and Elena

Outwardly, Savva Timofeevich resembled a Tatar Murza - dense, undersized, with slightly slanting eyes and a wide, stubborn forehead. Having received an excellent education - he graduated from the Department of Natural Sciences of the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of Moscow University, and then successfully trained at the famous Cambridge - the millionaire liked to pretend to be a half-wit, although he was distinguished by considerable suspicion and an amazing ability to make money.

Savva was one of the first in Russia to widely use electricity, having built a power plant, imported equipment from abroad and eagerly adopted new progressive technologies.

The wealth of the Morozov family can be evidenced by the fact that the mother of Savva Timofeevich, Maria Fedorovna Morozova, when she was widowed, had personal capital in 16 million rubles , and by the end of her life she managed to DOUBLE! It was fantastically huge money for those times. The wealth of the Morozovs can be compared with the fortunes of the top ten richest people on the planet today.

Savva Timofeevich was received in high society, enjoyed the favor of the Prime Minister of the Russian Empire, S. Yu. Witte, and even received the honor of being introduced to the emperor. The millionaire merchant was awarded orders and honorary titles. He married for love a beautiful woman - Zinaida Grigorievna Morozova (Zimina), who loved her husband very much and bore him several children.

At his factories, Savva Timofeevich tried to create the most favorable conditions for the workers, and there were legends about this. What prompted this outstanding person to have a fatal connection with the militants of the Bolshevik Party, which was distinguished by extreme intolerance, cynicism and was an implacable enemy of capital? Naturally, in the event that the capital could not get at its own disposal.

The building of the Moscow Art Theater in Kamergersky Lane, 1900s

It is believed that the tragic events began with the fact that Savva Morozov undertook to help create the Moscow Art Theater. Unlike other Moscow moneybags who promised to give money to the theatrical fan from the factory owners Alekseev, who took the stage name Stanislavsky, only Morozov really gave them!

Stanislavsky hoped that his wealthy relatives would help him, but they did not give a penny. Then he began to ask for patrons, but only Morozov responded with a deed. Subsequently, the theater actually existed at his expense, and the "grateful" Nemirovich literally survived Savva Timofeevich from the board.

Morozov himself found a building for the theater, gave money and took an active part in creating the future pride of Russian culture. But he didn't get the glory.

Among Stanislavsky's acquaintances, who played on the amateur stage, there was a couple of gentlemen Andreevs. Their real name was Zhelyabuzhsky. The head of the family had the rank of general of a real state councilor. His wife - Maria Fedorovna Andreeva (Zhelyabuzhskaya) - came from an impoverished noble family, her father served as chief director at the Alexandrinsky Theater.

Maria Andreeva

Maria began her career as a professional actress, but soon got married. Subsequently, she returned first to the amateur stage, and then to the professional one, at the Art Theater. Through her son's student tutor, she met revolutionary-minded youth and became involved in the militant organization of the RSDLP, which was led by Leonid Krasin.

Andreeva had party nicknames "Phenomenon" and "White Crow".

Savva Morozov, who was greatly carried away by her, did not know anything about this. Andreeva skillfully extracted large sums from him, and he, enchanted by her, gave money to those who cynically used him.

Unhappy love and death

In one of his private letters, unaware of Andreeva's connections with the Bolshevik terrorists, Stanislavsky bitterly reproached her for a truly terrible disregard for the feelings of such a worthy person as Savva Morozov. But this did not make any impression on Maria Feodorovna. With her secret mediation at the Morozov enterprise, Leonid Krasin, the head of the military organization of the RSDLP, got the opportunity to legalize.

In one of Morozov's estates, Nikolai Bauman worked as a veterinarian, who was killed in the troubled days of 1905. Receiving money from Morozov, the Bolsheviks often wrote in their Iskra deliberate lies about the situation of workers at the enterprises of a millionaire: allegedly people were starving and dying from overwork. This was one of the forms of their "gratitude" to the one who gave money for the existence of their press organ and covered the party functionaries from the political police.

Maria Fedorovna Andreeva Andreeva with her son and A.M. Gorky. 1905

Soon Andreeva got along with Maxim Gorky, but Morozov still continued to fulfill all her whims: the matter concerned mainly money for party needs. Or did they manage to take the millionaire firmly by the throat?

The Bolsheviks managed to incite the workers of Orekhovo-Zuev to an armed uprising, which was quickly and brutally suppressed by the troops. And then Savva Timofeevich experienced a mental breakdown. No, he did not go crazy, as they tried to imagine later, but he felt empty. He lost a woman with whom he was unrequitedly in love, his wife took him back and even bore him a son, but Morozov saw that she would never forgive him to the end. The workers, for whom he sincerely tried to create the best conditions in Russia, betrayed him too. The theater, which without it simply would not exist in nature, having received decent money, threw it away with the hands of its artistic directors.

What a disgusting person, - Savva Timofeevich once exclaimed in his hearts, once again quarreling with Maxim Gorky. - Why does he appear to be a tramp when everyone knows that his grandfather was a wealthy merchant of the second guild and left a large inheritance?

The proletarian writer added, telling that Morozov allegedly guarded him and followed him everywhere with a Browning, so that Gorky would not be attacked by the Black Hundreds and Okhrana agents. This shameless lie aroused Savva Timofeevich's indignation.

