How the eccentric Funduklei became the governor of Kiev, why he did not take bribes and how he changed the city

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

In 1839, a 40-year-old brunette Ivan Ivanovich Funduklei arrived in Kiev as the new civil governor, whose name did not say anything to the townspeople. He was rumored to be a bachelor, millionaire and eccentric. But already in the very first days in his new position, the governor aroused genuine interest and deep respect. “He doesn't need your pennies when his chickens don’t peck money and has nowhere to put it,” Nikolai I said in his hearts. But the tsar was a little mistaken: the rich man Funduklei not only found important uses for banknotes, but also forced officials of all levels to work off the income in good faith …

Rich man Funduklei Sr., who raised his son in a black body

Fundukley Sr., a native of a Greek colony in the ancient Ukrainian Nizhyn, served in Elisavetgrad as a salesman, where he opened a tobacco shop with a shop. Later he became the owner of a wine lease in Odessa, eventually becoming the richest man in the Novorossiysk Territory. Despite material successes, the man not only did not forget his origin, but was also proud of him. A peasant outfit hung in his study. And to everyone who crossed the threshold of the room for the first time, he said that a person should remember his roots.

Having his own views on raising children, Fundukley Sr. raised his son on a half-starved ration, sending him to work at the age of 7. Ivan Funduklei received his father's blessing to take up a prestigious position only by his 30th birthday. After serving under Prince Vorontsov as an official on special assignments, he took the chair of the Volyn vice-governor. Soon his father died, and Ivan Ivanovich became the heir of countless riches, to which in a short time he added the Chigirinsky glass, sugar factories and the Gurzuf estate, which produced large quantities of grape wine.

Bibikov's plans for Fundukley's money

And in 1839, Fundukley took office as the Kiev civil governor, soon surpassing even the most daring expectations of the general. The first thing that Funduklei did in Kiev, literally upon arrival, was to overhaul the governor's mansion, which was supposed to be his office living space, and ordered Parisian furniture for the arrangement. Kievans, accustomed to the governor's luxury at public expense, were amazed that all this was done at the personal expense of Ivan Ivanovich.

Such examples have never been seen in Kiev. The new leader immediately announced the new orders. Funduklei took the daily morning reports of his assistants not in the offices of the board, as it had always been before him, but in his own house. At the same time, each guest was offered breakfast - tea, coffee, pies, cookies, marmalade. All this, again, was paid out of his own pocket.

Black salary as a means of fighting corruption

But the main forces of the governor were thrown into the fight against corruption. The riots and lawlessness seen in Kiev surpassed the average throughout the Russian Empire. The people of Kiev did not solve a single issue of any importance without bribes. Corruption flourished everywhere - in the office, police, courts. The system worked traditionally: an official who received a bribe gave a part to his boss, and he gave a part to his superior. The top of the corruption pyramid was considered to be the civil governor, giving the go-ahead to his team members to make decisions in the interests of the bribe-giver. Funduklei disabled this mechanism by refusing any offerings from both visitors and subordinates.

At first, those around him thought that the millionaire governor was simply overstated and began to increase the volume of bribes. But that didn't work either. Then the bribe-givers, accustomed to solving any questions for money, tried to build bridges with the governor's office. But here, too, a failure followed. The prudent Funduklei, excluding the bribery of his first assistants, began to pay them in addition to the official salary, multiples of large sums. The envelope expenses for "bonuses", traditionally financed by personal funds, exceeded 10 thousand rubles a year, which was a fabulous sum. The anti-corruption fighter Funduklei did not consider the problem of salaries in envelopes, but the flourishing of corruption. And in fact, by breaking the law in this context, he achieved its strict observance in another, by eradicating bribery.

Improvement of city streets and personal investments in Kiev

In the chair of the civil governor, Ivan Ivanovich in every possible way supported scientific work, education, streamlined the customs service, encouraged monetary local residents to finance the improvement of Kiev. Moreover, in every good deed, he was the first to set a personal example. Fundukley's money was used to pave Andreevsky Descent, and the first granite fountain in the central part of the city was built. Moreover, the idea was not just about decorating the city, but was solving the problem of lack of water on Khreshchatyk and throughout the Starokiyivskyi district.

The fountain was nicknamed in honor of the patron saint Fundukleevsky, or simply "Ivan". After the devastating Kiev flood in 1845, the governor helped the victims, supporting large families and organizing a shelter in Podol. With his full support, a public fund for the support of patients appeared. In 1859, Ivan Fundukley donated two buildings to Kiev, for which he gave 60 thousand in silver. The premises were intended for the arrangement of the first female gymnasium in Kiev, later named Fundukleevskaya. He bought these areas from an official who was sent to hard labor for embezzlement. An imperial decree of August 6, 1859 approved the creation of a female educational institution similar to the Mariinsky School in St. Petersburg, and Ivan Funduklei became one of the two trustees of the newly formed institution. In addition to the funds already allocated, Ivan Ivanovich annually contributed over a thousand rubles in silver to the budget of the gymnasium for maintenance, 2,200 for current repairs and financed the creation of a spacious library.

It is worth saying that this experience was continued already in the Land of the Soviets. Today has become history how in the USSR they fought against bribe-takers, but these measures did not have an effective value.