The success story of the owner of the footwear holding “Marko”, or how things are done in Vitebsk big business
The owner of the Marko shoe holding, Nikolai Martynov, is one of the wealthiest and most influential people in Belarus.
As Belorusskie Novosti reports, the businessman started out as a simple worker at the Vitebsk knitting factory "KIM". What was this path to the top of the shoe empire? And who helped a guy from a small village become such an influential person?
Reference. Nikolai Martynov was born on August 1, 1957 in the village of Gudovo-Zemyanskoye, Dubrovensky district, Vitebsk region. Graduated from the Institute of Political Science and Social Management of the Communist Party of Belarus (1991). Owner of the holding company “Belarusian leather and footwear company “Marko”, large owner of real estate in the Vitebsk region (“Marko-City”). It is included in the number and confidently takes first place in the ranking. Member of the Entrepreneurship Development Council. Married, has two children.
Origins: father is the best shapoval in the village
The village in which Nikolai Martynov was born has never been prosperous, and now it’s even more so: only a few people remain here for the winter. As he says sister of businessman Antonin Zaitsev:
In the Soviet Union, Belarus was the poorest. In Belarus, the poorest region is the Vitebsk region. Well, in the Vitebsk region the poorest is the Dubrovensky district.
Father of the family Vasily Martynov can rightfully be considered the founder of the shoe dynasty, because he was the best shapoval in the area and supplied the area with warm felt boots. According to the newspaper “Nasha Niva”, Martynov shoes were in high demand: villagers treasured leather ones and wore them only on holidays, so in Everyday life They used mainly felt boots. Mom worked on a collective farm and did not change her field of activity throughout her life.
Nikolai Martynov has three older sisters and a younger brother, who, by the way, at one time worked as a manager in the Marko business empire, and then started his own business.
The parents are no longer alive. Nikolay repaired parents' house, and comes there with his family from time to time.
The unfortunate fate of a teacher and academician
Nikolai Martynov studied at a village school, and after graduating he entered the Vitebsk Technical School. He was not drafted into the army due to health reasons.
In 1978, the future Vitebsk businessman begins labor activity as an assistant foreman at a knitting factory. The next 10 years were not marked by anything: Martynov worked conscientiously for the benefit of the Vitebsk light industry, like thousands of other hard workers.
They say that the parents of his wife, who herself comes from the Tolochin region, contributed to the businessman’s getting on his feet.
Only in 1991 Martynov received higher education, when he graduates from the Institute of Political Science and Social Management of the CPB. However, the profession of political scientist was not particularly useful to him.
Among Nikolai Vasilyevich’s “educational” achievements is the status of “corresponding member of the International Academy information technologies" This is unscientific public organization, whose members distribute fictitious titles to each other. By the way, the former Minister of Justice also became an “academician” at the same institution. Victor Golovanov.
The first step in the shoe business
In the 1980s, foreign joint ventures appeared in Belarus: one of the pioneers in the Vitebsk region was the local shoe factory “Red October” (55% of shares) and the German company Salamander (45%). It was this enterprise that gave rise to Martynov’s ascent: here the entrepreneur worked as an expert in the commercial department. That’s when the thoughts appeared that I needed to start something of my own.
The idea to start my own business came while on vacation in Abkhazia, says Nikolai Martynov. – We went as savages with children and, like many, counted every penny. It was the 1990s when cooperatives began to be created. We traded sugar and made blankets. Minimal processing of fur gave 200-300% profitability. It was a sin not to do this.
The idea was brought to life - and another shoe company “LM + MK” appeared in Vitebsk (the German company Evimex was a partner). Later, the company will expect many changes (in particular, a change of name to the more pronounced “Marco”), but what will remain constant is the director’s post, which will be occupied by Nikolai Martynov.
Up to the shoe stars
“Marco,” whose name consists of the first letters of the words “Martynov” and “company,” took some time to find its feet. However, now the holding is ahead of many competitors in the Belarusian market.
It now includes three enterprises that differ from each other in shoe production technology. "Marco" specializes in women's shoes using the glue method and men's injection molded shoes, "San Marco" produces children's and glued men's shoes, and "Red October" deals with house shoes.
