Mykola Artemovich Tereshchenko, a well-known Ukrainian entrepreneur, sugar factory, philanthropist, honorary citizen of Glukhov and Kyiv, traced his origins to the foreman of the Lohvytskyi Cossack regiment. From his father, he inherited a business related to the cultivation and processing of sugar beets. And later he started building his own sugar factories.
He headed many Moscow charity committees. Here he bought paintings by many Russian artists, mostly of the Peredvizhnyt movement. Later, these paintings were available for everyone to view. In present-day Ukraine, he was actively involved in public activities (in 1860-1872, he held the position of the mayor of Gluhivsk). He took care of the development of public education and was also famous for his benevolence, aimed mainly at the construction and financing of medical institutions.
With the move to Kyiv, the philanthropic and charitable activities of this entrepreneur and his family members expanded even more. In addition to numerous donations for the benefit of the city, he financed the construction of the Mariinsky Children's Shelter, a night shelter, a free hospital, the Kyiv-Pechersk Gymnasium, and trade schools. To a large extent, the institutions were maintained at his expense and at the expense of family members. M. Tereshchenko donated 150 thousand rubles (more than all other private individuals) for the construction of the Kyiv Polytechnic Institute.
It is not for nothing that even the Tereshchenki family coat of arms had the motto - "Train to public affairs". Capital accumulation was not an end in itself for the Tereshchenko family. This happened in parallel with the renewal and improvement of production and the creation of the necessary conditions for the efficient operation of factories.
Ukraine still remembers such patrons and patrons. This is our pride.
