Vasily Berkov Explained

Vasily Ivanovich Berkov (Василий Иванович Берков)
Native Name:Wicher Berkhoff
Birth Date:21 August 1794
Birth Place:Vriezenveen, Netherlands
Death Place:Saint Petersburg, Russia
Nationality:Dutch, Russian (1846)
Occupation:Shipbuilder, Director Admiralty Shipyard, Saint Petersburg, Russia
Years Active:1815/16-1870
Known For:translating West-European shipbuilding literature into the Russian language

Vasily Ivanovich Berkov (Russian: Василий Иванович Берков) (Dutch: Wicher Berkhoff)[1] (21 August 1794 in Vriezenveen, Netherlands  - 5 April 1870 in Saint Petersburg, Russia) was a Russian shipbuilder and from 1829 to 1870 Director of the Admiralty Shipyard of Saint Petersburg, possibly in the rank of Counter-Admiral.[2] Berkov deserves special credit for his translations of West-European literature on shipbuilding into Russian. He was one of the so-called Rusluie, a Dutch community in 18th and 19th century Saint Petersburg, most of whose members originated from Vriezenveen, Berkov's native town.

Education

Berkov was the son of carpenter Albert Berends Berkhoff and Berendina van den Bosch, and left his native town at an early age for Saint Petersburg, where his grandparents Frederik van den Bosch and Clasina de Vries took him into their care.[3] Unlike many of his peers who went into trade,[4] Berkov decided on a career in the shipbuilding industry. In either 1815[5] or 1816[6] he successfully completed his six-year civilian apprenticeship program[7] at the College for Shipbuilding Architecture in Saint Petersburg as a shipwright.

Career

From 1815–16 to 1825 Berkov worked as Deputy Master-Shipbuilder at the Lodejnopolskaja Shipyard, in the Grebnoj Docks in Saint Petersburg, at the shipyards in the Don basins and in the Novgorod district. Here he built ships destined for inland shipping, as well as private luxury yachts for two senior civil servants: Viktor Kochubey and Aleksey Arakcheyev. He was also involved in the building of the Enterprise, the ship of explorer Otto Von Kotzebue. After a brief career in 1825 as Master-Shipbuilder at Saint Petersburg's City Wharfs, in 1826 he accepted the position of Deputy Navy-Inspector for Innovative and Technological Requirements, at his former training college.[5]

This civilian college merged in 1826[8] with the equivalent navy college into the Academy of Navy Engineers. The training academy in St. Petersburg still exists under the name of Higher Academy for Marine Engineers (Военно-морского инженерного училища).[9] In 1829 Berkov returned to the City Wharfs as Director. As such he participated in the merging in 1841–43 of the civilian City Wharfs with the adjacent Navy Admiralty Shipyard into the New Admiralty Shipyard,[10] [11] of which he became Director. He continued this position until his death in 1870.[12] In the hierarchy of the Russian social class system, Berkov rose to the civilian rank of Acting State Councilor (4th class),[13] [14] which equals the rank of Counter-Admiral in the Navy.[15] Whether Berkov had actually held a Navy Admiral rank is subject of debate among Dutch historians.

Translator

Berkov was highly regarded in shipbuilding circles for his translations of shipbuilding literature into the Russian language. He had a talent for languages and was fluent in English, German, French, Russian and Dutch. Many of his translated works were published under Russian State authority.[5] He also compiled the first Russian textbook on naval architecture, including a manual on the construction of yachts.[6]

Personal life

On May 13, 1821, Berkov married Alexandrine Volkova (1804–after 1870), daughter of the Imperial Cup Bearer[16] /Table Setter[17] Ivan Prokoviev Volkov and Nadeschda Volkova. The Russian Orthodox marriage took place in the St. Nicholas Naval Cathedral in Saint Petersburg. They are known to have had six children from this marriage: Elena (b.ca.1828), Nadezhda (b.1834), Victor (b.1837), Alexandra (b.1840), Maria (b.1842) and Alexander (b.1844). In 1846 Berkov acquired Russian nationality, and in 1847 he ascended into the Russian hereditary peerage.[14] Despite his career in Russian service, Berkov stayed in contact with the Dutch merchant community in Saint Petersburg.[18] In later life he returned once more to his birthplace Vriezenveen, where even his own sister did not recognize him.[19] After his death in 1870 he was buried in the Evangelical-Lutheran Volkovo Cemetery in Saint Petersburg.[13] His grave can still be found there today.[20] In 2007 the Municipality of Vriezenveen named a street in his honour.[21]

Honours

References

Notes
  • Printed sources, Literature, Articles and Internet-publications.