Initially, raw materials for production were purchased abroad, but later it was decided to abandon this practice. The company has established independent production: the Vikop-Fabus company supplies Marco with shoe lasts, and Vitma with bags and haberdashery.
Martynov's holding annually produces, and this is a record figure among manufacturers in the CIS countries. Almost half of the products are exported - the main foreign buyer of the Vitebsk enterprise is Russia.
"Marco" cleans up the state
For a long time it was an example of a private business, but the scale that the enterprise achieved over the years of operation attracted the attention of the state. Providing the population with clothing and footwear is a strategically important area of the economy, so it was decided to enlarge Marco and create on its basis a production holding with a complete technological chain.
The corresponding decree was issued at the end of 2013. To the question of who was the initiator of such a “unification,” Martynov answers as follows:
This was a counter movement of our enterprises and the state.
The same decree added one more unit to the list of enterprises privatized by Martynov - it was included in the holding, which went to the businessman for a symbolic price (one basic value).
The state promised Martynov support for the implementation of the investment project. It was assumed that within three years the holding would establish annual processing of 300 thousand sheep skins and 250 thousand raw fur skins, which in the future would lead to a reduction in the import component in footwear production from 64% to 31%. After this, the state would receive a share of shares proportional to the invested funds.
Support was to be expressed, among other things, from banks: 50 million dollars either in Belarusian rubles at a refinancing rate of + 3%, or in foreign currency for a loan taken abroad + 2%. However, the country's financial institutions ignored the wishes of the state, and thanks to Martynov's persistence, the funds were allocated directly from the budget. The shoe holding received a loan of 200 billion rubles at 3% per annum.
Both businessman and philanthropist
Nikolai Martynov invested a lot of money in the improvement of the city of Vitebsk. Thus, he took a direct “monetary” part in the restoration, allocated funds for the casting of bells, and at his expense two historical houses on Tolstoy Street were also reconstructed. After this, however, one of the houses became the property of a businessman: now there is a Marko brand store on the ground floor, and several apartments above it.
Five-room apartment with an area of about 250 sq. m went to Nikolai Martynov, and the four-room apartments went to his brother Victor and their business partner Nikolai Kovalkov.
Pyramid of Martynov
It is impossible not to note another element of the improvement of Vitebsk, which appeared with light hand Martynov - near the Blue House. This building evokes conflicting feelings among the townspeople: some admire its beauty and modernity, while others are surprised by its bad taste and vulgarity. By the way, a similar structure, only smaller, is installed at the entrance to the Louvre.
Martynov himself is so delighted with the pyramid that he decided to equip his office on its top.
Multi-profile “marko-business”
In addition to producing shoes, Martynov is also involved in the catering business: he owns the Dvinsky Brovar bar and the Golden Lion restaurant.
By the way, this is another privatized enterprise of Martynov (the former Vitebsk brewery), which, by analogy with the fur factory, went to the businessman practically for nothing. Let us note that Dvinsky Brovar never became a noticeable player in the market.
Among other non-core assets of Marko is the Khodtsy recreation center on Lake Soro in the Sennensky district.
In the footsteps of father and grandfather
Nikolai Martynov has two children, and both work in family business, which is not at all surprising.
Son Paul, who graduated from Vitebsk State Technological University, now heads San Marco. He has two children.
Daughter Raisa also became a graduate of VSTU and this moment works as Deputy General Director. Her specialization is foreign economic activity. Several years ago, she initiated the development of the European Union market - this is how “Marko” shoes began to be sold in Latvia. Raisa's family has three children.
Under the sign of happy Leo
Zodiac sign Nikolai Martynov is Leo. We mention this for a reason, because the king of beasts can rightfully be called the lucky talisman of a Vitebsk businessman. Lions adorn the coat of arms of the Marco company, and the lion also appears in the name of the above-mentioned restaurant.
Symbol for a long time there was Rigus the lion. After his death, it was Nikolai Martynov who allocated 1,200 euros for the purchase of a lion cub, which was delivered to the city above the Dvina all the way from Kaliningrad.
