Anikey Stroganov

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Anikey Stroganov (Russian: Аникей Фёдорович Строганов) (1488 – 1570) was a founder of numerous salterns in Solvychegodsk and Perm, a colonizer of the basin of the Kama and Chusovaya Rivers. He was the progenitor of the family of highly successful Russian merchants, industrialists, landowners, and statesmen.

Anikey Stroganov was the fourth and younger son of Feodor Lukich Stroganov. He was born in Novgorod but soon after his births Stroganov's migrateе to Solvychegodsk. After deaths of his childless brothers Stefan, Iosif and Vladimir, his father became a monk and all the family wealth, included several large estates and saltworks received Anikey. He improved and expanded his salt business and when his sons Yakov, Grigori and Semyon grew up, Anikey founded new salterns in the Kolskaya Guba.

In the beginning of the reign of Tsar Ivan the Terrible Stroganov received the right to control the trade rules prescribed for English merchant, traveling from Arkhangelsk to Moscow. This right was confirmed in three documents of 1552, 1555 and 1560. Stroganov performed also other tsars duties, like collecting of obrok in Solvychegodsk.

Stroganov established trade routed with the Siberian tribes. On 4 April 1558, Ivan the Terrible granted to the middle son of Anikey Stroganov, Grigori and his successors large estates along the Kama and Chusovaya Rivers with tax and other privileges for 20 years. Stroganov organized migration there and founded several settlements.

On 16 August 1566 Anikey Stroganov received new privilege - at his own request their lands were included in the oprichnina. Seizing lands from the local population by conquest and colonizing them with incoming Russian peasants, the Stroganovs developed farming, hunting, saltworks, fishing, and ore mining in these areas. They built towns and fortresses and, at the same time, suppressed local unrest with the help of their druzhinas and annexed new lands in the Urals and Siberia in favor of Russia.

Anikey Stroganov was married two times. His first wife, Mavra died in 1544. After the death of the second wife (in 1567) Stroganov moved to his younger son Semyon but soon became a monk under the name of Ioasaf. He died in 1570 at the age of 80 years and 10 months.