    • Notes and References

    1. In the Eastern Slavic naming system the official form of address was and still is a person’s Christian name followed by its patronymic (no surname). Similarity of sound probably caused the Dutch Christian name “Wicher“ to be changed into “Vasily”. The patronymic “Ivanovich” will be used when the father’s name is unknown. The Russian family-name “Berkov” too, will have been chosen for its sound similarity.
    2. According to Polovtsov (1896-1918), Berkov was "Head of the City Wharfs in Saint Petersburg (начальник с.-петербургской городской верфи)". The biography ends in 1840. According to Janssen and Jonker (ca. 1955), Berkov was "Head of the Naval Wharfs of Saint Petersburg (Chef van de Marinewerven in Sint-Petersburg)" and obtained the "rank and/or title [both possible] of Admiral (titel van Admiraal)". Harmsen (1966), states that Berkov was "Head of the Naval Wharf of St. Petersburg (Chef van de Marinewerf te St. Petersburg)". Hosmar (1976), claims Berkov was "Head of the Naval Wharfs of Kronstadt (Chef der Marinewerven in Kroonstad)" and was addressed as "Admiral". Hosmar (1986), cites an undated letter in Dutch translation of Berkov to the Czar in which he refers to himself as “Vice-Admiral (Vice-Admiraal)”, a three star Admiral rank. According to Holtrop and Van Staalduine (2005), Death Registers, Berkov had at the time of his death the social class position of "Acting State Councilor (staatsraad in werkelijke dienst)". According to the Russian social class system (Табель о рангах) this is civilian rank class 4 (Действительный статский советник), of a total of fourteen. The corresponding Czarist Navy rank is Counter-Admiral (Контрадмирал), a one star Admiral rank. According to Berkov, in: EBE (2009), Berkov was "Head of the Office of the City Wharfs in Saint Petersburg (начальник конт. СПб. город. верфи)" until his retirement in 1859. According to Berkhof (2011), Berkov was until his death in 1870 "(Acting-)Director of the Admiralty Shipyard ((Waarnemend-) Directeur van de Admiraliteitsscheepswerf)". Berkov would have reached the civilian rank of Acting State Councilor in 1866. Berkhof states that (at the moment) no original source material is available which conclusively proves that Berkov held a Navy Admiral rank. According to Berkhof the title of Admiral should be considered as hearsay, based on the name of Admiralty Shipyard.
    3. Harmsen (1966). According to Berkhof (2011), Van den Bosch (1742-1811) and De Vries (ca.1740-after 1811) were his grandparents.
    4. Van Wijngaarden (2007), pag. 39
    5. Polovtsov (1896-1918)
    6. http://persons-info.com Berkov. Retrieved 10 March 2011, from persons-info.com
    7. http://www.navy.su 20 August 1798. Retrieved 10 March 2011, from navy.su
    8. http://www.navy.su/27-28 School History. Retrieved 10 March 2011, from navy.su
    9. Web site: http://www.navy.ru/edu/admiralty . ru:Высшее военно-морское инженерное училище имени Ф.Э. Дзержинского . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20141231072439/http://www.navy.ru/edu/admiralty . 31 December 2014 . Russian . The Higher Naval Engineering School named after F.E. Dzerzhinsky.
    10. http://www.encspb.ru Admiralty Dockyards. Retrieved 10 March 2011, from encspb.ru
    11. http://www.globalsecurity.org Admiralty Shipyard. Retrieved 10 March 2011, from gobalsecurity.org
    12. Berkhof (2011). According to Berkov, in: EBE (2009), he retired in 1859.
    13. Holtrop and Van Staalduine (2005), Death Registers
    14. Berkhof (2011)
    15. http://akunin.ru Table of Ranks. Retrieved 10 March 2011, from akunin.ru
    16. A Cup Bearer was responsible for the wine cellars and the serving of wine during meals.
    17. A Table Setter was responsible for the correct table settings, as well as for clearing away the table and serving at table.
    18. Between 1827-1869 Berkov regularly attended Holy Communion in the Dutch Reformed Church in Saint Petersburg. He died on 5 April 1870. Holtrop and Van Staalduine (2005), Lists of Holy Communion Attendees, pag. 344-377
    19. Janssen and Jonker (ca. 1955)
    20. A picture of the Russian/Dutch grave stone can be found in: Holtrop and Van Staalduine (2005), Death Registers, pag. 320
    21. New names, in: The Weekly

    This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Vasily Berkov".

    Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.