An unpleasant surprise for the Bolsheviks was that the millionaire manufacturer flatly refused them financial support. He saw what Bolshevism would bring to Russia, and did not want to feed his own murderer and gravedigger.

Krasin repeatedly turned to Morozov for money and even threatened him, but received a firm refusal. Morozov was followed by suspicious people. Krasin and the company tried to convince the manufacturer that this was the tsarist secret police, but in fact they were Bolshevik people: they tried to exert psychological pressure on Morozov. It is possible that it was Andreeva and Gorky who deliberately spread rumors that the family had declared Morozov crazy.

All this was not true. Zinaida Grigorievna Morozova loved her husband. The family decided to temporarily hide Savva Timofeevich from his former dangerous acquaintances and at the same time give him the opportunity to rest and heal. Together with his wife, the manufacturer went abroad. But even there he was tracked down by Bolshevik militants, who still did not lose hope of getting money.

Even during the period of courting Andreeva, the millionaire insured his life for one hundred thousand rubles - fabulous money at that time - and gave the insurance policy to the actress. Andreeva kept the insurance policy, but Morozov did not demand it back. Why? Secret…

Savva was resting in Cannes when Krasin came to him - to ask, beg, finally demand money! Morozov flatly refused, and an angry Krasin left with nothing.

A few days later, on May 13, 1905, a shot rang out in the most expensive hotel on the Cannes Riviera, the Tsarskoye. In the room where the millionaire Savva Morozov was resting. When Zinaida Grigorievna ran into the room, she saw her husband lying on the sofa, and nearby, on the floor, lay a small nickel-plated Browning. The window was ajar, and the woman saw a man running away: so she maintained until the end of her days. There was a note on the dressing table: "I ask you not to blame anyone for my death." However, the wife said that her husband's handwriting had been changed and Savva would never have decided to commit suicide.

Zinaida Morozova

Did you close his eyes? - the first thing they asked the wife of a millionaire. After all, before the arrival of the police, no one touched the body of the philanthropist. The fact is that suicides and those killed do not close their eyes, another person does it for them. Who did it - the wife or the killer? Secret…

The French police officially declared suicide, and the case was quickly closed. In order to bury Morozov according to the Orthodox rite - suicides were not buried in the ground consecrated by the church - they had to declare that poor Savva had lost his mind. Then his body was buried in the earth as it should be. To relieve tension in the powerful Morozov clan, the Moscow mayor Count Shuvalov came to the funeral.

Soon, Madame Andreeva coolly presented an insurance policy for one hundred thousand rubles for payment. Forty of them went to pay her debts, and sixty were immediately taken by the Bolshevik Party. It is believed that it was this fatal policy that became a death sentence for a well-known philanthropist and industrialist. For the greedy Bolsheviks, he was the only way to get Morozov's money. But who killed Savva? This has remained a mystery...

The Investigation That Wasn't

More than a hundred years have passed since the mysterious death of the manufacturer Savva Morozov, but the Cannes murder case continues to interest historians and politicians to this day. Since 1905, a negligible number of documents related to the death of Savva Timofeevich have been preserved: neither in French nor in Russian archives there was no material evidence of the incident, apart from Morozov's death certificate and his suicide note. This once again confirms that for some reason no one was interested in disclosing the real circumstances of the death of a well-known Russian businessman.

Neither the French police, nor representatives of the Russian security department, nor the relatives of the deceased took up the case of Savva Morozov - no one protested the version of the millionaire's suicide, although many facts suggested that Savva Timofeevich was killed in a Cannes hotel room.

The fact that Morozov was not a suicide was also evidenced by a seven-shot automatic Browning found on the floor next to the body of an entrepreneur.

The weapon that belonged to Savva was designed for 7.65 mm cartridges, but many historians testified that the bullet extracted from the manufacturer's body had a completely different caliber and could not fit his Browning.

The Browning itself, which served as important material evidence, mysteriously disappeared shortly after the incident. It could have been destroyed back in France, after the body of Savva Morozov was sent to Russia, or in the years Soviet power when valuable documents related to this case were carefully sought out and destroyed.

As you know, Morozov's body was for some time under examination in the morgue, which worked at the city clinic. It was there that an autopsy was probably performed, in which the bullet would have been removed. However, the documents confirming this, disappeared under mysterious circumstances. To date, it is impossible to find out whether the bullet remained in the body of the manufacturer, or whether it ended up in the hands of the French police.

Savva Morozov during the construction of the Moscow Art Theater

Morozov's case did not seem to have been investigated at all. This was also facilitated by the events that took place in Russia in 1905. At that time, huge amounts of money were required to suppress the revolution that had engulfed Russia. It is known that Russia managed to negotiate with the French authorities on obtaining a large loan on favorable terms for France.

Just at that moment, a well-known Russian politician and the largest millionaire died in Cannes. It is quite understandable that the French side sought to close this case as quickly as possible.

For the French police, the version of Morozov's suicide was the most convenient. However, experienced Hungarian and Yugoslav experts admitted that with a similar arrangement of the pistol and right hand it was worth raising a murder case with subsequent staging.

What or who forced the French police to retreat from official rules also remains unknown. It is only known that the issue of terminating the investigation of the case related to the death of the Russian millionaire was agreed upon at the highest interstate level.

Murder of Savva Morozov's doppelgänger?