The zoo's newest resident was named Mark after the shoe company. However, soon the name had to be changed: not a lion, but a lioness settled in Vitebsk! The public's favorite is now called Markusha.
As Kommersant has learned, the Main Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee for the Moscow Region has completed the investigation into the murder of businessman Nikolai Martynov, who was shot two years ago in Iksha, Moscow Region. The crime, according to investigators, was ordered by Mr. Martynov’s business partner, who hired Gennady Korotenko, a retired GRU colonel who is now a centurion in the Volga Cossack Army, to play the role of killer. Friends do not believe that the veteran, awarded with a dozen military awards, was involved in a contract killing. According to their version, he really did not part with the Makarov pistol, but used the weapon only to protect businessmen and garden plots.
56-year-old Nikolai Martynov is a co-founder of the Cyprus company Clinolia Holding Limited, which owns several enterprises in Russia for the production of raw materials and equipment for the oil and gas industry. chemical industry, — was killed on March 30, 2014 near his private house in Iksha, Moscow Region. That evening, the businessman returned home after attending a performance at the Vakhtangov Theater. Getting out of the car, he began to open the gate with the key and at that moment came under fire. The killer's bullets hit Mr. Martynov in the head and chest. The driver managed to take the seriously wounded man to the district hospital, but after several operations and intensive care, the businessman still died without regaining consciousness.
Having accepted a criminal case of murder, investigators of the Main Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Moscow Region first qualified the crime as the result of some sudden arose in the businessman. conflict situation- according to Part 1 of Art. 105 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (murder). However, it was not possible to find the criminals for a long time.
The breakthrough in the investigation occurred, one might say, by accident, and operational activities carried out 400 km from the capital contributed to the detection of the crime. August 5, 2015 in Avtozavodsky district Nizhny Novgorod operatives of the regional FSB and police opened a private garage, which turned out to be literally filled to the brim with army weapons. Among the items seized were Kalashnikov assault rifles, assault rifles with optical sights, two machine guns, underbarrel grenade launchers, a collection of daggers, sabers and other edged weapons, countless amounts of ammunition different types and caliber and, finally, portable anti-aircraft missile system"Needle".
On the same day, the owner of the garage, local resident Gennady Korotenko, was detained, who had a Makarov pistol in his pocket at the time of the meeting with the operatives. The detainee himself explained that he grabbed the PM to protect garden plots, in which his organization is involved - “Cossack Freemen named after Ermak Timofeevich,” which is structurally part of the Volga Cossack Army. The found arsenal, according to the Cossack, did not belong to him, but to a certain “casual acquaintance” to whom he rented out his garage. The tenant was allegedly involved in the supply of goods to gun stores and could use the garage as a transshipment base for the goods.
However, the police who began the investigation did not believe Mr. Korotenko’s version - the centurion was arrested on charges of illegal weapons trafficking (Article 222 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). After some time - apparently, thanks to the examinations carried out - the investigation was able to establish that a businessman in the Moscow region was shot dead with a pistol seized in Nizhny.
In this regard, the Nizhny Novgorod episode was connected to a criminal case of murder and transferred to the investigation of the Main Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee for the Moscow Region. There, in addition to the charges already brought against the Cossack, a charge of murder was added. It is worth noting that after his interrogation the crime was qualified as ordered and committed as part of a group (clauses “g” and “h”, part 2 of article 105 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).
Four months later, the probable mastermind of the murder was found and taken into custody - he turned out to be Mr. Martynov’s 35-year-old business partner, Anton Erokhin. According to the investigation, about a year before the assassination attempt, serious disagreements arose between the businessmen. The partners, who owned Clinolia Holding Limited in equal shares, could not divide the company and its assets. Among them were several enterprises in the Nizhny Novgorod region producing acetone, ethanol and other chemicals used for the needs of the oil and gas industry - Sintez OJSC, Sintez Acetone LLC, etc. At first, the co-founders agreed that Mr. Erokhin would buy from Mr. Martynov’s share in Clinolia for 2.6 billion rubles, but at some stage of the auction the price apparently seemed too high to the buyer. As a result, according to investigators, he decided to simply eliminate the seller, contracting the Cossack Korotenko, who provided him security services, for this action. The sotnik, as the investigation believes, agreed to organize and carry out the murder for 1 million rubles.
