Baltic manufactory

The charter of the Baltic Paper Spinning and Weaving Manufactory Joint Stock Company was approved by the Russian Emperor Nicholas II in Livadia on October 28, 1898 . To build a future factory, 84.4 acres of land were bought from the city ^[1] on the outskirts of Revel near the Tsigelskoppelskaya road. The fixed capital of the company amounted to 3 million rubles and was divided into 16 thousand shares ^{[2] [3]}

The construction of the factory began on February 23, 1899 . In March 1900, the building of the main building of the red brick manufactory , 231.6 meters long, already stood on the site of the former swamp. At that time it was one of the largest buildings of Revel ^[2] . A boiler room was built, in which there were seven boilers, a power station and pumps, as well as a factory brick chimney. Construction work was supervised by an engineer Urbansky ^[3] .

The founders of the joint-stock company were the hereditary honorary citizen of Revel , the Austro-Hungarian Consul John Karlovich Elfenbein ( John Elfenbein ) and the revelation citizen Evgeny Yulianovich Block ( ⁴⁾ . An unusual textile factory in this maritime region in the future Estonia was second only to the complex of Krenholm manufactories .

The Revel area at the fork of the Copley and Pallassaare peninsulas, where the Baltic Manufactory was built, became known as Sitsi . This name clearly goes back to the Russian word " calico ".

The first director of Baltic Manufactory in 1899 was the former technical director of the Krenholm Manufactory factory, John Richard Carr, a native of England , a specialist in the field of cotton spinning . In this position he remained until his death in 1911 . For many years, the chairman of the board of the joint-stock company was a real privy councilor , later a member of the State Duma of the Russian Empire, Alexei Yakovlevich Prozorov . ^[2]

At the end of 1901, there were 51,824 spindles and 1,093 looms at the manufactory ^[3] . They were mainly purchased in England. Equipment for the factory power station was purchased in England and Germany, boilers, steam engines, pumps and compressors - in England.

In 1900, 175 workers and 13 employees worked at the Baltic Manufactory, in 1901 already 910 workers and 13 employees, in 1903 - 1264 workers and 25 employees ^[3] . Among the factory workers at that time was Ekaterina Loorberg ( Kati Loorberg ), who in 1906 became the wife of the future "All-Union Warden" M. I. Kalinin .

By 1908, the number of employees at the manufactory was 2054 people ^[2] . Before the First World War, the factory employed 1899 people, production amounted to 20 million meters of cotton fabrics per year ^[5] .

The factory processed cotton from Central Asia and produced mainly calico and other fabrics for the Petrograd print-producing factories. During the First World War, the company switched to specific orders of the Main Petrograd Commandant .

Until 1905, the working day at the factory was 10 and a half hours: from 7 a.m. to noon, then, after an hour and a half break, from 13.30 to 19.00. In 1905, the working day was reduced by one hour, in 1917 an 8-hour working day was established ^[3] .

By 1900, a residential building for employees ^[6] and a house for senior craftsmen ^[7] (entered in the State Register of Estonian Architectural Monuments) were built in the factory. Very close to the main building of the manufactory, a two-story wooden mansion for the director was erected. This house (entered in the State Register of Architectural Monuments of Estonia ^[8] ) still stands in the same place, gradually being destroyed.

A school was built near the factory, at the intersection of Copley and Sitsi Streets in 1913 , now it is a residential building (entered in the register of cultural monuments, it is in poor condition ^[9] ).

The wooden two-story houses that can still be seen on Sitsi Street were built in 1901-1923 and were rented out for a small fee to the families of craftsmen and workers. Some of them were renovated, new windows were installed in most houses, but the main part of the houses in the spring of 2017 (entered in the State Register of Cultural Monuments) was in poor condition ^{[10] [11] [12]} .

In 1900, an almost 2.5-kilometer wide gauge railway line and an almost 2-kilometer narrow gauge railway were built. The latter was used mainly for the supply of fuel to the factory boiler room. Before World War I, coal from England was used as fuel. When difficulties arose in the supply of coal, the factory was partially converted to wood fuel. ^[3]

The manufactory’s office was originally located in the main building, but, due to the expansion of production, it was transferred to a new factory building, built in 1909 . In 1920, another expansion was carried out - another factory building was built, which was combined with the old one. The new building was built partly from limestone , partly from reinforced concrete and covered with tin .

At the manufactory, the Consumer Society and a circle of music, literature and theater lovers operated, a library, a kindergarten, an outpatient clinic and a voluntary fire brigade worked ^[3] . A well-groomed garden town was created in the vicinity of the factory. The creation of the factory revived housing construction not only in Copley , but also in Kalamai and Pelgulinna .

For the needs of workers, the directorate in the factory built a stone mortuary, which was later rebuilt into a chapel, and in 1913 - into a church. In 1944, the church became an independent parish and in its present form was restored in 1999 . In the list of parishes of the Estonian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, it is called the “Temple in the Name of the Icon of the Mother of God“ Joy of All Who Sorrow "” ^[13] .

