As many people know, it was not until 1920 that the beautiful city of Slovyansk ceased to be part of the Kharkiv region.
Until that time, the small town of Izyum in the Izyum District of the Kharkiv Governorate had played an important role in the Sloboda Ukraine region. To understand this, one need only visit the State Archives of the Kharkiv Region, which contain an abundance of records and collections related to Slovyansk.
In the *Memorial Book of the Kharkiv Governorate* for 1862, we find the following:
Today, Slovyansk is home to wonderful mineral waters that attract a great many visitors who come here to enjoy them; this brings a special vibrancy to the city during the summer months and keeps its residents healthy for the entire year.
By the mid-1880s, advertisements like these were a common sight in newspapers and magazines:
And in I. Levakovsky’s short book *On the Slavic Salt Lakes*, published in Kharkiv in 1870, we read the following:
However, the city was not just a resort town, and it did not, like Crimea, live for just one summer. Everyday life went on in Slovyansk as well, including various amusing incidents that were known and talked about throughout the empire.
In Issue No. 40 of October 3, 1876, of the weekly illustrated magazine *Zhivopisnoe Obozrenie*, we find the following:
Warlike Spirit
A report from Slovyansk, in the Kharkiv Governorate, appears in the newspaper *Kavkaz*:
The local mayor and a certain landowner, after a hearty dinner washed down with fine wine, set out for a swim around 6 p.m. The bathing facilities, it should be noted, are located not far from the rotunda, where music is played in the evenings. As soon as the first notes of a martial march rang out, our dandies were so overcome with ecstasy that, forgetting all about their traditional attire, they ran out into the garden.
They caught the head at the beginning of the main avenue and locked it in the bathhouse, while the landowner paraded through the rotunda dressed as the forefather Adam, provoking Homeric laughter from some of those present and, quite justifiably, indignation from others.
These days, given the media attention it would attract, such a drunken escapade could cost the local mayor his job. Who is this “hero,” whose name isn’t mentioned in the article?
According to information contained in the reference book *Kharkiv Calendar*, the mayor of Slovyansk at that time was Vasily Lukyanovich Zubashov, a merchant of the First Guild.
His father, Lukyan Ivanovich Zubashov, a merchant of the First Guild, owned a soap factory and a vodka distillery, as well as a wine and spirits warehouse and a store selling manufactured goods and haberdashery.
From 1868 to 1873, he also served as mayor of Slovyansk.
In 1874, his son—whom we already know from that amusing incident—took over the same position.
The most interesting thing is that, apparently, Vasily Lukyanovich didn’t lose his job right away because of the scandal. However, his drunken outburst did have an impact on his future.
From April 3, 1877, through 1881, the merchant Illarion Dmitrievich Savelyev served as mayor of Slovyansk.
But from 1882 to 1892, the father of our hapless troublemaker, Lukyan Ivanovich Zubashov, once again served as the head of this glorious resort town.
It is not yet clear whether his son’s scandalous outburst in 1876 undermined his authority in any way. However, it is known that, for example, in 1885, the mayor also served concurrently as the head of the merchants’ guild, chairman of the orphan court, and chairman of the commission for the management of the Slavic Mineral Waters.
In 1893 and 1894, Pavel Mikheevich Lamzin is listed as acting mayor. This leads us to speculate that Zubashov may have died or resigned prematurely. P. M. Lamzin, who became mayor of Slovyansk in 1898, succeeding merchant Vasily Petrovich Karyakin (1895–1897), P. M. Lamzin faithfully served in his post until 1917 and left behind a good reputation.
In the book *Album of City Mayors of the Russian Empire*, we can read the following about him:
During his tenure as mayor, the municipal slaughterhouse and the city hospital were built, a building was purchased for the local treasury, the mineral springs facility was expanded, the city parish school building was renovated and expanded, pavements were laid in the central part of the city, and electric lighting was installed at the mineral springs administered by the city, and petitions were initiated to open a commercial school and a technical secondary school in Slovyansk.
In addition, Pavel Mikheevich is a member of the Society for the Support of Patients Undergoing Treatment at the Slovyansk Mineral Springs
However, it was Lukyan Ivanovich’s youngest son, Efim Zubashov—an outstanding chemical engineer, public figure, and statesman—who brought the greatest fame to the Zubashov family.
However, that is a completely different story, as is the description of the city of Slovyansk from 1884.
So I think a sequel is bound to follow sooner or later…
The photograph of Lukyan Ivanovich Zubashov was taken from the website of Tomsk Polytechnic University, which was founded and led by Efim Lukyanovich as its first director.
To this day, this educational institution honors his memory by posting photographs and various materials related to him on its website.
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