Let us note that neither the defendants themselves nor their lawyers, having familiarized themselves with the charges brought against them, agreed with the position of the investigation. For example, representatives of Anton Erokhin believe that he had no motive for killing his partner, since shortly before the crime, the businessmen, according to their version, entered into a “mutually beneficial deal.” With the death of Mr. Martynov, the financial situation of the proposed customer “has significantly worsened.” By the way, this is evidenced by the decision Arbitration Court Moscow, which declared Mr. Erokhin, who owed one of the banks as a guarantor for loans more than 383 million rubles, bankrupt.
Representatives of the Volga Cossacks also disagree with the accusations, considering centurion Korotenko a hero and example to follow. Retired Colonel, according to them, took part in at least three wars - Afghan, Abkhaz and Chechen. He was awarded the Orders of Courage, the Red Banner and the Red Star, medals “For Courage” and “For Military Merit”, and also received the title of Hero of Abkhazia and for a special manifestation of courage and bravery - the Order of Leon from a little-recognized republic.
As the chairman of the board of Volnitsa, Sergei Akimov, explained to Kommersant, having detained his comrade in arms with a weapon, law enforcement officers simply decided to pin a murder on him, to which he had nothing to do. Now, according to the Cossack, the investigation is delaying time under various pretexts, since it does not have “a single piece of evidence” of the centurion’s involvement in the crimes. So, in his opinion, the fingerprints of captain Korotenko were not found on the seized weapons, and the suspicious tenant of the garage in the Avtozavodsky district, about whom he spoke, was never identified.
“Dad Korotenko is not a mummer, as there are many of them now, but a real ancestral Cossack,” said Mr. Akimov. “In the past, he was a military officer, a GRU colonel. He was seriously wounded, has a disability, but the investigation ignores his illness, since dad is still in medical training has been in Abkhazia for a long time, being a hero and honorary citizen of this country."
Cossack Akimov, according to him, cannot judge the origin of the Makarov pistol found on Gennady Korotenko, but he is sure that the centurion needed the weapon exclusively for peaceful purposes. To protect garden plots in the Nizhny Novgorod region, in which Volnitsa is constantly involved, and infrequent business trips to the capital, in Moscow the centurion worked as a security guard for businessmen.
The Main Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation confirmed to Kommersant the end of the investigation into the high-profile case, saying that the defendants are now familiarizing themselves with the investigation materials.
Sergey Mashkin; Roman Kryazhev, Nizhny Novgorod
Shoe holding "Marko" receives a budget loan of 200 billion rubles at 3% per annum! At the current dollar exchange rate, this is about $10.5 million.
The owner of the holding is a businessman Nikolay Martynov. He is one of the longest-living members of the Council of the Republic, having been elected for three convocations in a row. He is also among the leaders in the number of privatized enterprises.
How did the career of the most influential Vitebsk businessman develop?
Martynov's father was a shapoval
Nikolai Martynov was born in the village of Gudovo-Zemyanskoye, Dubrovensky district, Vitebsk region. The village was not big and Soviet times, is now completely dying out - only a few people remain here for the winter and all are pensioners.
“In the Soviet Union, Belarus was the poorest. In Belarus, the poorest region is the Vitebsk region. Well, in the Vitebsk region the poorest is the Dubrovensky district,”- laughs Antonina Zaitseva, the sister of a millionaire who lives in a neighboring village. She says that she has traveled around the Baltic states and Ukraine - there is something to compare with.
Father of the family Vasily Martynov was the best shapoval in the entire district.
“In the summer I installed windows in houses, and in the winter I worked on felt boots. And at the same time he was also an accountant,- says the daughter. - The felt boots had their own material. In those days the whole village kept sheep.”
The demand for Martynov's shoes was high. Villagers bought leather shoes only on holidays, and in everyday life they used felt boots.
For Nikolai Martynov, who became a shoe magnate, it would be a shame not to consider his father the founder of the dynasty.