When the October Revolution came after World War I , and German occupation followed, the factory was in a completely hopeless situation. All relations with Russia ceased, and at the same time, it was not possible to get Central Asian cotton . In order to continue the work, experiments were made on the production of fabrics from linen yarn and the production of yarn from the remnants of cotton , scraps, etc. was begun. And, although production fell significantly, the factory nevertheless continued to work almost all the time of the revolution and occupation. After the end of the German occupation in November 1918, factory production began to gradually expand. ^[2]

After Estonia joined the USSR , like all large enterprises, in August 1940 the Baltic Manufactory was nationalized.

During the Second World War, most of the factory buildings suffered heavy damage. According to the Estonian politician and historian Jaak Juske, in 1941 , when the Soviet army left Estonia, by order of the Soviet authorities, the factory buildings were set on fire, but a huge fire did not affect the nearby wooden houses. ^[14] As soon as in September 1944 the fascist troops were expelled from Tallinn, work immediately began on the restoration of the manufactory and the establishment of production. In the early 1970s, the plant was upgraded equipment.

In the 1970s and 80s, light industry accounted for one fifth of Estonia 's total industrial output, while cotton was the leading industry in terms of production volume. In the production of fabrics per capita, the Estonian SSR occupied one of the first places in the USSR and in the world. ^[15]

Since 1971, the director of the plant was Roald Aigro ^[15] .

In 1976, the Baltic Manufactory plant was awarded the Order of the October Revolution ^[5] .

In 1978, the plant totaled 51,100 spindles and 1,569 looms and produced 51.9 million meters of cotton fabrics and 67.7 million spools of thread ^[15] .

As of January 1, 1979, the number of employees at the Baltic Manufactory amounted to 2282 people. By the number of employees, the Baltiysk Manufactory cotton mill was one of the five largest light industry enterprises in the Estonian SSR after the Krenholm Manufactory combine, the Kommunar leather and footwear association, the Baltika sewing association, and the Marat knitwear association ^[5] .

Economically successfully, increasing production and updating the equipment fleet with the latest achievements in this area, the plant worked until the collapse of the Soviet Union.

During the years of Soviet power at the Tallinnfilm film studio documentaries on the Baltic Manufactory were shot: ^{[16] [17]}

• 1950 - Rändpunalipp Balti Puuvillavabrikule / Transitional Red Banner of the Baltic Cotton Factory
• 1952 - Eesrindlikud kangrud. Balti Manufaktuuri automaatkudumistsehh / Advanced weavers. Automatic weaving workshop of the Baltic manufactory, director Arnold Juhkum
• 1953 - Eesrindlik naistebrigaad. Balti Manufaktuur / Advanced Women's Team. Baltic Manufactory, director Oleg Lentsius
• 1954 - Kombinaadis Balti Manufaktuur / At the Baltic Manufactory factory, directed by Vladimir Parvel
• 1955 - Balti Manufaktuuri eesrindlased / Frontiers of Baltic Manufactory, directed by Viktor Nevežin
• 1966 - Puuvillakombinaadis Balti Manufaktuur / At the Baltic Manufactory Cotton Factory, directed by Valeria Anderson
• 1970 - Puuvillakombinaadis Balti Manufaktuur / At the Baltic Cotton Mill, directed by Evald Vaher
• 1972 - Balti Manufaktuur saab moodsad seadmed / Baltic Manufactory receives modern equipment, directed by Ülo Tambek
• 1973 - 75 aastat Balti Manufaktuuri / 75 years of the Baltic Manufactory, director Semyon Shkolnikov ( Semjon Školnikov )
• 1980 - Kombinaadis Balti Manufaktuur / At the Baltic Manufactory factory, directed by Julia Guteva
• 1983 - Balti Manufaktuur I / Baltic Manufactory I, director Kalju Reintam
• 1983 - Balti Manufaktuur II / Baltic Manufactory II, director Kalju Reintam
• 1984 - Tule Balti Manufaktuuri! / Come to the Baltic Manufactory! (promotional film)

According to the stories of the Estonian historian and politician Jaak Juske, the fact is some connection between the Baltic Manufactory and Hitler . In the late 1930s, a factory owner named Vahtman ordered himself from the Noblessner Shipbuilding Society a luxury yacht , which was ready in the summer of the historically “turning” year of 1940 . The Soviet government exiled the entrepreneur to Siberia , and in 1941 the mahogany yacht fell into the hands of the German army, whose leadership decided to give it to Hitler ^[14] .

