Irina Igorevna Leyman,
Candidate of Historical Sciences, Pitirim Sorokin Syktyvkar State University, Syktyvkar, Russia; Institute of Language, Literature and History of the Federal Research Center of the Komi Scientific Center of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Syktyvkar, Russia, e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Vologda Merchant Timofey Emel’yanovich Kolesnikov: “…Capital Must Remain Forever Inviolable”
DOI: 10.31518/2618-9100-2025-4-9
The article describes the charitable activities of Timofey Yemelyanovich Kolesnikov (1829−1899), a Vologda merchant of the Second guild, one of the most striking examples of merchant philanthropy in pre-revolutionary Russia. The article reveals the main stages of of T.E. Kolesnikov’s life and highlights his service in local city government and other regional structures. At various times he was a member of the Vologda City Duma, manager at the Vologda Mutual Fire Insurance Society, treasurer of the Council of the Vologda Free Fire Society, merchant elder, and a member of the board of the Vologda City Public Bank. The large-scale donations he made for various needs are revealed, thanks to which his name is firmly entrenched in the memory of the citizens. It is emphasized that over the years, T.E. Kolesnikov was a churchwarden at the Vologda City Zemsky Hospital; a trustee of the 1st, 3rd and 4th Vologda county parish schools; honorary foreman of the Vologda Alexandrinsky Orphanage; a substituent of a chairman of the Vologda local department of the Society for the Care of Wounded and Sick Soldiers; a member of the Vologda local department of the Russian Red Cross Society and a member of the Council of the Vologda Alexander Merchant Charitable Society. The article analyzes T.E. Kolesnikov’s initiatives which can be considered the main ones both for himself and for the city society: the opening of a city free canteen and a night shelter in Vologda, the Alexander-Mariinsky Silver orphanage “Nursery” and the city school − the 7th Vologda District men’s parish school. Using the example of the biography of T.E. Kolesnikov, the article concludes that endowment capital was an important instrument for the development of merchant charity in Russia in the second half of the 19th − early 20th century. Even after the merchant’s death, the institutions he founded continued to function, and their financial resources increased thanks to constant donations from the townspeople.
Publishing: 28/08/2025
The article has been received by the editor on 09/10/2024
How to cite: Leyman I.I. Vologda Merchant Timofey Emel’yanovich Kolesnikov: “…Capital Must Remain Forever Inviolable” // Historical Courier, 2025, No. 4 (42), pp. 128–144. [Available online: http://istkurier.ru/data/2025/ISTKURIER-2025-4-09.pdf]
The publication was prepared as part of the implementation of the state assignment by the Federal Research Center of the Komi Scientific Center of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
Links: Issue 4 2025
Keywords: Vologda province; merchants; Timofey E. Kolesnikov; charity; endowment funds