Egorievsk and the Bardygins
Sergey Deener
The Egorievsk Museum of History and Fine Arts
Ph +7 (09640) 4-41-84
House 73\20 Sovetskaya St, Egorievsk, Moscow Region, 140300, RUSSIA

The Bardygins… Egorievsk always remembered them. Should you ask any local you’ll be told about this family with love and respect. The people still consider Nikifor Mikhailovich Bardygin to be a father of the city. Hence, there is a little mess in the heads of the average people of Egorievsk. They unify two Bardygins (Nikifor and Mikhail) in one epic person called just Bardygin. We know a lot about Nikifor Mikhailovich Bardygin due to the book by A.Vital “Nikifor Bardygin, Egorievsk major” (reprint 1993). However Mikhail Nikifirivich also was an extraordinary man and has managed to make a lot for his town.

Mikhail was born in Egorievsk in 1864 and was a second son to a family of a famous textile manufacturer Nikifor Bargygin. The first son was Parfiry, a witty boy, and student of the commerce school who died of cholera in 1871. His mother couldn’t bear the son’s death and died the day after at the age of 35.

Nikifor Mikhailovich was in deep sorrow but the life went on… He had to bring up Mikhail, his youngest son. Of late, Nikifor married Maria Vladimirovna Makarieva who became a stepmother for the young Mikhail.

During his childhood Mikhail often got ill. Not being systematically educated a self-made man, his father provided him with a very good education. In 1878 Michael was graduated from the Egorievsk Classic School (the school itself was opened by the initiative of the father). Then he entered the Prince Nickolas Lyceum in Moscow, an elite educational institution. A famous Russian artist I. Grabar, a student of the same Lyceum recalls in his memoirs that Mikhail was a soft, kind person, looking after the younger students and a keen book reader.

Being the only son of the successful entrepreneur, Mikhail has no choice in terms of his future profession. He went for a while to Western Europe and in 1889 joined his father textile and trading business. He concentrated on marketing and supply but not just that. Mikhail was interested in any technical detail of his industry and had a drawing board in his office.

There is a diary of young Mikhail from 5 November 1885 to 5 February 1886 where he described a broad range of subjects: rumors, crimes at the area, fires as well as love and friendship. The diary shows the high moral standards of its author. Mikhail wrote about the social duties of the businessmen: “The people respect a honest factory owner who provide them with their daily bread. Fires, injures, illness, old age turn people to beggars. Nobody but a capitalist can help.”

The Bardygin’s business was growing. In 1885 they built a textile coloring plant and for years later one more. After Nikifor’s death in 1901 Mikhail inherited a textile plant, a number of textile coloring factories and retail stores. To manage all these businesses he set up a corporation with share capital of 7 million rubles where he owned 50% of shares. The corporation had a number of branches in St-Petersburg, Ukraine, Siberia, the Urals, Central Asia, and China. The Asian branches were successfully marketing national costumes. Mikhail’s son, named after his granddad Nikifor, joined the family business. The turnover exceeded 18 million rubles a year which let the corporation to purchase the most shares of the large textile plant “Pavel Malyotin Sons” in Ramenskoye near Moscow.

Mikhail Bardygin never forgot to help people. Since 1897 he was sponsoring the Egorievsk Classic School where he and his father established a special scholarship named after little Mikhail’s son Misha who died in the early age.

In 1901 Nikifor Bardygin died. Earlier, in 1885 Mikhail marked in his diary: “The elders said, should Nikifor Mikhailovich die all the city would be dead. Looking at all he is doing I can clear see that the real results can be observed just where and when one scarifies by himself. There is a reward for it. It is a prayer of the average people looking at the real things done around. Is there any more valuable monument than their blessings and memory passing on the next generations?”

The son felt he obliged to continue what his father had been doing. Before the death Nikifor asked to complete St. Trinity Monastery and open an educational institution. The last thing was not easy to do. The son started doing it just in 1906 when he sent a letter to the Egorievsk City Council offering his full sponsorship for the new technical college. A special committee agreed to open an electrometrical and mechanical college where the boys of all creeds and social backgrounds could be able to complete their 5 years course from the age of 13-15. Mikhael Bardygin became its life-time trustee and made a first payment of 200 000 rubles. The City Council resolved to give the institution the mane of its trustee, but Mikhail disagreed and offered to apply for the Royal consent to name it after prince Alex.

The construction works started in 1907, at the year of the 50th anniversary of the Bardygin’s family business. The complex was completed in 2 years and included students’ hostel and flats for the tutors. The new street along the buildings had been called Bardyginskaya. The main modern style building was the best. The swamp nearby has been turned to a beautiful park with exotic plants and pond.
Shortly after, tsar Nikholas II agreed it to be named after the prince Alexei name and took the college under His Royal patronage. In 1910 M. Bardygin, as a member of Egorievsk delegation, met the Emperor in person. That time he also was a deputy of the 3th State Duma (the only Egorievsk State Deputy for all town’s history).