My mother worked on a collective farm all her life. “My maternal grandfather was dispossessed and deported. So you can see a grandfatherly trait,”- the businessman spoke about the roots of his entrepreneurial spirit.
There were five children in the Martynov family. First, three sisters were born one after another, and then two brothers.
The younger Victor worked as a manager in the Marco business empire, and now he has his own business. He was a deputy in the Vitebsk City Council.
The parents are no longer alive. Nikolai renovated his parents' house, and from time to time he comes there with his family.
By education, Nikolai Martynov is a political scientist at the Institute of the Communist Party
Nikolai Martynov graduated from basic school in his native village of Gudovo-Zemyanskoye, and studied middle school in Sipishchevo. He did not serve in the army due to health reasons, and after graduating from school he entered the Vitebsk Technical School.
After graduating, in 1978 he became an assistant foreman at the Vitebsk knitting factory “KIM”. According to official biography, over the next decade there were no changes in his career.
Martynov’s wife is from the Tolochinsky district. Friends of the family say that her parents significantly helped Nikolai get back on his feet.
In the late 1980s, he and his family traveled around the European part of the Soviet Union - from the Baltic to Sea of Azov. Traveled in his own Zhiguli.
Martynov received higher education only at the age of 32. In 1991, when it was falling apart Soviet Union, he completed his studies as a political scientist at the Institute of Political Science and Social Management of the Communist Party of Belarus, and as a full-time student. However, I never had the chance to work as a teacher.
It is interesting that the businessman’s biography also mentions his “honorary” status - “corresponding member of the International Academy of Information Technologies.” This is a non-scientific public organization whose members give each other fictitious titles. In the same institution, the former Minister of Justice also became an “academician” Victor Golovanov.
In the 1980s, the first shoots of foreign business appeared on the territory of Belarus. One of the projects of cooperation between the Soviet planned economy and Western capitalism was Belwest. The founders were the Vitebsk shoe factory "Red October" (55% of shares) and the German company Salamander (45%).
In 1990, Martynov became an expert in the commercial department of Belvesta. This was his first experience working in the shoe market, if you do not count helping his father.
“The idea of starting my own business came while on vacation in Abkhazia,- he said in one of the interviews. - We went as savages with children and, like many, counted every penny. It was the 1990s when cooperatives began to be created. We traded sugar and made blankets. Minimal processing of fur gave 200-300% profitability. It would be a sin not to do this.”
As a result, another shoe factory appeared in Vitebsk. 1991 was marked as the date of creation of the company “LM + MK” (later renamed “Marko”), of which Nikolai Martynov became director. It was a joint business with the German company Evimex.
“In the 1990s, when we started, my income did not allow me to feed my family, let alone take a vacation once a year,”- noted the businessman. At the same time, in one of the interviews, the businessman admitted that in the early 1990s he was also involved in petroleum products. This is an area that random people could not get into.
Marko Holding produces record number shoes in the CIS
Over time, “Marko” (the company got its name from the addition of the words “Martynov” and “company”) overtook all competitors on the Belarusian market. The holding now includes three enterprises. The main difference between them is the way the shoes are made.
"Marco" specializes in women's shoes using the adhesive method and men's injection-molded shoes. At "San Marco" they make children's and men's shoes, and shops. There are already fifty of them.
To save money, some of the Belarusian company’s products are produced in China and India.
Nikolai Martynov privatized not only Red October and the Vitebsk Fur Factory. Marko's store, and above it there are several apartments.
Five-room apartment with an area of about 250 sq. m went to Nikolai Martynov, and four-room apartments went to his brother Victor and their business partner Nikolay Kovalkov.
Opposite the house is the Nikolaevsky farmstead. It's easy to guess who it belongs to. At the entrance there is a clue - a sculpture of the Catholic Saint Crispin, the patron saint of all shoemakers and tanners.
The Martynov shopping center has become a landmark of Vitebsk
Like most major Belarusian businessmen, Martynov decided to start shopping centers. His pride is the eight-story Marko City building in the center of Vitebsk.