According to unofficial data, there was still an investigation of this complicated case by Russia. And, allegedly, Nicholas II himself entrusted the investigation to a certain counterintelligence officer Sergei Svirsky. However, the solution of the Morozov issue was temporarily postponed by the uprising on the battleship Potemkin. Only in September Svirsky again reminded the ruler of this investigation.

Svirsky reported to Nicholas II that, on the basis of the data he had collected, it was impossible to either refute or confirm the suicide of Savva Timofeevich. The French police report on Morozov's death was drawn up from the words of a man who wished to remain anonymous; There were no photos from the crime scene either.

The version of historians about the double of Savva Morozov appeared as a result of one small detail. The fact is that the coffin with the body of Savva Morozov was delivered to Moscow through Revel on board a yacht called Eva Yuhanson, which belonged to the yacht club Savva's second cousin, Foma Panteleevich Morozov.

At the funeral, for some reason, they decided not to open the coffin. By religion, Savva Morozov, like all representatives of his dynasty, was an Old Believer, among whom suicide has always been considered the most terrible and unforgivable sin. Savva Timofeevich knew perfectly well that suicide entailed the renunciation not only of the church and faith, but also of the family and children. This is further evidence in favor of the version that he could not have committed suicide.

Savva Morozov was buried at the Old Believer Rogozhsky cemetery in Moscow, in a tomb, next to his grandfather and father. No speeches were made at his funeral, as this was not accepted according to the Old Believer traditions. They buried in complete silence, and together with Savva Timofeevich, they seemed to be burying the terrible secret of his death.

According to some data, many foreign accounts of Savva Morozov were bequeathed to a very mysterious person - Foma Morozov.

Savva's second cousin, who lived in the Nizhny Novgorod province, and the entrepreneur himself from early childhood were incredibly similar to each other. This similarity did not disappear even over the years: it is known that at the Nizhny Novgorod fair, where Savva Timofeevich was a member of the exchange committee, Foma often replaced him, putting on a suit and cutting his hair a little. Foma himself was well versed in financial matters, since he owned a brokerage firm.

After a more thorough study of the Morozov case, it turned out that Foma Morozov, who died in 1903, was buried in the village cemetery, located not far from the town of Lahti. The fact of the death of Foma Morozov was not particularly advertised, and his brokerage firm continued to work according to existing documents. The co-owner of the office at that time was Nikita Morozov.

It was he who, many years after the news of the suicide of Savva Morozov, told his grandson that the manufacturer until his death lived according to the documents of his second cousin.

There were rumors among the Old Believers that until October 1967, there was a grave with a huge cross and an inscription at the Malokhtensky cemetery, indicating that the body of Savva Morozov was buried here in October 1929. By order of the secretary of the regional committee of the CPSU, this cross was demolished. Perhaps the legend that went around among the workers after the death of Savva Timofeevich that he actually remained alive was not fiction. However, the writer Gorky claims that the factory workers themselves came up with the legend, refusing to believe what happened. The workers were very fond of Morozov.

There are many mysteries and secrets in this story, but the solution to this tangled story becomes more than obvious if you follow the fate of Savva Morozov's family members after the tragedy.

The fate of members of the Morozov family after the death of Savva Timofeevich

On May 29, about fifteen thousand people gathered for the funeral of Savva Timofeevich. All the actors and workers of the Moscow Art Theater were present at the cemetery, except for one artist, Maria Andreeva. On this day, she allegedly fell ill and remained in bed. The woman, because of whom he may have paid with his life, citing ill health, did not want to take him on his last journey.

Zinaida Grigoryevna after Morozov's funeral

A. A. Kozlov, the then Governor-General of Moscow, at Morozov's funeral, approaching Zinaida Grigorievna, whom he knew well and whose house he had been, expressed his condolences to her and said bluntly:

“I don’t believe in talking about suicide, Savva Timofeevich was too significant and respected person. It's a huge loss for everyone."

After the tragedy that happened to Savva Morozov, a lot of suffering and tragic moments awaited his family. Some time later, Timothy, the eldest son of Savva, actively began investigating the murder of his father. He probably still managed to find some facts or important evidence. Timothy, trying to start the investigation of this case again, was immediately arrested. In 1921 he was sentenced to death and shot. The younger son of Morozov, Savva, was sent to the Gulag.

Portrait of Zinaida Grigorievna Morozova with children: Timofey, Maria, Lyulyuta, 1900 - 1903

His daughter Masha, recognized as mentally ill, ended up in an insane asylum, where she died under very strange circumstances. Only the younger Elena managed to escape from the reprisals of the authorities: after the revolution that swept the country, she was able to leave for Brazil. The widowed Morozova, who inherited a large amount of money from her husband, remained in Russia. A few years later, she married Governor General Rainboat. In her possession remained a mansion on Spiridonovka and a country estate Gorki with a huge park and a greenhouse.

Although Zinaida Grigorievna could well have left Russia after the victory of the Bolsheviks, she did not take advantage of this opportunity. For some time she lived in Gorki, however, having received a document from the authorities stating that her house with the artistic and historical furnishings in it belonged to the state, she was forced to leave the estate. For the rest of her life, Zinaida rented a dacha in the village of Ilyinsky, where she lived until last days. She died after World War II in oblivion and poverty.