M. Bardygin equipped its new college very properly. The new steam engine was bought in Switzerland. A dynamo machine and a diesel engine were bought in Germany. A lot of books for students studying blacksmithing, turning, casting, and electrical engineering was purchased for the college library. There was not any old machine.

After 1917 revolution the college was transformed into so called factory-technical school “Komsomolets” that meant “A young communist organization member”. In 1930s the factory and technical college were separated. In 1990s it was turned to the Egorievsk Technological Institute named after N. Bardygin of the Moscow State Institute of technology “STANKIN”. The son was again confused with his father. Unfortunately the building (being under federal protection as an object of national cultural heritage) is not in good repair, it needs a restoration. The sign “From the Bargygins to the hometown of Egorievsk” ones made of brass on the wall had been destroyed. Though there is another sign informing about visit of M. Kalinin, a communist leader. Nothing recalls the name of Prince Alex here nowadays.

The Bolshevik revolution of 1917 interfered many plans of M. Bardygin though to that time he had managed to do a lot. For example in 1911 he founded the sport club “Sokol” (Falcon) and a soccer team “Bardygintsy”, the best in the town.

The Bardygins’ country estate was situated near the village of Staroye, on the bank of the small river Ustan. The estate was purchased at the end of c19 from P. Fedotov, a local nobleman. There are no more original Bardygin’s buildings there, but the old park with some exotic trees still exists. The locals told there had been marble stairs, two houses (“white” and “black” dachas), greenhouse, summer pavilions, benches, kennels, apiary, rosary, and orchards. There still are some old houses in the neighboring village of Trofimovo made of logs that M. Badygin presented to the local peasants, which lost their possessions in fire. Ones the Bardygins had a factory and weaving school there. There is a little village museum, made by the local historians. In the Soviet time the Bardygins estate was transformed into the agricultural school (now the professional college N 96). The people there still respect the Bardygins family.

The Bardygins loved this peaceful place (their main residence was Moscow, where they had a house). Mikhail rested in Staroye and spent time there with relatives and friends. The Bakhroushins, his relatives often visited that place. Mikhail played violin and sang. Often it was the revolutionary songs, popular among Russian intelligentsia that time. Mikhail Bardygin was remembered to be “Not tall, well built man looking rather like a manager of a merchant’s warehouse. He always tried to emphasize his Russian origin, had a traditionally shaped beard and wore a frock coat. He was a soft person, always willing to help.”

Apparently influenced by the Bakhroushins (the founders of the Moscow Museum of Theatre), Mikhail decided to create its own museum. The merchants were immortalizing themselves with new cathedrals. So did Nikifor, Mikhael’s father. Mikhail was sponsoring the churches and St Trinity convent, where his father had been buried. But he didn’t leave his “own” church. Maybe he didn’t have time for that. Maybe just didn’t tend to. In his dairy he wrote he doubted the religion. Anyway the museum has become his temple.

In 1909 Mikhail Bardygin opened the factory library for the workers. Next year he opened the museum division of this library. The exhibits had been placed just at the library premises. Most of the items were purchased in the Moscow antique shop “Byloe” (The Past) of V. Postnikov, Mikhail’s relation. In 1911 the museum become a separate organization. In 1913 it had 2000 exhibits – old embroidered clothing, glass, china, bone and woodcarving, casting, and archaeological artifacts.

In 1914 Mikhail visited Northern Africa and brought a number of new items. He really was a true and experience expert on the fine arts. His collections still amaze the museum viewers. In 1915 Mikhail presented the museum to the city, but continued to support it. He ordered A. Shchousev (a famous Russian architect, an author of the Lenin’s tomb) the project of the new museum building, which supposed to look like a big tower. The draft was made, but the revolution prevented from its construction.

The emperor admitted this activity and made Mikhail the member of gentry, which had been a dream of this entire family long before. Nikholas II singed the decree on the 1st of July 1915. Ironically it’s Senate pass had been appointed for the 25th of October 1917, on the Day of the Bolshevik revolution…

A full of hesitations, Mikhail accepted the Revolution. His grandfather was a peasant. His father started as a small businessman. Mikhail knew many problems of the average people. Anyhow he took an employment at the Light Industry People’s Commissariat, which was a name of the Bolshevik Ministry in charge for the textile manufacturing. The textile factories (including the Bardydin’s ones) were being nationalized. We believe that his son either went to the Soviet civil service as a museum expert. Few years later they finally disappointed and in 1923 left Russia for France.

