Why Rostov was nicknamed "dad", and Why local crime was considered very powerful

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

In the 19-20 centuries, the largest southern center of Russia, Rostov-on-Don, if anyone was inferior in terms of development, it was only Odessa. Here, two worlds developed in parallel - a rapidly growing merchant city and a haven for thousands of criminals of all varieties. The concentration of multiplying capital attracted thieves, swindlers, robbers and raiders. It was criminality that brought the city its “fatherly” fame and a nickname popular to this day.

Russian gangsters

Rostov began in 1749 with the light hand of Elizaveta Petrovna, who established the Temernitskaya customs. A few years later, a pier, a garrison barracks and an international "trading company" appeared here. Temernitsky port becomes the only southern port of Russia through which trade with the countries of the Black, Mediterranean and Aegean Seas is carried out. The peak period of development of Rostov-on-Don fell on the 2nd half of the 19th century. The export commodity volume provided by the work of iron foundries, mechanical and cable factories, flour mills, tobacco and paper factories exceeded 20 million rubles.

It is not surprising that the thriving city attracted criminals from all over Russia like a magnet. At the beginning of the twentieth century, Rostov received the title of "Russian Chicago", and initially this had nothing to do with crime. Chicago was the financial center and the largest transportation hub in North America. And Rostov was built on the American principle of "two streets" - wide avenues and streets crossing them. But already in the 20th Chicago parallels are filled with a different meaning. Chicago gains the glory of the "gangster capital" of warring gangs, and Rostov turns into a showcase of criminal Russia.

Crimes as part of Rostov life

What detectives did not see in Rostov at the beginning of the 20th century. Basically, of course, all kinds of theft flourished here. Although there were also clashes with stabbing, murders, Rostov broke records in terms of the number of thefts and scams, competing only with Odessa. At post offices and other institutions, there was traditionally a written warning to visitors about the need to carefully monitor their belongings. Gullible people now and then fell for the bait of con artists, who sold stolen things at the price of new ones and fake jewelry under the guise of precious ones. A common thing in Rostov was a “profitable” sale for the buyer with the immediate appearance of the alleged owner of the thing, demanding the immediate return of the property stolen yesterday. In crowded markets and shopping areas, such transactions took place much more often than honest sales. And to enter into conflict with such entrepreneurs could be life-threatening.

The criminal element of Rostov was concentrated in the center. The habitat was urban slums, and "work" was carried out around the Central Market, not far from the port. The brightest criminal glory of that period was found behind the Bogatyanovsky Spusk (Kirovsky Prospekt), which was teeming with drinking establishments and brothels. It was extremely rare to meet a law-abiding citizen there. And the location of the buildings favored the fact that in the event of a raid, it would be easy and quick to hide in tangled alleys and hidden loopholes.

The trade in charms was also popular in Rostov. The girl who came to Rostov in search of work had to be extremely careful. For those who once fell into the pimps of the pimps, the way back, with rare exceptions, was ordered.

Rostov "crime of the century"

At the end of the Christmas weekend in 1918, employees of the First Mutual Credit Society reported a break in the bank's steel basement vault. The audacity with which they carried out the robbery, as well as the amount of the stolen, shocked the city. The criminals dug an underground tunnel under the carriageway along a whole block on Nikolaevsky lane. A 35-meter manhole led from the basement of a residential building into the very center of the steel room. The dig was dug for several months. To this end, the criminals rented basements in residential buildings for huge sums, explaining their movements by the work on the equipment of bakeries. Themselves lived nearby - in the hotel "Petrogradskaya", where today the Arbitration Court of Appeal is located.

When the tunnel ran into the walls of a steel room carefully equipped by Berlin specialists, the robbers managed to drill a two-meter-thick concrete wall. Then, through a hole adjacent to the safes through the armor shell, they melted the highest quality steel. Then all that remained was to break into the safes, where money, diamonds and all kinds of jewelry belonging to the richest townspeople were kept. In total, more than 2 million rubles were stolen in cash alone. They generally preferred to remain silent about the face value of the stolen stones and jewelry.

Versions of the origins of the dad nickname

Historians associate the name Rostov-papa with several versions. But all of them are somehow connected with urban criminals. A rich port city with active trade and large money turnover naturally attracted lovers of easy money. It was the accumulation of offenders of all kinds and stripes in Rostov-on-Don that gave rise to such associations. The hospitable city, like a parent, accepted everyone, providing a place under the warming Rostov sun.

A similar version is put forward by the historian Alexander Sidorov, claiming that the nickname of Rostov-on-Don appeared thanks to vagrants. At that time, being a barefoot was considered fashionable in a criminal society. When law enforcement officers interrogated the next detained thief, he invariably answered questions about the origin and place of residence: "Mom is Odessa, and dad is Rostov." It was these successful cities that became home to itinerant thieves and crooks. And, according to the testimony of the representatives of the two criminal capitals themselves, the Rostov and Odessa bandits could not win the undisputed criminal primacy over themselves. Deciding who is cooler and which of the cities is more criminal, they eventually gave both harbors their parental names.

The criminals, by the way, sometimes had patriotic feelings and went to defend their country. So did and Pyotr Klypa, the youngest defender of the Brest Fortress.