Alexander Kaznacheev listed among mayors of Odessa on Wikipedia

One of the most prominent members of the Kaznacheev family, Alexander Ivanovich Kaznacheev (1788–1880) served as a lieutenant to field marshal Mikhail Kutuzov during the French invasion of Russia in 1812 and took part in the Battle of Borodino. Above, he is depicted in the portrait painted by the famous artist Ivan Aivazovsky.

One of Odesa’s early mayors — and a predecessor to Alexander Kaznacheev — was Duc de Richelieu, a Frenchman who had previously served as prime minister in the government of King Louis XVIII. Upon the request of Duc de Richelieu, Odesa was granted a unique status of a free port — porto franco, as it was known back then (something akin to a free economic zone today). As mayor, Alexander Kaznacheev was a big supporter of the porto franco status that granted Odesa its prosperity.

Biography of Alexander Ivanovich Kaznacheev on Wikipedia

Biography of Alexander Ivanovich Kaznacheev on Wikipedia

Alexander Kaznacheev at different times was a senator, the mayor of Feodosia in Crimea, and the governor of the Taurida Governorate. His most historically significant role, however, was as mayor of Odesa — a position in which he served in 1848–1854. In the mid-nineteenth century, Odesa quickly became the second most important maritime gateway in the Russian Empire— not least thanks to the free-spirited statesmen who acknowledged the benefits of international trade and cultural exchange. Economic freedom enjoyed by Odesa transformed it into a melting pot of multiple tongues and traditions (exceptional by the standards of the day), where even mayors could be of foreign origin.

Of Peter Mikhailovich Kaznacheev on Wikipedia (in Russian)

Peter Mikhailovich Kaznacheev (1854–1931), depicted in the photo, was my great-grandfather. He established and led the Martinist Order in Russia and was the General Delegate of this Masonic society, which was engaged in the study of the occult and esoteric philosophy.

The history of the Kaznacheev family dates back to the dawn of Rus nobility. The first mentioning in archives can be traced to Fedor Semenovich in the 14th century — the treasurer of Prince Oleg of Ryazan. A descendant of Fyodor Semenovich in the third generation, Ivan Nikitich, together with his brothers, took part in the Battle of Kulikovo in 1380. After the Grand Duke of Moscow Dmitry Donskoy defeated the Tartar Khan Mamai in that battle, Ivan Nikitich was granted the rank of “treasurer”, which roughly corresponds to the Minister of Finance in modern terms. In the 17th century, Pavel Borisovich, Grigoriy Borisovich and Ivan Stepanovich Kaznacheev were granted fiefdoms for their participation in the defence of the capital during the siege of Moscow. In the 18th century, many Kaznacheevs served in senior administrative posts in the government.

Kaznacheev family ancestors

Before the separation of the Ukrainian Socialist-Revolutionary party into opposing camps, the majority of the members, including Yevhen Terletskyi, supported the independent Ukrainian People’s Republic. In 1917, he represented its Central Rada in his native Poltava region. Soon after, however, he ended up in a different camp — in the newly formed left-wing faction (borbists) of the Socialist Revolutionaries. As a representative of the left SRs, he headed the People’s Secretariat (Ministry) of Land Affairs in the alternative political entity — the Kharkiv-based Soviet Ukrainian People’s Republic.

Yevhen Terletskyi

Biography of Yvhen
Terletskyi on Wikipedia

Yevhen Terletskyi (1892–1938, my paternal grandfather) was born in the village of Lozovyi Yar, Poltava, into a large Ukrainian family of a priest. Many previous generations were also clergymen — as early as the XVI century when bishop Kyrylo Terletskiy became one of the founders of the Union of Brest and one of the creators of the Greek Catholic church, which has many adherents in modern Ukraine and Belarus. Unlike his brothers (he was one of eleven children), Yevhen Terletskyi decided to choose a secular rather than a religious career — he was admitted to the Psychology Department of St. Petersburg University (he later switched to studying Law).

He became politically active at a young age and participated in the dramatic events of 1917 in both St. Petersburg and his native Poltava in Ukraine. He joined the Socialist Revolutionary (SRs) Party of Ukraine, which, notably, produced some famous statesmen, such as Ukrainian historian Mykhailo Hrushevsky, the chairman of Ukraine’s Central Rada, or Volodymyr Vynnychenko, who headed the government of the Ukrainian People’s Republic. Many of the Russian and Ukrainian SRs fiercely fought against the Bolshevik dictatorship.

Biography of Yevhen Terletskyi on Wikipedia

After the occupation of Ukraine by the Bolsheviks, the liquidation of the Ukrainian People’s Republic and the creation of the Ukrainian SSR, Yevhen Terletskyi at different times was People’s Commissar of Justice, one of the authors of the Constitution of Ukraine, and Ukraine’s representative in the Baltic States. In 1923, as the Bolshevik regime in Ukraine became increasingly draconian, he resigned from all his roles in the Soviet Ukrainian government and moved to Moscow to live with his wife Judith Gladstein, my grandmother, and teach at the Institute of Finance and Economics.

Biography of Yevhen Terletskyi on Wikipedia

About Yevhen Terletskyi by Ihor Usenko

A coup d’état in April 1918 resulted in the establishment of the so-called Ukrainian State led by Hetman Pavlo Skoropadsky. Most left-wing forces, including the SRs, opposed the Hetman, who depended on the German-Austrian army, which had gained control of Ukraine. To resist the foreign military administration, Yevhen Terletskyi joined the Insurgent People’s Secretariat and started training the underground combat groups. He was the mastermind behind the famous — and successful— assassination of field marshal Hermann von Eichhorn, the commander of German troops in Ukraine. Not only was he the organiser, but he was actually involved in the actual operation. After that, Terletsky went into hiding, was arrested and sentenced to death by firing squad together with his brothers in arms. He was found half-dead but miraculously survived.

He was arrested in the midst of the Great Purge of 1937 and sentenced to death on October 22, 1938 . He was posthumously rehabilitated. His wife was also executed in 1938. Two of their sons, Felix (my father) and Vladimir, became orphans. In January 2022, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted a parliamentary Decree on Historical Dates and Jubilees. Among the various Ukrainians from different historical periods whose birthdays were highlighted in that document was Yevhen Terletskyi (his 130th anniversary). An article commemorating him was published in a Ukrainian journal by Ihor Usenko, a historian and also one of Terletsyi’s relatives.