As the main swindler of the Russian Empire, he almost became the king of Bulgaria, robbed Italy and fought with Turkey

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

The ex-cornet of the tsarist army Nikolai Savin, having made a number of high-profile criminal adventures in his native Russia, was sentenced to exile in Siberia. Having escaped from prison, the successful swindler moved abroad. His foreign adventures cannot be counted, but almost all large countries of Europe tried or searched for him. Turning over the next case, Savin demonstrated amazing dexterity and more often managed to escape from punishment. Flaunting an excellent upbringing and excellent command of foreign languages, the swindler boldly appropriated a fictitious name with a count's title. This allowed him to move in high society, which served as a screen for all his criminal tricks. Moreover, even those who helped him became Savin's victims.

Reckless life and a deflated inheritance

Savin was brought up by a wealthy landowner, descending from the privileged life-companion of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna. The Savins distinguished themselves in all the wars in which the Russian Empire was a participant in the 18th - 19th centuries. Nikolai's father Gerasim Savin doted on the firstborn. From an early age, the child was taught European languages, dressed up like a prince, indulging the whims. At the age of 17, Nikolai Savin became a student at the Katkov Moscow Lyceum with university status. But science did not work, and for the first daring trick Savin was flogged and sent home.

After such a shameful expulsion, Nikolai came to Petersburg, where his forgiving father placed him in the next lyceum - Alexandrovsky. Very quickly, the young man was asked from there. The next initiative of the parent was a place for his son in the Horse Guards. So Nicholas, with the receipt of the first service rank of the cornet, entered the ranks of the "golden" St. Petersburg youth. Having received a decent inheritance on the death of his father, Savin quickly squandered all the money. In search of himself, he even managed to participate as a volunteer in the battles of the Russian-Turkish war in 1877, but was wounded and sent on leave. Then a series of criminal adventures began, about which every now and then were reported in Russian and foreign newspapers.

Italians in a puddle and a phony representative of the Transsib

Savin, as a man of broad nature, saw no reason to waste his time on trifles. One of the "glorious" pages of his life was a big Italian scam. Docking with representatives of the Italian army, the ex-cornet made the impression of a reliable partner and began a legal supply of horses to the Italians. Convinced that the vigilance of the Roman Ministry of War was sleeping soundly, he made another major deal. No more horses were seen in Italy, nor the hefty sum of money transferred in advance. And after a short time Savin surfaced in America. Under the name of Count de Toulouse-Lautrec, he settled in San Francisco and spread a rumor about the search for contractors for the construction of the Transsib.

American entrepreneurs lined up at the fraudsters' hotel room, eager to get a lucrative contract. Having collected plenty of advances on account of future cooperation, Savin, of course, evaporated. Life on a grand scale was easy for an artistic criminal. Once, having settled in one of the most expensive Viennese hotels, he famously circled the owner of the establishment. Not having the means to pay for the luxurious lodging, he sent a request in front of the staff to receive a large amount from his nonexistent account. Allegedly having received a positive response with a remark about postponing the payment to the next weekday, he successfully siphoned off the weekend, borrowed 10 thousand francs from the hotel owner and left Vienna with the onset of the appointed Monday.

Bulgarian adventures of the "Grand Duke"

Until 1911, Savin spent the money he received from previous scams on the French Riviera. But all good things, especially easy money, end quickly. And Savin, in the guise of Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich, arrives in Bulgaria. There, no one, including the Ottoman sultan, doubts the personality of the high-ranking guest. Promising the unfree people there comprehensive assistance in the future, the "prince" offers Bulgaria a protectorate in European banks. The reciprocal step of the grateful brothers is the offer of the Bulgarian crown … But by chance, a local native of St. Petersburg recognized the substitution, and the impostor was handed over to Russia. The Motherland saved up a list of criminal materials on Savin, after which the failed swindler went into exile for life in Irkutsk.

Like many others, Savin was saved from certain death by the February revolution of 1917. He dared to return to Petrograd. There is a legend that yesterday's exile was appointed as commandant of the Winter Palace. He quickly found his bearings and, taking advantage of his official position, sold the palace to an American industrialist who had arrived in the city to get hold of the troubled waters of the revolution. If a foreigner had known whom he contacted, he would have thought a hundred times. Predictably, in exchange for a large sum of money, the unfortunate buyer got a fake bill of sale with a note that fools are not sowed, but reaped. No one else saw the commandant in Petrograd.

The last deal and drunken old age

After the revolutionary events in Russia, Savin fell out of sight of the public and journalists for a long time. There was a version that he was serving another sentence in Europe for a number of sentences. After a while, he profiled in the city of Harbin, in Manchuria, where he tried to pull off a major scam with the sale of a batch of three carriages of gold watches. This time, the enterprising Savin was exposed at the beginnings of a case, and he was overtaken by a loud failure. From Harbin, the swindler went to Shanghai, where he eked out an unenviable existence begging and drinking.

By 1937, Savin was unrecognizable: he was living out his last days with cirrhosis of the liver and tried to confess before his death to an Orthodox priest. A monk from a local monastery fulfilled the will of the dying man, arriving at the hospital to perform the sacrament. But even pouring out his soul at the end of his earthly journey, he told dubious stories, justified himself and was far from remorse. Nikolai Savin died the night after confession.

Dexterous crooks sometimes achieved great results. One day one rogue was even made king in a European country.