We know very little about Mikhail’s life after that. Some say he became a director of a small textile factory near Paris. The Motherland didn’t forget him. In 1930 his mane was mentioned in connection with the lawsuit of “Promparty” (the Industrial Party). One of the “party leaders”, A. Ramzin “testified” to his liaison with M. Bardygin. There was no way for the family to be back to Russia.

Meanwhile there are a number of local Egorievsk legends about the Bardygins being back. For example the old timers say the Bardygins came to ask a permission to clean up the bed of the Gouslyanka river in hope to find their hidden treasure. The city council rejected the offer. Anyhow the Gouslyanka has not been cleaned yet.

Where the Bardygins descent could live? For sure there must be some. Mikhail Bardygin had 9 children (not taking into account those died in early childhood), 6 sons and 3 daughters: Nikifor, Fyodor, Alexei, Vasily, Nickolai, Sergey, Evdokia, and Maria. Where are they? How did they spend their lives? Where are their children and grandchildren? We only know for sure that Sergey died on the 7th May 1918 and buried in the Old cemetery of the New Virgin monastery in Moscow. Apparently his wife Maria Alexeevna Bardygina (maiden name Gandyrina) was also buried there.

Having information that one of Mikhail sons did not left Russia we tried to trace all people with the family name “Bardygin” living in Egorievsk. Later we found that they are just the descendants of the Bardygin factory workers, whose ancestors had received passports for the family name of their boss. By the way, there is the same situation with the numerous Khloudovs and Knyazevs of Egorievsk.

Some of the other Bardygins were also addressing the Egorievsk museum. None of them was a descendant.

Some of the Bardygin relatives still live in Egorievsk. They are not descendants, but members of the related Nikitin family. Not long ago we learned about the descendants of the famous Egorievsk merchant family Knyazev, living in Moscow. Their family legend says they are also the relatives of the Bardygins. By the way, Mikhail Bardygin wrote that Roman Knyazev was the best friend of his youth. We also know about the descendants of Mikhail Kazmin, Mikhail Bardygin’s cousin.

Once, Anton Komarov from the village of Shouvoye near Egorievsk told us a very interesting story. In 1943 at the age of 18 he was taken as a P.O.W. and found himself in a German prison camp near Rudolstadt, Turingen, Germany. The country lad was appointed a carter. One day he was called to a commandant where a Russian speaking woman – interpreter was expecting him. She asked him about his place of residence and having learned he is from Egorievsk burst into tears. “I am from Egorievsk too… Have you heard about Mikhail Bardygin? I am his daughter,” – she said. The woman was interested in all what was doing on in Egorievsk: textile factory, the Bargygins’ house etc… She told her story. In 1918 she married a German P.O.W. officer and was exiled to Murom. Later they left Russia for Germany. The woman was trying to do her best to help Soviet prisoners. Anton believes she saved his life taking him to her home from time to time under the excuse of doing job about the house. The husband and two sons of the woman were in army. Two or three small kids spoke German and a little Russian. Anton was scared and was afraid of provocation. That is why he didn’t ask the name of his savior. He just remembers she was in her forties. We believe it could be Maria, the youngest daughter of M. Bardygin born in 1896. The Egorievsk museum sent a request to the burgomaster of Rudolstadt where it was readdressed to the Weimar Archive. The Archive answered it had no information of the women we were asking about.

On the 5th of August, 1993 the Paris newspaper “Russkaya Mysl” published a letter of N. Artyomova, the Egorievsk Museum director. She asked all people who know something about this family to contact the Egorievsk museum.

We had two replies. The first respondent was Vladimir Roudinsky from Raris who was acquainted with Nikolai Mikhailovich Bardygin, Mikhail’s son. V. Roudinsky was corresponding with N.M. Bardygin from mid 1940s to the early 1960s. They both were the active members of the anticommunist monarchial organization “Russian Revolutionary Forces” (abbreviated “PPC” in Russian). Its headquarter was in Greece. The head of the organization was N. Sheikin, a Don Cossack. N.M. Bardygin lived in Niece and was a representative of the organization in the South of France. “He was a nice man, apparently not wealthy immigrant, the same as me”, wrote Roudinsky, why visited him in Niece but never been invited to his home. We sent a letter to Niece that has been returned back informing us that the addressee had moved out.

The second letter came from Juri Laskin-Rostovsky from Niece. He wrote that three Bargydin brothers had been living in Niece from the early 1920s. One of them, Nikolai Mikhailovich Bardygin was a bachelor, lived in need and died in Russian rest home in Niece on the 7th of June 1979. One of his brothers died before WWII. The other one married a ballerina Maria Karlovna Nevelskaya. They had son Juri. Before WWII the family moved to the USA where Nevelskaya opened a ballet school in NY. It is known that Jury became its director afterwards. We published a letter in “Novoye Russkoye Slovo” but had no replies.

We still hope that we shall find the Bardygins descendants. The people of Egorievsk remember and wait for them.

2003.