Rodokanaki, Theodor Pavlovich

Theodoros Rodokanakis was born in 1797 on the island of Chios, in the family of Pavlos Rodokanakis and Joanna Rally. Both father and mother came from the famous families of the island. The Rodokanakis family has been noted in the history of the island since the 12th century. Konstantinos Rodokanakis (1635–1685), a famous chemist of the 17th century, was a court physician of the English kings Charles II and James II . Christopher Aidan Long, in his huge and scrupulous work on the nobility, entrepreneurs and shipowners of Chios, provides information about about a hundred representatives of the Rodokanakis clan ^[1] . In contemporary popular Russian-language articles, the information about the appearance of Theodore Rodokanakis in Odessa is somewhat intriguing: in 1819, Theodor Rodokanaki "got" with a serious starting capital, about 50,000 rubles (50,000 rubles of fortune was a necessary condition for ranking the merchant as the First merchant guild). “Where did such money come from Radakanaki is a mystery. His parents didn’t differ in wealth, and to earn such money at that time was hardly possible for a young man ” ^[2] . However, it should be noted that a year after the start of the Liberation War of Greece , in 1822 and in order to avoid an uprising on Chios, the Turks imprisoned 80 people of Chios nobility. Three of them, the most notable, Pantelis Rodokanakis, Mikes Skilitsis and Theodoros Rallis were sent to Constantinople ^[3] . After the secessionists landed on Chios, led by Lycurgus Logofet and part of the Chios took part in the uprising, the hostages in Constantinople were beheaded ^[3] . Headless by the Turks Pantelis Rodokanakis ^[4] was the uncle Theodore ^[5] . S. Z. Moshensky, in his work “Financial Centers of Ukraine and the Securities Market of the Industrial Age”, gives a different description of Rodokanaki’s appearance in Odessa in 1819, with money as a “mystery”. Moshensky writes that before that, Theodore's father, Pavel, visited Odessa. Theodore himself and his brothers first arrived in Odessa in 1813. In 1819, the brothers created a trading house with offices in Constantinople, Smyrna, Livorno and Odessa. Theodore went to the office in Odessa, where he arrived with 150 thousand piastres and the support of his brothers ^[6] .

Theodor Rodokanakis arrived in Odessa in 1819, having the necessary capital of 50,000 rubles, which was a necessary condition for being ranked as the First Merchant Guild. At the same time, he filed a petition for Russian citizenship, which was satisfied almost immediately. The request to be assigned to the First Merchant Guild was granted only seven years later. In the period 1818-1820, there was an increase in exports of South Russian, Hungarian and Polish grain through Odessa. Rodoconakis began to be mentioned among Odessa Greek grain merchants, such as Venturis, Paraskevas, Mavros, Stamatis, Yannopoulos Sevastopoulos and others. ^[7] . In 1821, the secret Greek revolutionary organization created in Odessa, Filiki Eteria, began military operations against the Ottoman Empire in the Danube principalities , which became the first stage of the Greek War of Independence (1821-1829). There is no reliable evidence to support Rodoconakis heterists. On the contrary, financial data indicate that the turnover of the Rodokonakis trading house grew from 425 thousand rubles in 1821 to 2.5 million rubles in 1830. The Rodokanakis trading house is one of the five largest entrepreneurs in Odessa, along with the trading houses Marazli (sa), Rally (sa) Hortatsis (Cortazzi) and Stieglitz. In 1829, along with a trading house, Rodokanaki created a banking office, the services of which were used by Greek entrepreneurs in Odessa ^[6] . Meanwhile, in June 1828, in Vienna, Rodokanaki married the fellow countrywoman Henrietta Galati ^[8] , which made him related to another well-known Chios trading house, strengthened his trade relations and strengthened his financial position. In the period 1830-1840, the turnover of the Rodokanaki trading house reached 4.2 million rubles, second only to the turnover of the Hortatsis trading house (Kortatsi - 4.5 million) ^[6] . In 1827 he was ranked as the First Merchant Guild, and in 1832 Rodokanaki became Consul General of Tuscany in Odessa. By the mid-1840s, the turnover of the Rodokanaki trading house was 10% of the turnover of the Odessa port ^[6] . Rodokanaki opened representative offices of his trading house in Dubossary, Taganrog , Rostov, Yevpatoriya and St. Petersburg. In addition, he engaged in real estate and agriculture, and acquired several estates. In 1843, representing Odessa merchants, Rodokanaki was elected a member of the Odessa- Constantinople shipping committee. By 1845, the Rodokanaki trading house became the Odessa leader in trade turnover (4-5 million rubles). According to Moshensky, in 1847, together with Rally (som), Mavro (som), Iraklidi (som), Milloti (som), Rodokanaki became a co-founder of the Black Sea insurance company ^[6] . A Greek researcher K. Avgididis, who lived for many years in political emigration in Soviet Odessa, writes that the insurance company was called Neofilemporiki (Νεοφιλεμπορική), permission for its creation in Odessa from the Russian Ministry of Finance was obtained by the Greek merchants Mavrokordato, Rally and Mavrosakis, and Rodokan was appointed its director ^[7] . In 1848, the Russian Senate awarded Rodakanakis the title of Commerce Advisor ^[6] . He also became a deputy of the City Duma and head of the Odessa District Court. In 1854, Rodakanakis opened an office of his trading house in New York ^[6] . In 1861, for his thirty years of activity, Rodokanaki was awarded the Order of St. Stanislav of the 3rd degree.

