The history of mustard oil in the Russian Empire began in 1794 when Nikita Afanasievich Beketov, Lieutenant-General, Governor of Astrakhan Province, set up a mustard cultivation and processing complex. For this he received a gold medal from the Free Economic Society. Nikita Afanasievich cultivated white and yellow mustard and obtained powder and oil from it.
The first scientific selection of this plant is linked to the name of a resident of Sarepta, the apothecary and naturalist Johann Conrad Neitz. In this former German colony, the first mustard-oil factory in Russia was built.
In 1836 and 1842, under the economic influence of Sarepta, the Abrazanovs and Yambicheyevs — prosperous Tatar peasants — opened mustard factories using horse-drawn machinery in the village of Malye Chapurniki.
Later the Goldbach brothers’ mustard factory and a plant in the village of Dubovka opened; several enterprises started to operate in Tsaritsyn. The new factories illegally used the Sarepta mustard trademark. Their oil was of poor quality (cloudy, with sludge), as the traditional scheme of processing raw materials was not followed, and the agricultural techniques, storage and soaking methods for seeds were violated.
In the 1860s many of these companies closed down. One of the few merchants whose factory could compete with production in Sarepta was Stepan Grigorievich Voykin. As early as 1902, his enterprise had offices in Moscow, Kiev, Kharkov, Tomsk and Rostov. He had a telephone installed in Tsaritsyn, for which he was charged more than 60 rubles at the time.
The mustard oil factory was located at the corner of Knyagininskaya Street (now Raboche-Krestyanskaya Street) and Borisoglebskaya Street (now does not exist). In 1912, the factory had a 12 h.p. steam engine with an annual output of 68,000 rubles. By 1914, the property of Stepan Grigorievich Voykin was worth more than 30 thousand rubles.
Mustard oil became so popular in the 20th century that it was marketed in the Caucasus, the Baltic States, Poland and the Urals. Mustard was also exported to China, Germany, Denmark and the United States.
The first scientific selection of this plant is linked to the name of a resident of Sarepta, the apothecary and naturalist Johann Conrad Neitz. In this former German colony, the first mustard-oil factory in Russia was built.
In 1836 and 1842, under the economic influence of Sarepta, the Abrazanovs and Yambicheyevs — prosperous Tatar peasants — opened mustard factories using horse-drawn machinery in the village of Malye Chapurniki.
Later the Goldbach brothers’ mustard factory and a plant in the village of Dubovka opened; several enterprises started to operate in Tsaritsyn. The new factories illegally used the Sarepta mustard trademark. Their oil was of poor quality (cloudy, with sludge), as the traditional scheme of processing raw materials was not followed, and the agricultural techniques, storage and soaking methods for seeds were violated.
In the 1860s many of these companies closed down. One of the few merchants whose factory could compete with production in Sarepta was Stepan Grigorievich Voykin. As early as 1902, his enterprise had offices in Moscow, Kiev, Kharkov, Tomsk and Rostov. He had a telephone installed in Tsaritsyn, for which he was charged more than 60 rubles at the time.
The mustard oil factory was located at the corner of Knyagininskaya Street (now Raboche-Krestyanskaya Street) and Borisoglebskaya Street (now does not exist). In 1912, the factory had a 12 h.p. steam engine with an annual output of 68,000 rubles. By 1914, the property of Stepan Grigorievich Voykin was worth more than 30 thousand rubles.
Mustard oil became so popular in the 20th century that it was marketed in the Caucasus, the Baltic States, Poland and the Urals. Mustard was also exported to China, Germany, Denmark and the United States.