Maria Andreeva under Soviet rule became a well-known party worker and received many top government awards. Urns with the ashes of Krasin and Gorky are kept in the Kremlin wall to this day.

Valentin Serov. Portrait of Savva Morozov

"In Morozov, you can feel the power of not only money. He does not smell of millions. This is a Russian businessman with exorbitant moral strength."

Rokshin, Moscow journalist

At the beginning of the 20th century, two and a half dozen families made up the top of the Moscow merchant class - seven of them bore the surname Morozov. The most eminent in this series was considered the largest chintz manufacturer Savva Timofeevich Morozov.

The family business was started by Savva's grandfather and namesake, the economic man Savva Vasilievich Morozov. Savva son Vasilyev was born a serf, but managed to go through all the steps of a small producer and become the largest textile manufacturer. For 17 thousand rubles (huge money at that time), Savva received "freedom" from the nobles of the Ryumins, and soon the former serf Morozov was enrolled in the Moscow merchants of the first guild. Having lived to a ripe old age, Savva Morozov did not overcome the letters, which did not prevent him from doing excellent business.

His son Timothy was literate and, although he "did not graduate from universities", he often donated quite large sums to educational institutions and publishing. That did not prevent him from being a real, as they said then, "bloodsucker": he constantly reduced the wages of workers, harassed them with endless fines. In general, he considered strictness and rigidity in dealing with subordinates the best way to manage.

On January 7, 1885, a strike of workers broke out at the Nikolskaya manufactory, later described in all domestic history textbooks as the "Morozov strike". It lasted two weeks, it was the first organized action of the workers. When the instigators of the unrest were tried, Timofey Morozov was summoned witness to court After the trial, Timofei Savvich lay in a fever for a month and got out of bed a different person - aged, embittered. He did not want to hear about the factory and transferred the property to his wife.

The Morozov family was Old Believer and very rich. The mansion in Bolshoi Trekhsvyatitelsky Lane had a winter greenhouse and a garden with gazebos and flower beds.

Savva Morozov was born on February 15, 1862. His children and youth were held in Moscow in the parental mansion, located in the Big Trekhsvyatsky Lane. The freedom of children in the house was limited to a prayer house, in which priests from the Rogozhskaya Old Believer community served daily,and a garden, beyond which well-trained servants did not let them go. He rarely saw his father, his mother, it seemed to him, gave preference to other children. For the first time, parents showed interest in him when Savva was already a teenager: home teachers announced to Timofey Savvich and Maria Fedorovna that they could not teach Savva anything else - the boy showed remarkable abilities in the exact sciences and needed a serious education. After graduating from the gymnasium in 1881, Savva Morozov entered the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of Moscow University, and after attending the course, in 1885 he left for England. In Cambridge, Savva Timofeevich deeply and successfully studied chemistry, was going to defend his dissertation, but the need to head the family business forced him to return to Russia.

After the strike of 1885 health Savva Timofeyich's father began to deteriorate, he actually retired. At the initiative of Maria Feodorovna, a share partnership was createdfrom relativesThe technical director of which was the 25-year-old talented engineer Savva Timofeevich Morozov, who gladly took over the management of the manufactory.

Having become the head of the Nikolskaya manufactory, Savva Morozov hastened to destroy the most egregious oppressive measures introduced by his father. He abolished fines, built many new barracks for the workers, and provided exemplary medical care. He carried out all these improvements as a manager.
However, in the true sense, he was never the owner of the manufactory, since most of the shares after the death of Timofey Savvich passed to the mother of Savva Timofeevich, Morozova Maria Fedorovna, a very domineering woman with a great mind and independent views. Possessing a huge capital, Maria Fedorovna never forgot about charitable deeds, and surpassed her husband in scale. For example, in 1908, Maria Fedorovna bought up and closed all the notorious overnight houses in the Khitrovka area. At the expense of Morozova were built student hostel and a building for the laboratory of mechanical technology of fibrous substances of the Imperial Technical School (now named after Bauman). M. F. Morozova made her will in 1908, distributing her fortune among her children and grandchildren and allocating 930 thousand rubles. for charitable purposes She died in 1911 at the age of 80, leaving behind 29 million 346 thousand rubles of net capital and increasing her husband's fortune, which she inherited, by almost 5 times.

Shortly before graduation, Savva informed his parents that he had fallen in love and was going to marry the divorced wife of his close relative, Zinaida Grigoryevna Zimina. His chosen one was completely different from the submissive, naive merchant daughters with whom Savva was introduced by her parents. She was a strong, charming, passionate woman with a sharp mind. Despite attempts by relatives to dissuade Savva from this marriage, the wedding still took place. And immediately after graduation, the newlyweds left for England.

After returning to Russia, a house on Spiridonovka (now the Reception House of the Russian Foreign Ministry) was built for his wife according to the project of Shekhtel, where all the color of the then intelligentsia of Moscow attended receptions. To receive an invitation to a reception from Zinaida Grigoryevna was considered an honor by the most senior officials of the city.

Savva TimofeevichMorozov rarely appeared at these receptions and felt superfluous. Heavy and clumsy, he could not organically fit into high society. After several years of such a life, Morozov gradually lost interest in his wife and did not approve of her overly luxurious lifestyle.. They lived in the same house, but practically did not communicate. Even four children did not save this marriage.

