Business in the Russian Empire: the stories of 5 large entrepreneurs

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

How former serfs turned into tycoons thanks to their tenacity and entrepreneurial spirit. Five entrepreneurs from the times of the Russian Empire who managed to build a large business.

Alexander Chichkin

The merchant of the first guild, Alexander Chichkin, changed the dairy market of his time. Before he opened the Milk store on Bolshaya Dmitrovka, the product was sold exclusively on the streets and markets. For several years he managed to build a network. In 1914, he had 91 stores, two dairy factories and a curd and sour cream branch, 40 butter processing stations. The plant processed 100–150 tons of milk per day. In the firm “A. V. Chichkin employed 3000 people.

The entrepreneur paid a lot of attention to marketing: all the shops were faced with snow-white tiles, clerks were dressed in snow-white uniforms, there were unprecedented cash registers in the hall, which guaranteed an honest attitude towards customers. Every evening, fresh milk in cans was solemnly brought into the shops, and yesterday's product was publicly poured down the street in the morning.

By 1917, the fixed capital of the enterprise was more than 10 million rubles. After the revolution, Chichikov's entire business was nationalized. He could not escape exile: he had to spend two years in northern Kazakhstan until Molotov and Mikoyan rescued him from there. Then Chichkin became an ordinary Soviet pensioner, but he still participated in the development of plans and projects for the development of the dairy industry in the USSR.

Stepan Abrikosov

The ancestor of the surname Stepan Abrikosov was a serf, his family supplied sweets to the master's table - marshmallow and apricot jam (hence the surname). In 1804, 64-year-old Stepan received his freedom and soon opened an artel family production in Moscow. Sweets were bought here for parties and weddings, and soon they managed to open a fruit and confectionery shop. The Aprikosovs' fame grew.

In 1820, after Stepan's death, production was transferred to his sons Ivan and Vasily. But they failed to maintain the pace set by their father. After 20 years, they lost production due to debts. It seemed that the well-known family business had ceased to exist, but by that time Stepan's grandson, Aleksey, had grown up. He was a capable young man, and he was especially interested in accounting. He decided to revive the family business and organized home production: the Abrikosovs again made jam, made sweets and baked gingerbread. To reduce the cost of production, he began to buy fruits in the Crimea, and later he was the first to establish year-round deliveries of fruits to Moscow. His goal was to make production on a truly large scale. In the end, after 30 years, by 1872? Alexei had 40 pastry shops, which employed 120 workers. A total of 512 tons of sweets were produced per year.

Alexey's sons continued the business. They formed a partnership and built a factory. By the beginning of the 20th century, the business of the Abrikosovs had become one of the leaders in the country's confectionery market. Its annual turnover was 2.5 million rubles.

After the revolution, the family's enterprises were nationalized. In 1922, the factory was named after the Bolshevik Pyotr Babaev, but for several more years the name of the Abrikosovs remained on the labels to attract attention. Some family members managed to escape abroad, but others were unable to escape arrest.

Peter Smirnov

Pyotr Smirnov came from a family of serfs who brewed and sold wine on holidays. Having received their freedom, Peter's father and uncle decided to make the wine business their main business. From childhood, Peter worked in this area: first he became a clerk for his father, and then he founded a small winery.

Petr Smirnov's business developed rapidly: the number of cellars, factories, warehouses, stores increased, brand awareness grew. The secret of his success was the entrepreneur's impeccable reputation and good commercial contacts. He worked with relatives who did not dare to let him down or deceive him, and used only high-quality raw materials: spring water, alcohol from bread grains (and not from beets), good fruits and berries.

The latter were looked for by Peter himself: he traveled to regional farms, extracting unknown varieties. Smirnov's firm produced wine, liqueurs, liqueurs, vodka and liqueurs - more than 400 items in total. The technical equipment of its factories was constantly updated, the enterprise quickly became the largest in the world and received international recognition. Smirnov became a supplier to the imperial court and received the right to place the coat of arms of the Russian Empire on labels (now the quality of his products was guaranteed by the state). He also supplied alcohol to the court of the King of Sweden, opened branches in London, Paris and New York.

At the end of the 19th century, Smirnov's income fell sharply: the state decided to take control of the alcohol market and introduced a "wine monopoly". He was still a very rich man, his fortune was estimated at almost 9 million rubles, but difficulties in business crippled his health, and in 1898 he died. Peter's son Vladimir fled the country after the revolution and created the Smirnoff brand. In Russia, the brand was revived only after the collapse of the USSR.

Grigory Eliseev

Grigory Eliseev was born into a wealthy family. His great-grandfather also sold expensive foreign goods in Russia: wines, tropical fruits, oysters and truffles. For their delivery, the company had its own merchant fleet at its disposal: four sailing ships and a steamer. At 32, he inherited a trading empire with a fixed capital of 3 million rubles. He established the Eliseev Brothers Trade Partnership and began to dispose of the business at his own discretion. In the first year of operation, the turnover of the enterprise amounted to 64 million rubles.

Once Eliseev had a bold idea: to arrange an exhibition of vintage wines in Paris. It is difficult to surprise the French with wine, but the young entrepreneur succeeded. He was even awarded him the Order of the Legion of Honor. The furor strengthened Eliseev's position in the market.

Two years later, the entrepreneur bought a house on Tverskaya and instructed the best specialists to turn it into a miracle of architecture. The work was completed by 1901, then the “Eliseev's Store and the Cellars of Russian and Foreign Wines” were solemnly opened. Gastronomic luxury was sold here: wines, fruits, sweets, colonial groceries, crystal. Everything was fresh, clean, high quality. It was the country's first general-purpose grocery store.

In 1914, a tragedy struck in the Eliseev family: Grigory's wife committed suicide because of his love for another. The sons abandoned the inheritance and broke off relations with their father, Eliseev married again, quickly and with a scandal, and left for Paris. In 1918, his property was nationalized.

Pavel Bure

Pavel Bure Jr. was the grandson of a Russian entrepreneur of German origin who founded a watchmaking company. Initially, the Bure factory was located in St. Petersburg, but Pavel, having inherited the production, decided to buy a factory in Switzerland. He managed to make the business truly large-scale.

The most famous product of Bure was a gift watch, which the emperor gave to diplomats, officials and cultural figures. It is known that during the reign of Alexander III, 3477 gift watches were presented to the amount of 277,472 rubles, the overwhelming number of which was from the Bure company.

In addition, the company produced prize products for the officers of the Russian army, as well as simple watches: they could be bought in a store at a democratic price. The brand has become very recognizable. In the works of Chekhov alone, the expression "Bure clock" occurs more than 20 times. To maintain recognition at the same level, Pavel Bure and his descendants have invested a lot of effort in participating in exhibitions, where their products have won medals many times. By the beginning of the 20th century, the company occupied 20% of the Russian watch market.

With the revolution, the business did not cease to exist. He was saved by the fact that the production was in Switzerland. The Bure company still exists.