Semenov, Yakov Lazarevich

Yakov Lazarevich Semenov comes from a family of peasants of the Yenisei province , Minusinsky okrug , Shushensky volost. Received home education ^[1]

Having sold the house inherited from his father, Yakov Lazarevich bought textiles and moved to live in Nikolaevsk-on-Amur ^[2] .

He was engaged in trade on the Amur River from the late 50s - early 60s of the XIX century ^[1] . In September 1860 he brought to the Gulf of St. Olga goods for sale: textiles, tea and sugar ^[2] . In the winter of the same year, he traveled the coast from Olga to the north, to the mouth of the 3ercalnaya river, and to the south, to the Suchan Valley ^[2] . Here he first encountered the extraction of seaweed by the Chinese. The Chinese sold the seafood to the Manchus ^[3] . Since 1861 he conducts fur trade in southern Primorye and in Vladivostok ^[1] . Yakov Lazarevich knew the Chinese language, which allowed him to successfully trade ^[4] .

In the fall of 1861, Yakov Lazarevich with his wife and son moved to Vladivostok, and in 1862 he became the owner of the first land plot in the city, sold in private hands ^[2] .

On October 25, Vladivostok obtained the status of a port- free port, which has the right to import and export duty-free goods. To establish trade relations with China in 1863, Yakov Lazarevich Semenov and the head of the port of Vladivostok, Yevgeny Stepanovich Burachek, made a trip to the city of Hunchun ^[2] . There they faced opposition from the Chinese authorities, trade relations could not be established ^[5] . Further trade with China was built on private contracts between merchants. From 1864 to 1880, Yakov Lazarevich was engaged in the extraction and export of seaweed and trepang to China ^[1] . Every year he sent to China up to 100 thousand pounds of product ^[2] .

In 1865, a shipyard was opened in Vladivostok. One of the first ships built here is the two-masted sailing schooner Emilia, built for Semenov. The construction was led by the Swedish foreman Fries, soldiers and to a lesser extent the Chinese were involved in the work ^[6] . And Semyonov himself became her captain ^[2] . Emilia began to transport mail, cargo and passengers between Vladivostok and Olga ^[2] .

In January 1867, Yakov Lazarevich became a merchant of the 2nd guild ^[1] . For two years, from 1870 to 1871, he held the post of city headman of Vladivostok ^[1] . The post of the headman was honorable and was not paid. On the contrary, Semenov gave his house under the chancellery, heated and lit it ^[7] . Yakov Lazarevich dealt with cases ranging from cases of fraud and slander, to questions about the improvement of the city. He brought up many issues for public discussion. In 1874, Semyonov was elected to the post of headman for the second time. A year later, he transferred his duties to the first mayor, Mikhail Kuzmich Fedorov, and he became a vowel in the local city ​​council ^[8] .

In 1872, Yakov Lazarevich was assigned to the Vladivostok merchant society in the 2nd guild. Since 1878 he also began to engage in fishing on the island of Sakhalin. In 1895, together with G. Demby, he created the company "Semenov and Co." Among other things, he was engaged in gold mining, supply of food and fodder for the troops ^[1] .

By 1900, Yakov Lazarevich became a merchant of the 1st guild and received the title of hereditary honorary citizen ^[1] .

Yakov Lazarevich died on February 23, 1913 and was buried at the Pokrovsky cemetery in Vladivostok. At 41 Svetlanskaya Street is the house of Yakov Lazarevich Semenov , built in 1900-1903, which is now an object of cultural heritage of the Russian Federation ^[2] . And in the place where the first house of Semenov was located in Vladivostok, in 1995 a memorial sign was installed ^[1] .

• Matveev N.P. Brief historical outline of the city of Vladivostok. - Vladivostok: Pacific publishing house Rubezh, 2012. - 512 p. - ISBN 978-5-85538-050-7 .
• Turmov G.P., Khisamutdinov A.A. Vladivostok. - Moscow: Veche, 2010. - 304 p. - ISBN 978-5-9533-4924-6 .