Grasp, with an insinuating look and an arrogant face, complexed because of her merchant class, and all hung with pearls, Zinaida Grigoryevna sparkled in society and tried to turn her house into a secular salon. She "easily" visited the queen's sister, the wife of the Moscow Governor-General, Grand Duchess Elizaveta Feodorovna. Evenings, balls, receptions followed in succession ... Morozova was constantly surrounded by secular youth, officers. Rainboat, an officer General Staff, a brilliant boyfriend and socialite.

Loud fame Savva Morozov brought his charitable activities. In addition, he was a philanthropist, and many cultural undertakings of those years took place with the participation of his capital. However, he had his own views here - he did not give money to everyone and not indiscriminately. For example, Morozov did not donate a penny to the Museum of Fine Arts, which was created with the active participation of Tsvetaev. But on the other hand, regardless of any expenses, he supported everything in which he foresaw an important influence on national culture.

In 1898, the Moscow Art Theater staged the play "Tsar Fyodor Ioanovich" based on the play by Alexei Tolstoy. Savva Morozov, accidentally stopping by the theater in the evening, experienced a deep shock and since then has become an ardent admirer of the theater. This year whenfor the establishment of a theater required funds that neither Stanislavsky nor Nemirovich-Danchenko had, he gave 10 thousand rubles.

Morozov not only generously donated money - he formulated the basic principles of the theater: to maintain the status of a public theater, not to raise ticket prices and play plays of public interest.

Andreeva Savva Timofeevich was an enthusiastic and passionate nature. It was not for nothing that mother Maria Fedorovna was afraid: "Hot Savvushka! .. will be carried away by some innovation, will contact unreliable people, God forbid." God did not save him from the actress of the Art Theater Maria Fedorovna Andreeva, ironically - the namesake of his mother.

The wife of a high-ranking official Zhelyabuzhsky, Andreeva was not happy in the family. The husband met another love, but the couple lived in one house for the sake of two children. Maria Fedorovna found solace in the theater, Andreeva was her stage name.

Morozov, a regular at the Art Theater, became Andreva's admirer. He admired her rare beauty, bowed before her talent and fulfilled her every desire.

Andreeva was a hysterical woman, prone to adventures and adventures. Only the theater was not enough for her (or rather, she was stung by the undoubted artistic genius of Olga Knipper-Chekhova), she wanted a political theater. Andreeva mined for Bolsheviks money. Later, the Okhrana would establish that she had collected millions of rubles for the RSDLP.

"Comrade Phenomenon," as Lenin called her, managed to force the largest Russian capitalist to fork out for the needs of the revolution. Savva Timofeevich donated a significant part of his fortune to the Bolsheviks.

At the beginning of the 20th century, Morozov became keenly interested in politics. Semi-legal meetings of the Cadets took place in his mansion. This, however, was not yet surprising, since many large industrialists at that time gravitated towards the constitutional democrats. But Savva Morozov soon ceased to be satisfied with the half-hearted reforms that they were going to carry out in Russia. He himself had much more radical views, which eventually led him to close contact with the Bolshevik Party, which adhered to the most extreme socialist orientation. It is known that Morozov gave money for the publication of Iskra. At his expense, the first legal Bolshevik newspapers were founded. New life Petersburg and Borba in Moscow. All this gave Witte the right to accuse Morozov of "feeding the revolution with his millions." Morozov did even more: he smuggled printing type, hid the revolutionary Bauman from the police, and delivered banned literature to his factory himself.

The tragedy began with the fact that Stanislavsky quarreled with Nemirovich-Danchenkobecause of the artist Andreeva, who made a scandal because of the artist Knipper-Chekhova. The genius talent of Olga Leonardovna Knipper was recognized by absolutely everyone.Andreeva was given secondary roles - she demanded the main ones, complained to Stanislavsky and Morozov about Nemirovich-Danchenko.The two co-owners of the theater hated each other so much that they could not talk calmly. Morozov resigned his directorship. Together with his close friend Maxim Gorky and Maria Fedorovna, he started a new theater.But then Andreeva and Gorky fell in love with each other. This discovery was a severe shock for Morozov.

Gorky with Andreeva and her son 1905

In February 1905, when Savva Timofeevich decided to carry out some extreme transformations at the factory, which were supposed to give the workers the right to a part of the profits, his mother, Maria Fedorovna, removed him from management. In addition to this event on January 9, 1905, which went down in history as "Bloody Sunday" became a real shock for him.Passionate, carried away, nature in everything going "to the end", "to the complete death in earnest." Rogozhin in the novel "The Idiot" seems to be written off by Dostoevsky from Savva Morozov.

All these circumstances led to severe nervous breakdown. Morozov began to avoid people, spent a lot of time in solitude, not wanting to see anyone. He began to have insomnia, sudden bouts of melancholy and obsessive fears of insanity. And in the Morozov family - although this was hushed up - there were many who lost their minds.

A council of doctors convened in April at the insistence of his wife and mother stated that Savva Timofeevich had a "severe general nervous breakdown" and recommended that he be sent abroad. Morozov went with his wife to Cannes and was found dead here in the Royal Hotel room on May 13, 1905.