“Marco City” managed to become a new landmark of the city due to the huge pyramid in the middle of the square. A similar structure, only smaller, installed at the entrance to the Louvre, became a symbol of Paris. Vitebsk residents' opinions about the building were divided. Many people consider the building ugly. And Martynov himself was delighted with it and decided to equip his office at the top of the pyramid.
Another business profile is catering. True, the opening of Martynov’s bars and restaurants was accompanied by scandals.
“The main decoration of the interior are plaster busts of Lenin and Stalin. Half-meter tall Joseph Vissarionovich, puffing on his pipe, proudly towers in the center above the bar counter. And in the corner, resting his head on his hand, Vladimir Ilyich examines the audience,”- described the interiors of the Dvinsky Brovar bar.
And in the Golden Lion restaurant, which operates in a historical building of the 19th century, one of the halls was called the “Stalinist Room”.
At the same time, Martynov was seen in critical statements regarding the USSR: “My parents lived under a socialist system, which eliminated initiative. Moreover, during the years of stagnation there was a certain degradation of society, the emasculation of any independent thought.”
Among other non-core assets of Marko is the Khodtsy recreation center on Lake Soro in the Sennensky district. Nikolai Martynov is an avid hunter.
Both Martynov’s wife and children work in his company
The Martynov family has two children, and both work in the family business. Son Pavel heads San Marco. He graduated from Vitebsk State Technological University and studied in Italy. He has two children.
Photo news.vitebsk.cc
Daughter Raisa graduated from the same university. He works as Deputy General Director at Marko. Her specialization is foreign economic activity. It supplies imported materials, and several years ago proposed to develop the European Union market. This is how “Marko” shoes began to be sold in Latvia. Raisa's family has three children.
Several years ago, Nikolai Martynov’s wife also worked in the commercial department.
Martynov’s acquaintances note that attention to symbols is important to him. His zodiac sign is Leo. It was this animal that became his talisman.
The lion is located on the “Marko” emblem, and it also appears in the name of Martynov’s restaurant.
The symbol of the Vitebsk Zoo has long been the lion Rigus. After his death, Nikolai Martynov allocated 1,200 euros for the purchase, which was brought from Kaliningrad.
Photo news.vitebsk.cc
The little lion was named Mark after the shoe company. But soon the zoo workers realized that instead of a lion, they got a lioness! I had to change my name to Markusha.
Just 4 years after the death of Pushkin, which shocked Russia, a duel took place between M. Yu. Lermontov and retired major Nikolai Martynov. As a result, the poet was killed, and the second participant in the fight escaped with three months of arrest and church repentance. Although the last one, which ended in his death, took place more than 175 years ago, disputes still rage over whether N.S. Martynov really shot at the man who discharged the pistol into the air, that is, he committed murder.
Origin
To better understand the motives of the actions of the man whose bullet put an end to the short biography of M. Yu. Lermontov, you should find out about his origin.
So, N.S. Martynov came from Moscow nobles. His grandfather made a fortune from wine farming, that is, for a certain fee he acquired from the state the right to levy taxes on drinking establishments, in which he was extremely successful. At the end of the 18th century, it was believed that aristocrats should not engage in such matters. However, Mikhail Ilyich, although he was very shy about his, as they would say today, business, nevertheless wanted his son to continue his business, since it gave stable income. He called him by a name that was uncharacteristic for people of his class. Thus, Nikolai Solomonovich Martynov, whose nationality immediately after Lermontov’s death became the subject of speculation, is undoubtedly Russian.
Parents and childhood
Martynov's father Solomon Mikhailovich Martynov rose to the rank of state councilor and died in 1839. His wife came from the noble Tarnovsky family. In total, the Martynov family had eight children: 4 sons and 4 daughters. They, especially the boys, received an excellent education, had enough money to feel at ease among the golden youth, and were distinguished by their attractive appearance.
Nikolai Martynov was born in 1815 and was only a year younger than Lermontov. Since childhood, he had a talent for literary work and early began to write poetry, imitating the famous poets of his time.
Studies
In 1831, Nikolai Martynov entered the School of Guards Ensigns and Cavalry Junkers. Lermontov ended up there a year later. The latter was forced to apply to leave Moscow University because of an unpleasant story with one of the professors, and did not want to enter St. Petersburg University, since there he was offered to start his studies again from the first year.
