Oleksij Altschewskyj (1835–1901)

Oleksij Altschewskyj was a Ukrainian banker and industrialist who created companies that developed large-scale coal mines, railways and steelworks in the Donbas basin in the late 19th century, making it one of the most important industrial regions in Europe.

He was born in Sumy, Ukraine, where his family were grocery merchants. After leaving school he became a tea merchant and in 1862 he moved to Kharkiv. In 1866, he founded one of the first private commercial banks in the Russian Empire, the Kharkiv Mutual Credit Society, which was unusual in making short-term loans to small and medium-sized businesses. Its success led him to cofound the Kharkov Trade Bank (which became the third largest trade bank in the Empire) and the Kharkov Land Bank.

Altschewskyj saw opportunities for economic development in the relatively under-developed Donbas coalfield. In 1879 he founded the Altschewskyj Mining Society, which opened mines for anthracite and became the third largest coal producer in the region. In 1895, he cofounded the Donetsko-Yurievsky Metallurgical Company with German partners, which operated a steelworks at Yurievka station on the Donetsk Railway that by 1900 employed 3,200 people. In 1898 he cofounded the Providence Russe with Belgian collaborators, which developed steelworks at Sartana near Mariupol. His Southern Mining Society, founded in 1898, took over coal mines at Kryvyi Rih and Kerch.

Altschewskyj was an advocate for social causes, education and Ukrainian culture. Together with his wife, Khrystyna Alchevska, an influential educator, he supported Ukrainian-language education and literacy. During the Russian economic crisis of 1899-1901, Altschewskyj’s requests for loans from the Ministry of Finance were rejected. Soon afterwards he died by falling under a train at St Petersburg. It is disputed whether he committed suicide or was assassinated to take his wealth and end his support for Ukrainian nationalism. His assets and companies were seized by the Russian authorities. At the request of his workers, the industrial city of Alchevsk was named in his honour.