The collection of the Kasimov Museum-Reserve houses a portrait of the hereditary merchant Arkady Alyanchikov. The canvas was painted by an unknown artist at the end of the 19th century.
In the 18th — 19th centuries, many merchants lived in Kasimov. One of the most influential and wealthy one in the town was Ivan Alyanchikov. According to reminiscences of contemporaries, locals respected him and on meeting him everyone, including the town governor, bowed to him first and ‘broke their hats’.
The Alyanchikovs were Kasimov natives: the earliest mention of their surname is found in the scribe books of 1627. At first, they sold bagels and ‘kalachi’ (twisted white bread), and then began to engage in alcohol tax farming: the Alyanchikovs bought the right to collect fees and taxes from townspeople for the sale of alcohol from the state. Due to this, they made a great fortune.
The Alyanchikovs were also political figures. Five representatives of this family were elected for the position of mayor. One of them was Ivan Alyanchikov’s grandson — Arkady.
Arkady Alyanchikov (1846–1893) was an honorary citizen of the town and a merchant of the first guild. He was elected to the post of mayor twice and from 1879 to 1882, he was a chairman of the Ryazan provincial rural council.
On Alyanchikov’s initiative, the governorate resumed the collection of statistics on local residents. He was also engaged in charity, for example, he donated 4000 rubles to the city orphanage — the average worker’s salary of 11 years.
After his death in 1893, the Kasimov Town Duma decided to “abolish the collection of hospital fees for the peasants and burghers of Kasimov district and town, who presented a certificate of poverty from their representatives and institutions to which they were subordinated.” The decision was made “in memory of the merits of the deceased mayor Arkady Vasilyevich Alyanchikov.”
At that time, the Town Council ordered a portrait of Arkady Alyanchikov. For a long time it was housed in the Town Council. Over time, the paint faded and the portrait needed restoration. First, it was sent to a specialist restorer in Moscow, and then placed in the exhibition of the Kasimov Historical and Cultural Museum-Reserve. One of its branches is located in the former house of Alyanchikov merchants on Sobornaya Square.
In the 18th — 19th centuries, many merchants lived in Kasimov. One of the most influential and wealthy one in the town was Ivan Alyanchikov. According to reminiscences of contemporaries, locals respected him and on meeting him everyone, including the town governor, bowed to him first and ‘broke their hats’.
The Alyanchikovs were Kasimov natives: the earliest mention of their surname is found in the scribe books of 1627. At first, they sold bagels and ‘kalachi’ (twisted white bread), and then began to engage in alcohol tax farming: the Alyanchikovs bought the right to collect fees and taxes from townspeople for the sale of alcohol from the state. Due to this, they made a great fortune.
The Alyanchikovs were also political figures. Five representatives of this family were elected for the position of mayor. One of them was Ivan Alyanchikov’s grandson — Arkady.
Arkady Alyanchikov (1846–1893) was an honorary citizen of the town and a merchant of the first guild. He was elected to the post of mayor twice and from 1879 to 1882, he was a chairman of the Ryazan provincial rural council.
On Alyanchikov’s initiative, the governorate resumed the collection of statistics on local residents. He was also engaged in charity, for example, he donated 4000 rubles to the city orphanage — the average worker’s salary of 11 years.
After his death in 1893, the Kasimov Town Duma decided to “abolish the collection of hospital fees for the peasants and burghers of Kasimov district and town, who presented a certificate of poverty from their representatives and institutions to which they were subordinated.” The decision was made “in memory of the merits of the deceased mayor Arkady Vasilyevich Alyanchikov.”
At that time, the Town Council ordered a portrait of Arkady Alyanchikov. For a long time it was housed in the Town Council. Over time, the paint faded and the portrait needed restoration. First, it was sent to a specialist restorer in Moscow, and then placed in the exhibition of the Kasimov Historical and Cultural Museum-Reserve. One of its branches is located in the former house of Alyanchikov merchants on Sobornaya Square.