After the restoration of Estonia’s independence in 1991, the Russian market for the Baltic Manufactory was closed. They tried to transfer sales to the Western European market, however, due to strong competition, production volumes began to fall. In 1995, what was left of the Baltic Manufactory was sold to investors from Singapore . The successor of the plant began to bear the name "Baltex2000" . The number of employees was about 500 people. The enterprise continued to produce yarn, cotton wool and unbleached fabric, but the volumes of the new production did not enter into any comparison with the volumes of production of the Soviet manufactory.

According to the Department of Statistics of Estonia , if in 1990 (the last year of Soviet power) the country as a whole produced 169 153 thousand m² of cotton fabrics, then in 2005 their production amounted to 83 523 thousand m², and in 2013 - only 48 thousand m² ^[18] .

In autumn 2005, the company stopped work. The new leadership then said that production would be closed only for a few months, and in the future they would again produce textiles of higher quality. It was planned to introduce new technologies into production.

“It makes no sense to produce products that are destined to compete with the Asian, that is, those that are sold on the shelves of supermarkets . Our fabrics of the future should find their place in the windows of exclusive department stores, ”said factory director Meelis Virkebau, who subsequently left the enterprise, at that time ^[19] . However, six months later, a member of the Baltex2000 council , Urmas Reimand, announced that the factory would no longer be engaged in the production of textiles.

“About 400 people were reduced, the remaining one hundred workers are now engaged in the dismantling of equipment. We found some jobs for ourselves (approx. The owner of Baltex2000 was Tolaram Grupp , which owned several more companies in Estonia), part of the workers offered suitable jobs in other companies, the rest were reduced in accordance with all the rules with compensation payments, ”said Raimand , although in the fall, manufactory workers turned to the press several times due to non-compliance by management with labor laws ^[19] .

“What or in whom to look for the cause of the collapse of the enterprise? - This question was raised in May 2006 in his article “Baltex2000 died: Chinese textiles killed the enterprise” journalist Dmitry Kulikov. - Maybe the Chinese textiles are to blame for everything. However, some coincidences are suggestive. From 1995 to March 2003, Meelis Wirkebau headed the board of the concern Krönholmi Valduse AS , but was forced to leave this post due to disagreements with the management of the textile concern , which owns Krenholm . In those days, the Narva enterprise was also on the verge of bankruptcy . A similar story happened in Tallinn. ” ^[nineteen]

Prior to Wirkebau, the chairman of the board of the Baltex 2000 joint stock company was Kipa Shankar Tripati, a native of India , who received the Estonian citizenship in the mid-1990s.

In 2006, a brilliant example of industrial architecture and a successful economy of the 20th century ended. The equipment and everything that was made of metal was sold or turned into scrap metal , all the paper was sent to waste paper , including two libraries , one of which was founded back in 1903.

Some buildings that belonged to the Baltic Manufactory and were built in the 1900-1920s are included in the Estonian State Register of Cultural Monuments . In particular, this is a former bathhouse (now there is the Sitsi market ^[20] ), eight two-story residential buildings for workers, craftsmen and factory employees, the building of the Consumer Society of Baltic Manufactory, a school , a stable , a laundry room , and a factory church. The red-brick main building of the manufactory, which for several decades was a unique symbol and visual landmark of the Tallinn Sitsi microdistrict, is absent in this register ^[21] . During the Second World War, factory buildings suffered very much and were almost rebuilt.

On May 1, 2009, the Novosti ERR portal announced that the Tallinn City Government approved the project for planning the territory of the former Baltic Manufactory. As reported, the project, in particular, involves the construction of the tallest building in the Estonian capital - a 60-story skyscraper 200 meters high. According to the project, it is planned to build several residential buildings and office buildings, as well as a shopping center and a kindergarten , on the territory of the factory, which will be reconstructed. The highest skyscraper in Tallinn will include residential and commercial areas and will be connected to a shopping and entertainment center. During the reconstruction of the territory of the Baltic Manufactory, all buildings of the Soviet era will be demolished ^[22] .

8 октября 2016 года на информационном портале Sputnik появилось ещё одна новость: ведущие эстонские кинематографические компании анонсировали создание в Таллине крупнейшей в Балтии киностудии , которую планируют открыть в одном из зданий бывшей мануфактуры в конце 2018 года . В новом здании будут располагаться три съемочных павильона высотой 14 метров. Стоимость проекта составляет шесть миллионов евро ^[23] .

Весной 2017 года вдоль сетчатой ограды бывшей мануфактуры стояли рекламные щиты фирмы по продаже недвижимости Pindi Kinnisvara , на которых красовался проект будущей жилой застройки части её территории. Девять небольших жилых зданий из красного кирпича высотой в пять и девять этажей, по виду созвучные с кирпичными корпусами погибшей фабрики, планируется сдать в 2018 году . Знаменитый фабричный яблоневый сад обещают то ли сохранить, то ли воссоздать. Объявлено о начале бронирования квартир ^[24] .

Повторилась судьба другого крупного и успешного промышленного предприятия бывшей Эстонской ССР — таллинского завода «Вольта» .