The official version was that it was suicide, but Zinaida Grigoryevna did not believe it. And the doctor who accompanied the spouses on the trip was surprised to note that the eyes of the deceased were closed, and his hands were folded on his stomach. There was a nickel-plated browning by the bed, the window in the room was wide open. In addition, Zinaida Grigorievna claimed that she saw a man running away in the park, but the Cannes police did not conduct an investigation. Subsequently, all attempts to find out the truth about Morozov's death were decisively suppressed by his mother, Maria Fedorovna, who allegedly said: “Let's leave everything as it is. I won't allow a scandal."
In memory of her departed son, Maria Fedorovna Morozova, together with her son Sergei and daughter Yulia, allocated funds for the construction of two buildings of the Staro-Ekaterininskaya hospital, a building for nervous patients with 60 beds and a building for a maternity hospital with 74 beds (both were preserved on the territory of MONIKI, the former Staro-Ekaterininsky Catherine's Hospital).
The widow Zinaida Grigorievna Morozova also made her contribution to the memory of her husband, who built a house of cheap apartments named after Savva Morozov in the Presnensky part of Moscow, spending 70 thousand rubles on it.
And two years after the death of Savva Morozov, she married the Moscow mayor Anatoly Reinbot.

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A well-known philanthropist, a capitalist who helped the Bolsheviks, died 110 years ago

This happened on May 26, 1905 on the Cote d'Azur, already at that time a fashionable vacation spot for bohemians and moneybags from all over the world. In Cannes, in the room of the luxurious Royal Hotel, one of the richest people in Russia, Savva Timofeevich Morozov, was found dead. He died from a pistol shot to the chest. Suicide, the official version said. However, many immediately doubted it. They said that on the eve there were no signs of a tragic denouement: Morozov was going to the casino and was in a normal state of mind ...

Savva Morozov was born in Moscow into a very wealthy Old Believer merchant family that lived according to strict laws. They did not use electric lighting in the house, considering it to be demonic power, they did not read newspapers and magazines. For poor academic performance, children were mercilessly beaten.

Savva Morozov received excellent education, graduated from the 4th Moscow gymnasium, studied at the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of Moscow University, and in 1885 he was sent to England, to Cambridge, where he studied chemistry, worked on his dissertation and at the same time got acquainted with the organization of textile business in English factories. When his father fell ill, Savva returned to Russia and headed his enterprises: the partnership of the Nikolsky manufactory "Savva Morozov's son and K", as well as the Trekhgorny brewing partnership in Moscow.

When he grew up, he began to look like a Tatar Murza - dense, undersized, with intelligent, slightly slanting eyes and a wide, stubborn forehead.

In business circles, they respectfully said about him: “He is doing business widely! However, it doesn’t come out of the calculation, that’s what’s amazing!

His mother, Maria Feodorovna, had a personal capital of 16 million rubles, and by the time of her death she had managed to double it. It was fantastic money for those times. At the present time - the top lines in the list of the rich according to Forbes magazine.

The merchant Morozov was received in high society, enjoyed the favor of Prime Minister Witte, and even received the honor of being received by Nicholas II himself. For "useful activity and special work under the department of the Ministry of Finance" he was awarded the Order of St. Anne of the 3rd degree, and later - also the Order of St. Anne of the 2nd degree.

But, despite the untold wealth, Morozov himself was modest and unpretentious in everyday life, wore boots with patches, like an Old Believer, did not drink vodka, and diluted wine with water. Often distinguished by very original actions. Early one morning he stopped at a tavern. Wanting to please a rich visitor, the innkeeper offered him champagne. In response, Morozov ordered a bucket of champagne to be brought and sent the horse to drink. The worker tried in vain to get the horse to drink. “You see, even a horse doesn’t drink champagne in the morning, and you stick it to me!” Savva Timofeevich told the innkeeper.

Today he would be called a "progressive entrepreneur": he cared about his workers. He built new barracks for them, established medical care, opened an almshouse for the elderly, arranged a park for folk festivals, and created libraries. At the same time, he constantly expanded production, introduced the most advanced technologies. In the Perm province, he built factories and set up production there acetic acid, wood and methyl alcohol, acetone, denatured alcohol, charcoal and acetic acid salt. All this was used in the textile industry.

He became famous as a generous philanthropist. He donated a lot of money for the construction of shelters and hospitals, was an ardent admirer of the famous Moscow Art Theater, regularly made donations for the construction and development of the Moscow Art Theater, and personally managed its financial part. Under his leadership, the theater building was rebuilt and a new hall for 1300 seats was created. On the badge for the 10th anniversary of the Moscow Art Theater there was an image of its three founders - Stanislavsky, Nemirovich-Danchenko and Morozov.

“This remarkable man was destined to play in our theater an important and wonderful role as a patron of art, able not only to make material sacrifices to art, but also to serve it with all devotion, without pride, without false ambition, personal gain,” Stanislavsky said about him.

The turbulent political events in Russia at the beginning of the 20th century did not pass him by.

He unexpectedly became close to the Bolsheviks - those who openly announced that they wanted to destroy the capitalists and factory owners as a class. Lenin's Iskra was published with Morozov's money, the first legal Bolshevik newspapers Novaya Zhizn in St. Petersburg and Borba in Moscow were founded, and even congresses of the RSDLP were held.

Morozov illegally smuggled banned literature and typographic fonts to his factory, and in 1905 he hid Nikolai Bauman, one of the Bolshevik leaders, from the police. He gave a lot of money to the political "Red Cross" for arranging escapes from exile, for literature for local organizations and to help those who were involved in the Bolshevik party work. He was friends with the "petrel of the revolution" Maxim Gorky.

