Artemy Tereshchenko
Artemy Yakovlevich Tereshchenko (1794–1873) was the first entrepreneur in the Tereshchenko family and founder of the Tereshchenko dynasty, one of the wealthiest families in the Russian Empire. Nicknamed “Karbovanets,” he was a guild merchant, hereditary honorary citizen, hereditary nobleman, and the Burgermeister (mayor) of Hlukhiv from 1842 to 1845. He started sugar beet production in Ukraine and funded many charitable projects.
In 1815 he was drafted to fight Napoleon and served with his Cossack unit near Paris, where he learned French. He returned home in 1816, and in 1819 he married Euphrosyne Gregorievna Steslyavskaya. They had four sons—Nikola, Fyodor, Bassie, and Simon—who later joined the family business.
The Tereshchenkos earned a reputation for trust, offering favorable credit terms to local manufacturers and becoming known as guarantors in the market. During the Crimean War (1853–1856), Artemy supplied bread and firewood to the Russian army, including during the Siege of Sevastopol.
He funded many institutions, including a vocational school, male and female gymnasiums, a pedagogical institute, a bank, the free hospital of St. Euphrosyne, an orphanage, and the Three Anastasias Cathedral. On May 12, 1870, Emperor Alexander II granted him and all male-line descendants hereditary nobility for his services and charity. He was also awarded a gold medal by the Holy Synod.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 23:16 (CET).