Nikolaevskoe cavalry school, in which the young people found themselves, was one of the most famous in Russia. Only noblemen were accepted into it after studying at the university or in private boarding houses that did not have military training. During their studies, Lermontov and Nikolai Solomonovich Martynov practiced fencing together on espadrons more than once and were quite familiar. In addition, the poet was introduced to many members of Martynov’s family, and Nikolai’s brother, Mikhail, was his classmate. Subsequently they also wrote that one of Nicholas’s sisters even became partly the prototype of Princess Mary. It is known that Martynov’s mother spoke extremely unflatteringly about Lermontov for his sarcastic jokes, but her son was delighted with the poetic talent of his schoolmate.
Service
Upon completion of his studies, Nikolai Martynov was sent to serve in the then prestigious Cavalry Regiment, in which Dantes was an officer during the same period. During this time, he, like many representatives of his generation, volunteered to go to the front in the hope of becoming famous and returning to the capital with ranks and military orders. There, during the military expedition of the Caucasian detachment across the Kuban River, Nikolai Solomonovich Martynov proved himself to be a brave officer. For his military services he was even awarded the Order of St. Anna with a bow, and he was in good standing with the command.
Resignation
The circumstances were such that Nikolai Martynov could well hope for a successful career. However, for a still unclear reason, in 1841, while holding the rank of major (remember that practically his peer Lermontov was at that time only a lieutenant), he unexpectedly submitted his resignation. It was rumored that the young man was forced to do this because he was caught cheating during card game, which was considered an extremely shameful phenomenon among officers. In support of such rumors, many cited the fact that Nikolai Martynov, who had sufficient financial resources and connections, did not return to the capital, but settled away from society in Pyatigorsk and led a reclusive life. Among vacationers and local Russian society, the former major was known as an eccentric and an original, as he dressed up in highlander clothes and walked around with a huge dagger, causing ridicule from his former colleagues.
M. Yu. Lermontov in the Caucasus
By 1841, the poet had already become famous throughout Russia thanks to his poems about Pushkin. The efforts of his grandmother, who has influential relatives among the courtiers, allowed him to avoid more serious punishment. He was sent to the Caucasus as an ensign in the Nizhny Novgorod regiment. This business trip did not last long enough, and soon he again shone in the capital's salons. Perhaps everything would have turned out differently if it had not been for the quarrel in the house of Countess Laval with Ernest de Barant. The son of a French diplomat saw an insult in the epigram, which, as mutual acquaintances told him, was written by M. Yu. Lermontov. During the duel, which took place not far from the place where Pushkin was mortally wounded, nothing tragic happened: the sword of one of the opponents broke, Barant missed, and the poet fired into the air. However, it was not possible to hide the fact of the fight, and the poet was exiled to the Caucasus, although he made attempts to retire.
Reasons for the duel with Martynov
From the Northern capital, the poet first came to Stavropol, where his Tenginsky regiment was stationed, and after some time he went on a short vacation to Pyatigorsk. Moreover, his friends tried to persuade him not to do this. There he met many of his St. Petersburg acquaintances, including Martynov. The angry-tongued Lermontov was extremely amused by the warlike appearance of his former classmate. The latter had long harbored a grudge against the poet, since he believed that he had ridiculed him in his epigrams, in which the names Martysh and Solomon appeared. Subsequently, the version according to which Martynov believed that Lermontov had compromised his sister was also considered as the reason for the duel. The rivalry between young people over the favor of a French actress named Adele, who was on tour in the Caucasus, was also indicated.
Argument
Two days before the tragedy, its main characters met in the house of General Verzilin. The poet’s future second and his longtime friend Prince Trubetskoy, as well as the wife and daughter of the owner of the house, were also present there. In their presence, Lermontov began to make barbs about the funny “highlander.” By tragic accident, at these words the music stopped, and they were heard by everyone, including Martynov, as always, dressed in a Circassian coat. As mutual acquaintances of Lermontov and Martynov later recalled, this was not the first time that the poet mocked the retired major. He endured it as long as he could pretend that the jokes had nothing to do with him. However, during the musical evening at the Verzilins’, everything was too obvious, and Lermontov’s duel with Martynov became inevitable. The offended “highlander” loudly declared that he no longer intended to endure ridicule and left. The poet reassured the ladies that tomorrow he and Nikolai Solomonovich would make peace, since “this happens.”
