There is more than enough information about those who led Kharkiv and the region after the revolution. But what do we know about our city’s leaders during the 19th and early 20th centuries? After all, the figures of that era were no less colorful than those of today. Here are three short but very interesting stories about them.
The great-great-uncle of the famous poet Anna Andreevna Akhmatova was appointed military governor of Kharkiv on November 20, 1860.
Major General Alexei Petrovich Akhmatov, a member of His Majesty’s retinue, held this position for only two years, as on February 28, 1862, he assumed the post of Chief Prosecutor of the Holy Synod. However, despite the brevity of his stay in Kharkiv, Alexei Petrovich left a very vivid and interesting impression on his contemporaries.
He was, in every respect, a radiant personality. Highly educated, with a pleasant appearance, a kind heart and a strong character, deeply religious, always friendly and approachable to everyone, always ready to participate in a good cause or to defend the oppressed—and, moreover, with considerable financial means— A. P. quickly won universal affection and left a fond memory of himself throughout the province. His chief trait was boundless devotion to the entire Imperial Family; his love for them bordered on adoration… His official duties were conducted in an impeccable manner: intrigues and various schemes had no chance of succeeding. A man of independent character, he was swayed only by his kind heart, never strayed from the path of the law, and it was a blessing for the Kharkiv province to have such a governor during that difficult and turbulent time. It is to him alone that we owe the fact that the beginning of the emancipation, compared to other provinces, passed completely peacefully, without the tragic misunderstandings that occurred in some provinces.
In K. Shchelkov’s book *Historical Chronology of the Kharkiv Governorate*, this period of Akhmatov’s rule is marked, in particular, by the following events:
1861:
On June 4, the charter on tobacco excise taxes and the regulations on excise taxes on alcoholic beverages were approved by His Imperial Majesty. Starting this year, the Kharkiv District Treasury collected an annual tobacco excise tax ranging from 40,000 to 60,000 rubles.
The Kharkiv Medical Society was founded on the initiative of Professor V. F. Grube.
The Museum of Fine Arts at Kharkiv University opened to the public.
Large mirrored panes appeared for the first time in the windows of Kharkiv residents’ homes.
The earliest records of this surname date back to Kirill Vasilyevich Akhmatov, who is mentioned in connection with the Kazan campaign of 1544. In 1551, Andrei Mikhailovich Akhmatov served as an esau in the Polotsk campaign. In the 17th century, members of the Akhmatov family served as stolniks, city nobles, and stewards. Two of them, Ivan Stepanovich and Andrei Savvich, were chamberlains under Peter I. Six members of the Akhmatov family owned inhabited estates in 1699.
From 1884 onward, Baron Alexander Alexandrovich Üxküll von Gyllenband (Alexander Abraham Carl Freiherr von Üxküll-Gyllenband) held the office of governor of Kharkiv.
Here is what Prince Pyotr Vladimirovich Dolgorukov—a historian, publicist, and one of the foremost experts on genealogy—writes about this surname in his four-volume work *The Russian Genealogical Book*:
Before his appointment to Kharkiv, Baron Alexander Alexandrovich first served as vice-governor of Livonia (1872–1874) and, from 1874 to 1882, as governor. The baron remained in our city until 1886, after which he was appointed head of Pskov. Interestingly, from 1891 to 1896, he served as president of the Evangelical Lutheran General Consistory.
This consistory was founded in 1818 but was later reorganized. It was not until December 28, 1832, that Emperor Nicholas I approved the new charter of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Russia. This became the law that enshrined the inclusion of Protestant churches within the system of state administrative governance. The consistory served as the highest collegial governing body for Evangelical Lutheran consistories in the Russian Empire. It was entrusted with the following responsibilities: “the administration of ecclesiastical affairs of this denomination,” the supervision of all Protestant consistories, oversight of the implementation of church statutes and the activities of the Protestant clergy, as well as ecclesiastical censorship.
In May 1904, a new governor—Emmanuel Alexandrovich Vatatsi—arrived in Kharkiv.
The Vatatzes family claimed that the blood of the Nicaean emperors flowed through their veins (Nicaea was a state formed in northwestern Anatolia after the Crusaders captured Constantinople in 1204 and which existed until 1261). In particular, they considered John III Doukas Vatatzes to be one of their ancestors.
Because of this, the Byzantine double-headed eagle was always featured on the Vatatsi family coat of arms.
By the age of 48, Emmanuil Alexandrovich had already built a successful career.
In the Suwałki Governorate (present-day Lithuania), where he served as governor from 1898 to 1901, his tenure was marked by his persistent advocacy for allowing Lithuanians to print books in the Latin script. During his tenure as governor of the Kovno Governorate (also in Lithuania) from 1901 to 1904, a survey of private land ownership was conducted at his initiative. In 1903, thanks specifically to his timely purchase of grain, the province managed to avoid the dire consequences of a crop failure. Contemporaries recalled that Emmanuil Alexandrovich readily supported all kinds of useful initiatives, was known for his impartiality, and was approachable to his subordinates. However, Emmanuil Alexandrovich Vatatsi served as mayor of our city for an extremely short time (from May to November 1904), as he was appointed director of the Department of General Affairs of the Ministry of Internal Affairs at the end of 1904.
It goes without saying that the lives of the Kharkiv governors were marked by many other achievements and incidents. However, that’s a whole other story…
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