Becoming a patron of the Art Theater, Morozov became an admirer of Maria Andreeva, who was said to be the most beautiful actress on the Russian stage. A stormy romance ensued, Morozov bowed before her talent. Passionate and addicted nature, Morozov behaved towards her like a boy, rushed to fulfill her every desire.

However, Andreeva was a hysterical woman, prone to adventures and adventures. She was connected with the Bolsheviks and raised money for them. Comrade "Phenomenon", as Lenin proudly called her, managed to "spin on grandmas", as they would say today, even the rich Morozov. But then Andreeva suddenly became interested in Gorky.

This was a strong blow for Savva Timofeevich. Morozov, of course, could not resist the then most popular writer and rival in Russia, relations between them deteriorated. “What a disgusting person, indeed! - Savva Timofeevich once exclaimed in his hearts, referring to the "Petrel of the Revolution." “Why does he appear to be a tramp when everyone around knows very well that his grandfather was a wealthy merchant of the second guild and left a large inheritance to the family?”

However, even after Andreeva and Gorky began to live together, Morozov still tenderly cared for Maria Fedorovna. When she was on tour in Riga, she was hospitalized with peritonitis and was on the verge of death, it was Morozov who looked after her.

Soon the millionaire began to have problems in the business sphere. When Morozov decided to give the workers the right to a part of the profits, his mother immediately decisively removed her son from capital management. And after on January 9, 1905, a demonstration was shot in St. Petersburg, heading to the Winter Palace with a petition, Savva Timofeevich experienced a strong nervous shock, it became clear to him what revolutionary changes threatened the country. As a result, he completely retired, became homesick and fell into a severe depression. Gorky wrote in his article about Morozov that he confessed to him that he was afraid of going crazy.

Rumors spread around Moscow about his madness. Savva Timofeevich began to avoid people, spent a lot of time in complete solitude, not wanting to see anyone. A council of doctors made a diagnosis: a severe nervous disorder, expressed in excessive excitement, anxiety, and insomnia. Doctors recommended that Morozov be sent abroad for treatment.

And so, accompanied by his wife Zinaida Grigorievna, Savva Timofeevich left for Cannes ...

Shortly before this, Morozov stopped helping the Bolsheviks. However, this turn of affairs clearly did not suit the revolutionaries, who did not want to lose their “cash cow” at all. This is where something mysterious happened.

Shortly before his death, Morozov suddenly insured his life for 100 thousand rubles “to bearer”. In fact, it was a death sentence to himself, signed with his own hand.

What or who forced Savva to act in such a strange way remained a mystery. He handed the insurance policy to Maria Andreeva. A significant part of these funds was then transferred by Comrade Phenomenon to the fund of the Bolshevik Party.

It all ended the way you might have imagined. In May, a shot rang out in Morozov's apartment in Cannes. Zinaida Grigorievna ran into her husband's room and found him shot through the heart. Through the open window, she noticed a man in a raincoat and hat running away. Near the body of the murdered police found a note in which he asked no one to blame for his death. Morozov's personal doctor noted with surprise that the dead man's hands were neatly folded on his stomach, and his eyes were closed by someone. The wife stated that she did not close her late husband's eyes.

However, the true circumstances of the death of Savva Morozov were revealed only several decades later, when his relatives were able to talk about the tragedy without fear for their own lives. Zinaida Grigorievna herself did not immediately inform the police about the runaway stranger. Probably Morozova feared for her children. She was sure that Krasin was guilty of Savva's death, for many years it was a family secret, about which it was customary to speak only in a whisper.

Who was this Krasin, whom some historians actually consider the organizer of the murder of Savva Morozov? An engineer by education, Leonid Borisovich Krasin, whom Morozov appointed in 1904 to supervise the construction of his power plant, was a mysterious person. He was well versed not only in electricity, but also in the manufacture of explosive devices, heading the Combat Technical Group of the Bolsheviks. In Moscow, in Gorky's apartment, Krasin's workshop was equipped, which was guarded by the Georgian thugs of the legendary Kamo. It was here that the bombs that exploded at Stolypin's residence in August 1906 were made. “Krasin dreamed of creating a portable bomb the size of Walnut" Trotsky recalled. Krasin also personally organized bandit raids on bank crews in order to seize money. The military merits of the "engineer" were highly appreciated by his comrades-in-arms, and he was appointed treasurer of the Central Committee.

There are already completely sinister details in the biography of Comrade Krasin. So, he believed in the coming resurrection of the dead, first of all, the great historical figures, assuming that decisive role the achievements of science and technology will have to play in this. It is no coincidence that Krasin was one of the initiators of the preservation of Lenin's body and the construction of a mausoleum on Red Square.

Zinaida Grigoryevna did not believe in her husband's suicide until the end of her life. But, at the insistence of the mother of the deceased, the official version was nevertheless adopted: suicide due to a nervous breakdown. “Let’s leave everything as it is,” she decided. “I won’t allow a scandal.”

There is also an incredible version that Morozov's death in Cannes was generally staged. It was known that the merchant never owned weapons and did not know how to handle them. He was not registered at the Royal Hotel, in any case, his signature was not found in the guest log.