Duel between Lermontov and Martynov
In the evening of the same day, Mikhail and Nikolai had an unpleasant conversation, during which a challenge to a duel was made. The duel took place the very next day. According to the generally accepted version, Lermontov did not take everything that was happening seriously and fired into the air. Thus, he angered Martynov even more and received a bullet in the chest. Since there was no doctor present during the fight, health care was not provided, although it could hardly have saved Lermontov’s life.
After the duel, Martynov was sentenced to be deprived of all rights to his fortune and demoted. However, Nicholas II decided to limit the punishment to three months' confinement in a guardhouse.
Quite little is known about Martynov’s life after the duel. He died at the age of 60 and was buried in his name in Ievlevo.
Oil tycoon
In 1859, an oil rush began in Pennsylvania. But among the small oil-producing enterprises growing like mushrooms, there were mostly amateurs. In 1862, after a business trip to oil-producing areas, Rockefeller, who had enough knowledge, experience and capital, decided to organize an oil business. After meeting Samuel Andrews, an oil expert, he had the opportunity to bring this idea to life. In 1863, the firm of Andrews, Clark & Co. was founded, the members of which were Andrews, Rockefeller and Clark with two brothers.
In 1864, Rockefeller married teacher Laura Spellman, whom he had met in student years. The girl had a practical mindset and shared her husband’s Puritan views. The billionaire later admitted: “Without her advice, I would have remained poor.” The Rockefeller couple had five children. Rockefeller was a gentle husband and caring father. He taught children music, took them swimming and skating. At the same time, parents demanded an account from their children for every cent spent, and they introduced a system of monetary rewards and fines. The entrepreneur experienced the death of his wife in 1904 very hard.
In an effort to increase profits, Rockefeller proposed recycling industrial waste into fertilizer. He was the first businessman to abandon wooden casks (barrels), which were used to transport oil, and launched the production of more durable ones made of metal. Before competitors had time to pick up this idea, he began transporting oil in railway tanks. When everyone started using tanks after him, Rockefeller was already laying pipelines.
John was the first to realize that oil refining was facing a crisis of overproduction. In 1871, prices for crude oil and petroleum products began to plummet. Rockefeller remained calm:
“Unlike other people, we should act and not worry when the market bottoms out.”
And he began to act. His company, Standard Oil, began to absorb competitors. For example, in Cleveland, Rockefeller managed to buy up 22 of 26 companies. In American newspapers this campaign was called the “Cleveland shooting.” Rockefeller continued to acquire companies in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, New York and other cities. By 1877, he controlled 90% of the entire oil refining industry in the United States. That same year, Rockefeller faced his first major challenge. The Pennsylvania Railroad, concerned about the construction of Rockefeller's oil pipelines, began buying up oil refineries and pipelines in response. Rockefeller was not going to budge and became involved in a debilitating price war, which negatively affected the company's payments and freight transportation of the Pennsylvania railway, and also caused unrest among workers on both sides. Ultimately, Rockefeller emerged victorious, and the railroad company sold its oil assets to him. Of course, as a monopolist, Rockefeller sometimes acted mercilessly, but he always offered competitors a fair price, buying out their business.
Rockefeller's activities affected the interests of Wall Street tycoons, who launched a media war against him and brought charges of violating antitrust laws. The first journalistic investigation of Standard Oil was published in 1881 in the Atlantic Monthly. From this article, the legend about the sinister and ruthless Rockefeller began to circulate. He himself simply waved it off: “The public has no right to interfere with our private contracts.”
Forecasts for the future of the Rockefeller company, which absorbed almost the entire US oil refining industry, were the most pessimistic. Experts agreed: “She has no future. The corporation will collapse under its own weight.” But Standard Oil had no intention of falling apart.
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