Nicolay Pavlovich Perosio

Nicolay Pavlovich Perosio, writer of economics issues, was born in Bogliasco on the 15 th August, 1819 . Their father, Paolo Perosio had emigrated from Bogliasco in the beginnings of XIX century, after the invasion of Napoleon. Paolo was a stock exchange`s dealer and landowner and resided in Odessa, actual Ukraine.

Odessa had been founded in 1794 by Catherine II “the Great”, when the Russian queen decided that her empire needed a port on the Black Sea. Italian and French architects played an important role in the construction of the city.

Nicolay studied at the Richelieu School, a French cultural institution located in Paris, made up of a group of five academies, each of which fosters one or several branches of art, literature, philosophy or science. The Institute, as it was founded and organized in 1795 during the French Revolution, comprised three societies: one dedicated to physics and mathematics, another dedicated to the moral and political sciences, and lastly a third dedicated to literature and fine arts. Reorganized on several occasions, in 1832 it acquired its definitive structure.

Nicolay was administrator of prince Kochubey's lands. Then death of Kochubey, Nicolay married with the daughter of the “Kamerger”, Maria Zataevich in Kiev, Ukraine and they moved to Saint Petersburg. There their sons Vassili (Basilio) and Ivan were born.

At the end of 1859, Nicolay confronted the Russian Society of Steamship and Commerce. He wrote some articles in which he accused the administration of the Society of committing serious abuses. The discussion could have continued for a long time and to end the polemic he offered a public debate. The antagonist of Nicolay Pavlovich Perosio was Mr. Smirnov. That debate took place in December of 1859 in the hall of the famous “Passage”. A great number of people attended due to the interesting nature of the topic and the new discussion method. This event caused a great sensation and was discussed on the topic in many newspapers including the important daily Iskra (The Spark). Some examples of what was published at the time: Interesting passage in the history of the Russian tradition (article by Mr. T-nov in Sovremennik., 1859, #12, LXXVIII, p.403-422), Mr. Smirnov and Mr. Perosio (in Russkoe Slovo, 1860, #1, p.92-108), etc.

In 1868, Nicolay Pavlovich Perosio was invited to serve as secretary of Prince Pavel Pavlovich Gagarin (1798-1872), the head of the Council of Ministers and of the Council of State of the Russian Empire during the reign of Czar Alexander II.

In 1872, Prince Gagarin died and Nicolay moved to Genoa, where he bought a splendid residence at via Assarotti 14, where he lived with his second spouse Luisa Anderson and his sons. Nicolay died on May 27, 1877 in Genoa and his remains are buried in the monumental cemetery of Staglieno, Villa Vaccarezza, Genoa.

Nicolay Pavlovich Perosio was author of many books and articles on financial and economic topics. He was also a member of the Independent Economic Society and actively participated in its works.

The above data was taken from the Biographical Encyclopedia of Russia by A. A. Polovtsev, Moscow, 1896-1918, p.562 (Sources: Information provided by descendants of Ivan Nicolayevich Perosio, son of Nicolay Pavlovich Perosio), and from our own investigation.