The descendant of the merchant family was an obedient son. To continue the family business, he had to learn new technologies. As a result, it was he who became the champion of progress.
It so happened that people are wary of the trading people. If there is no inveterate swindler behind the counter, then surely a miser and a retrograde. Businessmen of the past gave themselves the reason for such bad judgments. However, there were amazing people among them. One of these will be discussed.
Childhood
At the very beginning of the 19th century the merchant Semyon Zimin from Pavlovsky Posad purchased from one landowner a plot of land in the suburbs. There he created a weaving factory, which supplied his shop with silk scarves and shawls. Soon the authorities became interested: where did such a noble product come from. When the whole truth became clear, the owner of the underground workshop was forgiven, the products were already very good. The cunning man secured his heir a place in the 3rd guild of the Theotokos merchants, which was very good.
The city of Pavlovsky Posad, where the Zimin family lived
The grandson of the enterprising Semen Ivan was born in 1818. He did not find the period when the old man was at odds with the law. Big money allowed grandfather to remove dark spots from the biography. Now he worked honestly for the well-being of the family, and his sons helped him. Vanya was lucky - he was the first-born of Nikita the eldest son of a successful adventurer. From an early age, the boy was told that his duty would be to increase the wealth of his family, making a contribution to the material well-being of the family. In 1840, after the death of the father, Nikita became the owner of the weaving factory and outlets.
Fathers and Sons
The heir was not satisfied with the production facilities of the enterprise. He increased the number of machine tools and hired more workers. After 3 years, under his management, the business began to bring more than 30 thousand rubles in silver of annual income, and he himself became an honorary citizen of Pavlov Posad. Nikita was proud of himself and boasted of successes in front of his wife and son. The latter allowed himself to ask why the parent would not get such a machine that works instead of a weaver. Mal is still Vanya, stupid.
The guy himself did not think so. He was the first assistant to his father, often accompanied him on business trips. He received education on his own. Everything new attracted him, he enthusiastically listened to stories about new technologies, often flavored with folk art, and then imagined how legendary novelties would have worked in their factory. Senior family members soon appreciated the independence of the young man in an unusual way - they found him a bride Fedosya Kononova. She was equal to her future husband, therefore, after the wedding, the newlyweds quickly found a common language and lived together. In the marriage were born sons Leonty and Gregory, daughters Maria and Praskovya.
Merchant and merchant. Artist Boris Kustodiev
Experiments in the wasteland
Zimin Sr., behind pretense of severity, hid his enthusiasm for the intellect of his son and the joy that he was ready to pursue a career in the field of trade and production. When his health was shaken, he copied all his property to his Vanyusha. The old man told his matured son that he had complete confidence in him, if he was sure of the need to modernize the equipment, let him change. Ivan was incredibly happy.
Our hero was brought up in a patriarchal tradition, therefore he did not begin to shock the parent with an immediate transformation of production. Ivan Zimin chose the recently acquired wasteland at the railway station Drezna as the place to implement the most daring plans. The connoisseur of progress noted that the places there are swampy, which means rich in peat. This natural fuel was supposed to reduce the cost of its design. Soon the son pleased his father with good news - they have another weaving and spinning mill.
Ivan Zimin Manufactory Building in Drezna
Master
Ivan Nikitich became the full owner in 1866 after the death of his daddy. Now he was able, without looking back at the old man’s opinion, to change the routines. Next year, the merchant presented the products of his factories at the international exhibition in Paris. The jury evaluated the silk luxury from distant Russia with a bronze medal. In order to boast of something, the new owner bought advanced equipment for existing factories and built several new enterprises with settlements for workers attached to them.
Ivan Zimin decided to optimize the production process not only by replacing equipment, but also by a new management principle. In 1868, he combined all his production capacities into a company, which received the name "Zuevskaya Manufactory I.N. Zimin." The blow to the well-being of the famous industrialist was the death of his wife in 1871. Having burnt, the widower decided not to put an end to his personal life. Soon he led the young Evdokia Kuzmin down the aisle. Despite the gossip, the couple were happy. They became the parents of the three sons of Ivan, Sergey and Alexander and the daughter of Lyudmila.
