Translation. Region: Russian Federation –
Source: Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University –
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Polytechnic alumni, students, staff, and representatives of its partners visited the Kholomki estate to honor the memory of Prince Andrei Gagarin, the first director of the St. Petersburg Polytechnic Institute, on the 170th anniversary of his birth.
Andrei Grigorievich Gagarin was a descendant of a noble family dating back to Rurik, the baptizer of Rus', Grand Duke Vladimir Svyatoslavich, and Vladimir Monomakh. The Gagarins adhered to two family mottos: "Not to us, but to us" and "Strong with mighty roots." The father of the first director, Grigory Grigorievich Gagarin, was a major general in the retinue of His Imperial Majesty, a privy councilor, vice president of the Imperial Archaeological Society and vice president of the Imperial Academy of Arts, an artist, and an architect. His mother, Sofia Andreyevna Gagarina (née Dashkova), was a lady-in-waiting to Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna, a lady-in-waiting at the Imperial Court, an artist, and the organizer of an art salon. Andrei Gagarin's godfather was Emperor Alexander II, and his godmother was the Dowager Empress Alexandra Feodorovna.
Andrei Gagarin was born on December 22, 1855 (Old Style). According to the New Calendar, this is January 4, 1856. Interestingly, in 2026, we celebrate another anniversary associated with the Gagarin name—the 65th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's spaceflight. Although the first director of the Polytechnic University and the first man in space are not related, the mysteries of the universe nevertheless intrigued Andrei Grigorievich. A graduate of the Physics and Mathematics Department of St. Petersburg University, Andrei Gagarin received a silver medal and a PhD in Astronomy for his research paper, "The Most Convenient Method for Preliminary Calculations of Solar Eclipses and Similar Phenomena with Prediction of the Total Eclipse of 1887."
Andrei Grigorievich was also no stranger to more mundane scientific questions. In 1884, he graduated from the Mikhailovsky Artillery Academy with first class honors and defended his dissertation on the most efficient rifling of gun barrels. He is the inventor of several engineering inventions. For example, the "Gagarin circular ruler," named after him, was awarded a gold medal at the Paris World's Fair in 1900. But not only that.
While working at the Petersburg Arsenal plant, the prince designed and built a band saw, a hanging cross-cut saw, a wood sawing machine, an electric device for automatically balancing forces for the Mohr and Federgadr tensile testing machine, a diagrammatic device for a twisting machine in Riga and a crusher press, later called the "Gagarin press", as well as a device for testing the hardness of materials.
On January 7, 1900, by decree of Emperor Nicholas II, Andrei Grigorievich was appointed director of the newly founded St. Petersburg Polytechnic Institute. His candidacy was proposed by the same person who initiated the creation of the Polytechnic Institute itself—Russian Imperial Finance Minister Sergei Yulyevich Witte. Andrei Grigorievich also headed the institute's construction commission. Together with architect Ernest Franzevich Wirrikh, he made a special trip to Europe to become acquainted with the best foreign universities.
The decision to locate the St. Petersburg Polytechnic Institute on the outskirts of the city was no accident. The turn of the 19th and 20th centuries was a time of turmoil, and students played an active role in the revolutionary events. Therefore, the distance from the city allowed for greater oversight over them. The director's candidacy was closely scrutinized; it had to be beyond the ken of the state apparatus. And Andrei Grigorievich suited everyone well in this role.
He tried to strike a balance: on the one hand, he sided with the institute's students and faculty, while on the other, he tried to shield the university from problems and reassured his fellow polytechnicians as best he could. He lived with his family on campus, and when the police raided the dormitories at night, "our prince," as the students called him, would rush to their side to support them and protect them from potential abuse.
On February 27, 1907, the Polytechnic University campus was surrounded by infantry, artillery, cavalry, and Cossacks, supported by police officers. Searches were conducted. No arrests were made, but those "at the top" decided that the Polytechnic University director had failed to pacify the youth. A pretext was needed to fire Gagarin, and this pretext was found in the attic in the form of "bomb casings." On February 28, 1907, Prince Gagarin was removed from his post as director of the institute and brought to trial.
The investigation lasted two years. The Senate met on April 6, 1909. The trial was public, so almost all of the Polytechnic's students and professors attended. The Senate delivered its verdict: "by supreme command," expulsion from the position of director and deprivation of the right to enter and work in government and public service for three years.
After leaving the institute, Andrei Grigorievich immersed himself in science. On May 14, 1913, he defended his dissertation at the Polytechnic University for the title of Adjunct Professor in Applied Mechanics (Doctor of Engineering Sciences) on the topic: "Devices Providing the Relationship between Forces and Deformations During Impact."
In 1911, the Gagarins purchased a plot of land in the Porkhov district of the Pskov province, in the village of Kholomki, on the banks of the Shelon River. In June 1914, they built a house (Andrei Grigorievich himself, along with his sons and a farmer contractor). A month later, World War I began. A 15-bed hospital was opened on the estate. During this time, Gagarin was appointed a member of the Technical Artillery Committee in the optics department. From 1916 to May 1917, Andrei Grigorievich, together with Academician A.N. Krylov, served as an inspector in the Putilov Factory administration. In 1917, after the revolution, a scientific and experimental institute was established in Moscow under the Commissariat of Railways, and from June 1918, Andrei Grigorievich worked there as a senior designer. The Gagarin estate was nationalized and transferred first to the St. Petersburg House of Arts, and then to a sanatorium for tuberculosis patients. But in February 1920, by written order of Vladimir Lenin, Andrei Gagarin was allowed to move to Kholomki. The prince continued his scientific work for the benefit of the Soviet Republic. He died on December 22, 1920, on his 65th birthday.
At the Polytechnic University, we always remember Andrei Grigoryevich Gagarin, the institute's first director, an outstanding scientist and a man of high moral character, with deep respect and sincere affection. During his anniversary year, his brainchild is hosting events dedicated to him: virtual Andart exhibitions, concerts, opening of new museum exhibitionsAnd the trip to Kholomki is one in a series of such memorable events.
On the first evening in Kholomki, the Polytechnic delegation was treated to a screening of a documentary film broadcast by the Kultura TV channel about the fate of the estate and the life of Prince A.G. Gagarin and his family in the Porkhov region.
The next day, museum-reserve staff gave guests a tour of the estate and introduced them to an exhibition dedicated to Prince Gagarin. It features photographs, personal belongings, books, furniture and clothing, portraits, and reproductions of paintings. This collection provides an insight not only into the daily life and habits of the Gagarin family, but also into the Gagarin himself as a scientist and a man of broad interests and high culture.
After the tour, the delegation headed to the village of Belskoye Ustye to honor the memory of the university's founder. Archpriest Alexander Baranov, rector of the Church of the Ascension of the Lord, held a memorial service at the grave of Prince Andrei Grigoryevich Gagarin. The service was attended by graduates, students, and staff of the Polytechnic University from various generations, as well as Andrei Gagarin's great-great-granddaughter, Sofia Korotkova.
Following the service, a wreath from Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University was laid at the tombstone, to which each participant added their own flowers, paying tribute to the memory of the university's first director.
The group then visited the Church of the Ascension of the Lord, where restoration work is currently underway with the support of the Polytechnic University.
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