Tatiana Alexandrovna Gafarova,
Researcher, Yeniseysk Historical and Architectural Museum-Reserve named after A.I. Kytmanov, Yeniseysk, Russia, e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
The Heisins, Tonkonogovs and Flyers: Yeniseysk Entrepreneurs and Philanthropists (1830–1910s)
DOI: 10.31518/2618-9100-2023-6-14
The article highlights the entrepreneurial and charitable activities of the Tonkonogov, Heisin and Fleer families who lived in the city of Yeniseysk from the 30s of the 19th to the early 20th century. The bearers of these surnames were Jews by birth, and Jews by religion. The author discusses how they were able to integrate into the life of the host community, preserving their identity, traditions and language. Siberia was not chosen by these families to live in by chance. It is possible that the Heisin and Tonkonogov families were ones of the few who managed to move out of the Jewish Pale of Settlement, taking advantage of the Senate decree of November 20, 1836, which allowed Jews to move to develop uninhabited northern expanses. Each of these families, having tried their luck in the gold industry, decided to engage in commerce in their own direction, choosing the most optimal options for themselves, allowing them to accumulate initial capital. So, Isai Heisin owned a distillery in the district, and in 1880 he became a co-owner of a brewery in Yeniseysk. The wine trade was one of the most profitable businesses. The Tonkonogovs specialized in the trade of bread, furs, manufactured goods, and also owned drinking establishments, and for a long time were engaged in the delivery of goods to the mines. Another source of income for the Tonkonogovs was the Trinity Salt Works, leased in 1875. Flyers first traded in the Yenisey district, and then finally moved to the city. The range of goods in L.F. Fleer’s store was extremely diverse: books, newspapers, toys, musical instruments, as well as pharmacy, both manufactory and stationery. In addition to trading, Fleer owned a small brick production. The study of biographies of representatives of these families allows to conclude that they managed to find and occupy free niches in trade, their entrepreneurial activity went beyond the borders of the Yenisey province. The accumulated funds made it possible to engage in charity, which extended to everyone, regardless of faith and nationality.
Publishing: 28/12/2023
The article has been received by the editor on 16/08/2023
How to cite: Gafarova T.A. The Heisins, Tonkonogovs and Flyers: Yeniseysk Entrepreneurs and Philanthropists (1830–1910s) // Historical Courier, 2023, No. 6 (32), pp. 190–205. [Available online: http://istkurier.ru/data/2023/ISTKURIER-2023-6-14.pdf]
Links: Issue 6 2023
Keywords: Yeniseysk; merchants; Jews; the Heisins; the Tonkonogovs; the Fleers; entrepreneurship; trade; charity