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Samuel (Shmuel) Polyakov (also Poliakoff, Poliakov, (ロシア語:Самуил Соломонович Поляков)) was a Russian businessman, informally known as the "most famous railroad king"〔 of the Russian Empire, the senior member of the Polyakov business family, a philanthropist and a Jewish civil rights activist, co-founder of World ORT. Polyakov's business interests concentrated in southern Russia and Ukraine. By the time of his sudden death at the age of 50 he was credited with the construction of one quarter of Russia's railroads, his personal net worth was estimated at 31.4 million roubles.〔Anan'ich 1991, chapter 4: total of 31, 425, 546 roubles identified during estate proceedings included 30, 895, 333 roubles in shares, 532, 050 roubles in real estate and only 894 roubles in cash.〕 ==Business career== Samuel and his brothers, future bankers Lazar Polyakov and Yakov Polyakov, were born in a small trader's family in Dubroŭna,〔Beizer,.Gilbert, pages 59〕 in the Belarusian part of the Russian Empire. Samuel helped Yakov, the elder brother, in running father's business in alcohol tax farming, but after the emancipation reform of 1861 this opportunity dwindled, and Samuel started his own construction business. According to Sergei Witte (connected to Polyakov's business interests prior to his move into government service),〔Prior to the Borki train disaster Witte managed the Kursk-Kharkiv railroad where Polyakov had a substantial share but no direct control〕 Samuel Polyakov started his business empire as a proprietor of private postal station in Kharkov Governorate in Ukraine. Polyakov performed "some kind of important services" for the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs Ivan Tolstoy, later handled Tolstoy's business interests on a regular basis, and in return "Tolstoy launched Polyakov on his career".〔Witte, pages 58〕 This type of relationship between statesmen and Jewish entrepreneurs was common in post-emancipation Russia; Tolstoy by the time of his death (1867) allegedly owned half a million roubles in Polyakov shares.〔 "Services" mentioned by Witte actually were running a vodka distillery on wastelands of Tolstoy's estate,〔(【引用サイトリンク】 title=Polyakovy (Поляковы) )〕 and the "launch" was granted as a contract to build the Grushovka-Aksay local rail line, owned by the Don Cossack Host and completed in 1863.〔 In 1863–1865 Polyakov performed construction subcontracts for the railroad "king" Karl von Meck. Finally, in 1866 Tolstoy rewarded Polyakov with a contract to build the Kozlov-Voronezh-Rostov-on-Don mainline railroad (commissioned in February 1868).〔Owen, pages 172〕 Polyakov made himself rich charging the state 75 thousand roubles per verst of track, eight times above actual cost.〔 This line was followed by Kursk-Kharkiv-Azov line, Gryazi-Oryol line and others. Polyakov pioneered fast-track railroad construction schedules, introducing new standards of project management promoted by his new ally in the government, minister Pavel Melnikov. Kursk-Kharkiv-Azov mainline (780 verst, commissioned in two stages in July and December 1869) was built in a record time of 22 months; it provided the first reliable rail link for Donets Basin coal mines where Polyakov had substantial interests.〔 He also acquired a concession to build a steel foundry in Azov, but eventually preferred to sell the rights to John Hughes.〔〔The sale could be construed as a breach of contract: construction of the mill was part of his concession obligations — Pashkeyev.〕 During the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) Polyakov was commissioned to build two frontline railroads, Bendery-Galaţi and Frăteşti-Zimnica. Actual construction was managed by Mikhail Danilov. The speed of building these railroads earned Polyakov a medal of the Paris World Exhibition of 1878 and over 20 million roubles from the government,〔〔The contract, apart from two rail lines, included rolling stock, river ferry crossing, setting up field hospitals etc.〕 including a 4.5 million time bonus.〔 As a result, in the 1870s Samuel joined the ring of Russia's seven top railroad barons.〔 These were three converted Jews - Polyakov himself, Bloch and Kronenberg; former tax farmers Pyotr Gubonin and Vasily Kokorev, former state executive Derviz and former engineer Karl von Meck〔 (succeeded in 1873 by his widow Nadezhda von Meck). Rise of the "kings" was made possible by the government's preference for private ownership of the railroads and generous support to railroad entrepreneurs.〔Witte, pages 55〕 The state unconditionally guaranteed bond issues by railroad companies, ensuring steady flow of new investors; during the concession period, the owner-operator was entitled to all the profits of the venture.〔 This practice was terminated by the war of 1877–1878; instead, government opted for direct ownership and control of new railroads.〔 In addition to newly built roads, Polyakov acquired existing ones, including Russia's first commercial railroad from Saint Petersburg to Tsarskoye Selo (purchased in 1880).〔 Although his railroads were set up as public corporations, he managed them as his own property. None of his brothers or children had shares or influence in Polyakov's companies.〔Anan'ich 1991, chapter 6, based this conclusion on an analysis of Polyakov's will〕 Polyakov's financial maneuvers, although legal, were questionable. His first mainline railroad (Kozlov-Voronezh) was technically set up as a zemstvo (municipal) venture, but all shares were issued to Polyakov alone. The corporate charter was approved a whole year after the railroad commenced operations, providing Polyakov time to evade accountability to other shareholders.〔 Polyakov used his "enrepreneurial expertise" to amass shares of other railroads which he used as a collateral against loans from foreign bankers, betting on the expected rise in share value.〔〔The same practice caused collapse of Lazar Polyakov's banking conglomerate〕 Polyakov the contractor artificially inflated costs of railroad construction in return for bribes to state officials, usually paid with railroad shares.〔Owen, pages 173〕 Rival railroad contractor Fedor Chizhov summarized Polyakov's reputation as: "Not for any amount of money will I go into business with Polyakov, and I will not soil my name".〔 Samuel Polyakov's Saint Peterburg home was the former Countess Laval palace at 4, English Embankment, a four-storey neoclassical landmark designed by Thomas de Thomon; in the 1820s-1830s the building housed literary salons attended by Vasily Zhukovsky, Alexander Pushkin and Adam Mickiewicz.〔Beizer, Gilbert, pages 57-58〕 Polyakov retained the original neoclassical interiors intact; after him it passed to his son Daniel and was eventually bought by the state for the Governing Senate offices.〔 Polyakov acquired nobility and the rank of privy councilor but failed to reach coveted baron's title.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Samuel Polyakov」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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