The body of the deceased was not officially opened, but the French police already had a bullet removed from the body the next day. However, it did not match the caliber of the revolver found in the room. No fingerprints were found on the weapon.

The note was also not written by Morozov. Contrary to the rules established by the French criminal police, neither the place of death nor the body were photographed, there was not even a description of the scene ...

In Moscow, the coffin that arrived from Cannes was not opened. From Cannes, the body was transported in a coffin of bog oak, sealed in zinc, which was placed in a wooden box. The body was delivered to the cemetery in a mahogany coffin covered with lacquer. When unloading from the train, the wooden box with Morozov's coffin was carried by only two workers, the box was very light and small. This gave rise to rumors that Morozov's death at Cannes was, in fact, staged. However, why and why this could be done, and where Savva Timofeevich himself later ended up, is unknown ...

And after the death of Savva Morozov did not immediately find peace. According to Christian canons, suicide is a terrible sin, a suicide cannot be buried in a church and buried in church rites. The Morozovsky clan, using money and connections, began to seek permission for a funeral in Russia, referring to the fact that it was a suicide in the heat of passion. In the end, permission was obtained, Morozov was buried at the Rogozhsky cemetery.

The moral of this mysterious history? Apparently, first of all, in the fact that happiness is not in money. Savva Timofeevich was only 44 years old, and he had everything in his life that many could dream of - wealth, a huge business, talents. However, finding himself in the tenacious hands of adventurers who deftly extorted money from him, and himself carried away by the revolutionary chimera, which he later became disappointed with, he inevitably came to a tragic ending.

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Abba Morozov is one of the richest people in the Russian Empire at the beginning of the 20th century, a philanthropist and philanthropist. How did he go down in history? Sofia Bagdasarova reports.

Savva Timofeevich Morozov was a representative famous dynasty merchants-old believers. The millionaire managed the family business - the Nikolskaya textile manufactory, as well as other companies and factories. A strong character, a powerful intellect, an excellent education (chemistry at Cambridge), a bearish physique, a huge fortune - Savva Morozov was a very prominent figure in the business of the early twentieth century.

His patronage

The Morozov family became famous both for their success in trading activities and for their love of the arts: for example, his cousin Ivan Abramovich amassed a collection of impressionists, which the Pushkin Museum and the Hermitage are now proud of. And Savva Timofeevich preferred non-material values ​​and was very simple in everyday life: he could walk in worn-out shoes with patches, and from works of art he kept in his office only a bust of Ivan the Terrible by Mark Antokolsky.

He took care of his workers (abolished fines, introduced benefits for pregnant women, etc.), built hospitals, maternity shelters, donated to the publication of books. Sympathizing with the revolutionary movement, he sponsored the publication of the newspapers Iskra, Novaya Zhizn, and Borba.

Perhaps the most important was his contribution to the creation of the Moscow Art Theater (Moscow Art Theater named after Chekhov): Morozov spent a colossal amount on the construction of its building and other needs - about half a million rubles.

However, if necessary, Morozov also understood fine arts. For example, the relief "Swimmer", which decorated the entrance to the Moscow Art Theater, he ordered Anna Golubkina, who had just returned from Paris.

His women

Savva married with a scandal, taking his wife away from his poorer relative, Sergei Vikulovich Morozov. His wife Zinaida was a woman of great intelligence, as contemporaries wrote - "dexterous, with an insinuating expression of black intelligent eyes on an ugly, but significant face." Morozov adored her and showered her with money and gifts.

For Zinaida, he built a luxurious mansion on Spiridonovka. The pseudo-Gothic building was erected by Fyodor Shekhtel, for whom it became one of the key works. The interior of the mansion is even more pretentious than the outside appearance - it was not for nothing that Zinaida was reproached for the bad taste of the nouveau riche, and they also slandered that she allows herself at receptions to make the train of the dress longer than that of the empress, and the bouquet - more luxurious than that of the Grand Duchess.

The couple had four children. Over time, their relationship cooled. Morozov's new passion last years life has become one of beautiful women Russia - Moscow Art Theater actress Maria Andreeva. Which, in addition, was the life partner of Maxim Gorky and one of the active workers in the revolutionary movement. He also showered her with money - only they did not go for pearls and diamonds, but for underground activities.

Zinaida Morozova

Zinaida Morozova with her daughters

Maria Andreeva and Maxim Gorky in Repino

Maria Andreeva

His death

In 1905, Savva's mother, the official owner of the Nikolskaya manufactory, concerned about his behavior and revolutionary views, took away the management of the enterprise from him. Morozov withdrew and stopped going out into society. There were rumors that he had gone mad. In April 1905, a council set up to assess his health decided that he was in a state of nervous breakdown, which manifests itself either in excessive excitement, insomnia and anxiety, or in attacks of melancholy and depression.

Morozov and his wife went abroad for treatment. On May 13, in a hotel room in Cannes, he was found dead with a Browning in his hand. There was a note next to it: "I ask you not to blame anyone for my death." However, all family members and many friends were sure that in fact Morozov was killed. A possible motive was also named - his insurance policy for 100 thousand rubles, which ended up with Andreeva. The news of the death of the industrialist led to a panic on the stock exchange.

Morozov was buried according to the Christian rite, at the Old Believer Rogozhsky cemetery, next to his ancestors, as if there was no certificate from the French police about suicide.