Rodokanaki did not invest in the Black Sea joint-stock company of ships created at that time. Instead, he bought his own steamboat, Mikhail, which served the transportation of his trading house. Rodokanaki became one of the first (two) private shipowners on the Black Sea. From 1835 to 1857, he acquired or built 7 ships. By 1870, his fleet consisted of 49 vessels ^[6] .

In the 1850-1860s, the Rodokanaki trading house began to give way to other Greek businessmen in Odessa. In addition, immediately after the end of the Crimean War , in the period 1857-1859, Odessa was seized by the economic crisis and the Greek businessmen of the city gradually began to lose their dominant position in the city. Rodokanaki Trading House also began to curtail its business. On the contrary, the Rodokanaki banking office showed its viability during this period, opened a branch in St. Petersburg and became a co-founder of many Russian banks ^[6] .

In December 1867, Rodokanaki bought from Prince MV Kochubey in St. Petersburg a plot with all the buildings at 7 Konnogvardeisky Boulevard - the famous “House with the Moors” ^[9] . In 1869, the trading house “F. P. Rodokonaki and Co. ”in St. Petersburg became a co-founder of the St. Petersburg International Commercial Bank ^[10] , and the trading house F. P. Rodokonaki in Odessa became a co - founder of Russky for foreign trade of the bank ^[11] . In 1871, F. P. Rodokonaki, as the first merchant’s guild in St. Petersburg, became a co-founder of the Azov-Don Bank ^[12] .

Rodokanaki invested heavily in shares of industrial enterprises (the South Russian Tannery, the Bryansk Rail Rolling Plant, the Sormovsky Steel Plant, the Lensk Gold Sourcing Partnership, etc.) and founded the largest Odessa vodka factory and the largest Odessa jute factory in Russia ^[13] .

In 1861, the Greek Charity Society of Odessa was founded. Rodokanaki was elected the leader of this society and remained in this post until his death in 1882. During the Cretan uprising of 1866-1869, Rodokanakis led the society to help the rebelled Cretans. Together with George Vucinas, he secured a subscription to the Greek loan, which provided the Greek kingdom with the necessary money to conduct this unspoken war. Rodokanakis donated 40 thousand rubles for the construction of the building of the Greek Girls' School in Odessa, which ended in 1875. From the moment when, in 1877, at the initiative of the Greek Queen and Russian Princess Olga , the Greek Red Cross Society was created ^[14] Rodakanakis began to regularly transfer significant amounts to it. He also funded the activities of the Red Cross in Odessa. During the construction of the Athenian hospital Evangelismos (1881–1884) ^[15] Rodokanaki became one of the philanthropists who financed its construction. He also gifted several paintings to the Athenian Art Gallery . At the University of Athens, he presented a significant botanical collection.

The charity work of Rodokanaki was awarded the title of Honorary Citizen of Odessa, the Order of St. Anne and the medal "For Zeal".

Rodrikanaki had 5 children with Henrietta (Arrieta) Galati (Chios 1806-Odessa 1887):

• Iphigenia (Odessa 1834 - Marseille 1895)
• Pericles (Odessa 1841 - Paris 1899)
• Ariana (Odessa 1842 - Vienna 1900)
• Maria (Odessa 1847 - Paris 1893)
• and born and died a few months later on the island of Syros in 1843, Paul

The first daughter married M. Agelastos and settled in Marseille, Ariadni to Nikolai Mavrokordato and stayed in Odessa, as did Maria, who married her distant relatives Emanuel Rodokanakis. Pericles, despite the desire expressed in writing in his father’s will, did not marry a Greek woman, but took Venceslav Barchevskaya (1834-1890) as his wife. February 4, 1898 was granted a diploma for hereditary noble dignity ^[16] .

10 years before his death, in 1872, Rodokonaki drew his will in Greek, which then had legal force in Odessa. Besides various amounts to his wife and daughters, he bequeathed all movable and immovable property to his son, Pericles. He also bequeathed various amounts to a school and a hospital in his native Chios, the Greek Church in Odessa, the Greek community of Odessa, and charitable institutions of Athens. F. Rodokanaki died in Odessa on February 24, 1882, at the age of 83. His condition at the time of death, taking into account stocks, was estimated at 4 million rubles. The heir, Pericles Rodokanaki, until his death in 1899, managed to squander half the state of his father. In 1901, in order to avoid the complete ruin of the family of the deceased, the Rodokanaki trading house had to be closed ^[17] .

• Saltan A.N. History of the oligarchs. Odessa merchant Theodore Rodokanaki. - Access mode: http://oligarh.org.ua/node/356 . - 02/23/16.
• Έσπερος, Τομ. 1, Έτος Α ', τεύχ. 22 / Γ. Δρουγολίνος. - Λειψία, 27 Μαρτίου 1882.
• Γιαννίτση Θεοδώρα. Ιστορικά, 23-11-2000, σελ. 18-20. - Εφημερίδα "Ελευθεροτυπία", Αθήνα, 2000.
• Κ. Αυγητίδης “ Θεόδωρος Παύλου Ροδοκανάκης: ο μεγαλέμπορος, επιχειρημαίίας