June 12: The birthday of Pyotr Makushin, an educator and book publisher who changed Siberia
Pyotr Makushin was born on June 12, 1844, in Perm Governorate. He was called the "Siberian Leo Tolstoy": he founded Russia's first free public library, the first bookstore in Siberia, and the region's largest daily newspaper—and devoted everything he had to education.
"You, my dear, often reproach me for my frugality in spending on myself and my family. Believe me, I do not do this out of stinginess: I consider every penny I save not as my own, but as belonging to the social cause to which I have dedicated my life." (from a letter to his wife)
From theological seminary to bookstore
Makushin's father was a psalm-reader. Following family tradition, Pyotr graduated from the seminary and entered the academy. While still a student, he traveled to Altai as part of a spiritual mission, organizing a missionary school and teaching newly baptized children.
In 1868, at the age of 24, Makushin moved to Tomsk to take a position as a superintendent at a theological school. Just two years later, he purchased books on an installment plan and opened the city's first private public library in his apartment. His wife lent out books, and the fee was 10 kopecks per month. As demand increased, the price was doubled.
In 1873, Makushin opened the first bookstore in Siberia with funding from Tomsk merchant Vasily Mikhailov. Initially, he donated half of the profits to the merchant, but later bought out his share.
The Book Empire of Siberia
By the end of the 19th century, the Mikhailov and Makushin trading house had become the largest in the region, with a branch in Irkutsk and bookstores in 125 villages across the Tomsk province. Its stores stocked approximately 250,000 titles, and over the course of a quarter-century of operation, millions of books were sold.
Makushin became the founder of the Tomsk Society for the Care of Primary Education, which operated under the motto "Not a Single Illiterate!" In 1884, with funds from merchant Semyon Valgusov, he opened a public free library in Tomsk—the first in Russia. He also initiated the establishment of a museum of applied knowledge in Tomsk.
Newspaper, printing house and "Siberian Life"
Makushin established his own printing house, where he published popular books, works by local scholars, and the Tomsk University newspaper. Many new titles—for example, Tolstoy's novel "Resurrection"—were published in Tomsk simultaneously with the renowned Moscow publishing house of Sytin.
In the 1880s, he published the weekly "Sibirskaya Gazeta" (Siberian Newspaper), one of the best provincial publications of its time. In 1888, the authorities deemed it "harmful" to young people and closed it.
Makushin then began publishing "Tomsk Information Leaflet," which he gradually developed into a full-fledged city publication, "Sibirskaya Zhizn." It became the most widely published and authoritative daily publication in pre-revolutionary Siberia, with a circulation reaching 25 copies.
Pogrom, arrest and the end
After the 1905–1907 revolution and the Tomsk pogrom, Makushin fled the city after the Black Hundreds set fire to the Sibirskaya Zhizn editorial office. Threats of violence kept him hidden for a month in an apiary in the taiga near Tomsk.
Despite the persecution, he continued his active work until 1917. In 1912, he initiated and sponsored the construction of the House of Science, where he founded the People's University. He later donated several buildings and a large sum of money to it. With his support, more than 350 libraries opened in the province.
After the October Revolution, Makushin was arrested three times by the Bolsheviks. Each time, he was released due to "inconsistent denunciations" and "insufficient charges." The Soviet government nationalized all his property.
"At the age of 76, I found myself an impoverished, homeless old man. An extremely difficult situation arose. The question that remains haunting me to this day is: Why? Half a century of tireless work for the benefit of education, for the benefit of all of Siberia, and… this is the end."
Pyotr Makushin died in Tomsk in 1926, a week before his 82nd birthday. He is buried within the compound of the House of Science he founded. A monument featuring an electric lantern—a symbol of enlightenment—and his main motto: "Not a single illiterate person."