The merchant Alexei Dmitrievich Startsev, who lived in the second half of the nineteenth century, is a man of irrepressible energy, who knows not only Buryat, Mongolian and Chinese, but also European, a father of five children, a diplomat, an entrepreneur who created an unprecedented diversified economy - a heavenly corner of the globe.
From biography
Alexey Dmitrievich Startsev - the son of the Decembrist N. Bestuzhev and the Buryat woman Dulma - was born in 1838. His family ties could not be declassified. And the father decided to register the boy in the name of a person close to him - the merchant Dmitry Startsev. Alyosha received his home education under the guidance of his father, who opened a school at home and taught children, both Russians and Buryats, to read and write.
In his youth, Alexei was interested in revolutionary ideas. But then he realized that only peaceful transformations and hard work can lead a person to a decent life.
A. Startsev helped his adoptive father in trade, and then became a salesman. Later, he developed entrepreneurial activities in China and on the seaside island of Putyatin.
Versatile entrepreneur
At first, Alexei Startsev traded in China, mainly in furs and fabrics. Experience accumulated, connections appeared, and he took up tea. When the telegraph began to spread, the businessman took the risk of participating in the construction of telegraph communications. Created a river fleet in Tianjin. Then Startsev and his friend Shevelev thought about the sea delivery of tea from China.
On the island of Putyatin A. D. Startsev created the Rodnoye estate with a diversified economy: the production of bricks, porcelain and even silk, animal breeding, including thoroughbred horses and sika deer, vegetable growing, and beekeeping.
Diplomatic activities
A. Startsev knew several European languages well, Buryat, Mongolian and Chinese. He was a translator for the governor of the metropolitan province of Zhili in China. At the negotiations, he sought better conditions for the Russians. A. D. Startsev strengthened friendship between the peoples of Russia, China, Korea, Japan, did everything to resolve contradictions peacefully. Alexey Dmitrievich helped the diplomats to settle the dispute over the borders.
Charity is never excessive
A. Startsev spared no effort and money for charitable activities: he established scholarships, took care of schools and hospitals, supplied building materials, allocated funds for the activities of the society for the study of the Amur Region, for the construction of museums.
From personal life
Alexey Dmitrievich married the daughter of the merchant N. Sidnev - Elizaveta Nikolaevna. Their family had five children. In the youngest, Evdokia, Buryat blood was seething. From childhood, she fired a carbine, knew how to drive horses. It is no coincidence that she was called the "Putyatinskaya Amazon". After the revolution, the Startsevs' property was nationalized, Dmitry and Alexander were expelled from Vladivostok, and in 1937 they were arrested and then shot.
Departure of the seaside guardian
A. Startsev watched the uprising in China with dismay, and when he learned about the death of his collection and library, his health deteriorated. So in 1900 one of the ascetics of the Primorsky Territory finished his life.
He wanted to be buried on a hill near Mount Elder, which overlooks the island. They began to call her by the name of the merchant. On the island of Putyatin there is a monument-bust to a successful owner who, with his diligence, turned this place into a fairy tale.
Walking through life with enviable zeal
A. Startsev is a famous entrepreneur who made an immeasurable contribution to the development of the Primorsky Territory, a man of ebullient activity, who did not retreat before difficulties, who found the reasons for failures, eliminated them, who knew how to take reasonable risks, who turned the island into a fabulous place.
