Snessarev, Nikolay Vasilievich

Initially, an employee of the " Son of the Fatherland " ^[6] . In the late 1880s and early 90s, published in the "Picturesque Review" under the pseudonym "Snow" ^[7] . From 1887 to 1913, he was an employee of the editorial board of the newspaper Novoye Vremya ^[8] , head of its staff, in 1913 he was the secretary of Novoye Vremya, a member of the Council of the Association A.S. Suvorin - Novoye Vremya ^[9] .

In 1901, the St. Petersburg Address Book reports that Sessarev is a member of the Literary and Art Society, the chairman of the St. Petersburg circle of athletes, the manager of the Makaryevsky Circle of Proper Hunt society ^[10] . Starting from about 1898, he owned a summer house at Moloyarvi station ( Finland ) ^[11] .

In 1901, A.P. Chekhov wrote to Olga Knipper-Chekhova : “Is it not Snessarev [the one with whom O.K.-Ch. spoke]? If with him, then the acquaintance is unimportant <...> ” ^[12] . Commentators emphasize that even then Sessarev had a reputation as an unclean blackmailer ^[13] .

In October 1911, the cadet newspaper Rech published an article in which it referred to a lucrative contract received by Westinghouse for the construction of tram lines in St. Petersburg . This contract was concluded thanks to escort provided by the New Time newspaper, for which journalist Sessarev received 26 thousand rubles ^[14] . Sessarev responded with the note “Lesson of insinuation of Messrs. Milyukov , Hesse and Nabokov . (Letter to the editors) ” ^[15] . The point is that he, Sessarev, yes, really "took part in the organization of this society in Russia. Of course, not for nothing, but for a certain salary. ” And he gave advice to this company, like others, about participating in the competition for a contract, but he did not receive 26 thousand. The article ended with an insulting text for one of the editors of Rech.

G. Nabokov, being poor, like Job on pus after robbing his caravans, married a wealthy Moscow merchant. It is a fact. But if I answer the question of who Mr. Nabokov is, “a man who has married money,” I will undoubtedly resort to insinuation. You can marry a millionaire and not be a prisoner ^[15] .

The calculation was that Nabokov, who spoke out publicly against all kinds of duels, published an article ^[16] about their harm, should either abandon his principles of rejection of the duel as such, or bear a grave insult. According to the modern commentator, Sessarev’s answer, as well as the publication of Rech, which provoked him, is a competition for the reader of two central St. Petersburg newspapers ^[14] .

As a result, Nabokov challenged him to a duel, but not of Snessarev, but of the acting editor-in-chief M. A. Suvorin . Suvorin refused the fight. After that, the seconds of Snessarev — A. A. Pilenko and E. A. Egorov — tried to transfer the call to Nabokov, but he did not accept them ^[14] .

Shortly after the death of A. S. Suvorin, Sessarev quarreled with his sons and other shareholders of the publishing house, and issued the brochure “Mirage of the New Time (almost a novel)”, which described many public frauds of his former publication. In the introduction, Sessarev wrote: “I gave half of my life to the“ new time ”of the late Alexei Sergeyevich Suvorin. Exactly twenty-five years (1887-1913). This gives me the right to publish this book with a clear conscience. It was written exactly one year after my retirement ” ^[17] .

Among Snesarev’s revelations were allegations that Novoye Vremya had constant contact with the well-known exchange executive Manus, who, with the help of the newspaper, tried to dismiss finance minister VN Kokovtsev and director of the credit office L. F. Davydov; that three Russian banks - Russian-Asian , St. Petersburg Private Commercial and Commercial and Industrial - allocated huge sums to Suvorin's enterprises. Snessarev operated on a letter from Manus to A. I. Putilov and called the amounts that came to the people working in the “New Time” and “Evening Time”. This publication to a large extent contributed to the decline of the newspaper’s reputation in society, which was already not too high ^[18] . In the light of what was announced by Snessarev himself about his former duty station and the customs prevailing there, the publication of the newspaper Rech, which almost provoked a duel, seems to be quite fair.

He emigrated in 1918. In connection with the departure to emigration, a false rumor spread about the death of Snessarev. Allegedly, the Finnish White Guards, having occupied the area where Snessarev had a summer residence, arrested him and shot him in Vyborg . The reasons were seen in the fact that the newspaper Novoye Vremya “at one time waged a certain campaign against Finland” ^[19] or that “under the interim government, Sessarev <...> almost even for some time was the commandant of the mountains. Vyborg ” ^[11] . All this turned out to be a newspaper duck, but so far in some publications the year of Sessarev’s death is erroneously indicated as 1918 ^[18] .

Subsequently, in exile in London , then in Germany . Editor of the journal "Bulletin of the Russian Monarchist Association in Bavaria" (Munich) ^[20] . In 1924, together with Count V. A. Bobrinsky, the author of the manifesto of Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich , who proclaimed him emperor. In 1923, at his own expense, he published two political pamphlets in Berlin against E. A. Gutnov against “Nikolaev” (supporters of Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich ) “The Provocation of Monarchism” (parallel text in Russian, English and German - 132 p. ), and the Straitjacket (331 p.). At the expense of the office of "His Imperial Majesty" ( Kirill Vladimirovich ), 2500 copies of "Provocations of Monarchism" were sent by mail with propaganda purposes. The following brochure, “Enough Lies” (32 pp.), Was published with reference to the publication “Russian Patriotic Society in London,” but was printed in Munich at the R. Oldenburg ”in English, French and Russian (translation was done by the author’s daughters) and sent out in the amount of 3500 copies. ^[21] .

Later, relations with the Grand Duke were upset, and Sessarev wrote about him a revealing book “Cyril I ... Emperor of Coburg” ^[20] .

He died in Berlin . He was buried at the same Tegel cemetery, where VD Nabokov was buried. The tombstone is missing at Sessarev’s grave ^[22] .

• Wife - Alexandra Petrovna nee Tarasova (02/26/1875 - 11/17/1960, Berlin) ^[22]
• Daughter - Alexandra Snessareva (05/20/1904 - 11/17/1987, Berlin), was buried next to N.V. and A.P. Snessarev ^[22]

• Snessarev N. 1914. Mirage of the “New Time”. Almost a novel. SPb .: Printing House of M. Pivovarsky and A. Printing House. 136 p.
• Snessarev Nikolay . The provocation of monarchism. - Berlin: [b. and., 1923]. - 132 s
• Sessarev N. Straitjacket. Berlin, 1923.331 s.
• Sessarev N. Cyril the First, Emperor ... Coburg. with the application "Declaration, three motives and some of the correspondence with Coburg." Berlin, 1925 .-- 251 p.
• Sessarev N. Cyril the First, emperor. Berlin, 1929.

• A. G. Tartakovsky, T. Emmons, O. V. Budnitsky. Russia and Russian emigration in memoirs and diaries. Moscow. ROSSPEN. 2003.S. 624.
• Obituary. The New Russian Word - New York, December 1928, No. 5810.
• Obituary. Steering Wheel - Berlin, December 1928, No. 2445.

• Pushkin House, f. 469, 24 units hr., 1911-1917.
• RGALI f. 459 op. 1 unit hr 3974