Vasily Berkov
| Vasily Ivanovich Berkov (Василий Иванович Берков) | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Native name | Wicher Berkhoff |
| Born |
August 21, 1794 Vriezenveen, Netherlands |
| Died | April 5, 1870 (aged 75) Saint Petersburg, Russia |
| Nationality | Dutch, Russian (1846) |
| Occupation | Shipbuilder, Director Admiralty Shipyard, Saint Petersburg, Russia |
| Years active | 1815/16-1870 |
| Known for | translating West-European shipbuilding literature into the Russian language |
Vasily Ivanovich Berkov (Russian: Василий Иванович Берков) (Dutch: Wicher Berkhoff) (21 August 1794 in Vriezenveen, Netherlands – 5 April 1870 in Saint Petersburg, Russia) was a Russian shipbuilder and from 1829-1870 Director of the Admiralty Shipyard of Saint Petersburg, possibly in the rank of Counter-Admiral. Berkov deserves special credit for his translations of West-European literature on shipbuilding, into the Russian language. He was one of the so-called Rusluie, a Dutch community in 18th and 19th century Saint Petersburg, most of whose members originated from (Berkov's native town) Vriezenveen.
The son of carpenter Albert Berends Berkhoff and Berendina van den Bosch, Berkov left his native town at an early age for Saint Petersburg. There, his grandparents Frederik van den Bosch and Clasina de Vries took him into their care. Unlike many of his peers who went into trade, Berkov decided on a career in the shipbuilding industry. In 1815/16 he successfully completed his six-year’s civilian apprenticeship program at the College for Shipbuilding Architecture in Saint Petersburg as a Shipwright.
From 1815/16 till 1825 Berkov worked as Deputy Master-Shipbuilder at the Lodejnopolskaja Shipyard, in the Grebnoj Docks in Saint Petersburg, at the shipyards in the Don basins and in the Novgorod district. Here he built ships destined for inland shipping, as well as private luxury yachts for two senior Civil Servants: Kochubey (1768-1834) and Arakcheyev (1769-1834). He was also involved in the building of the Enterprise, the ship of explorer Von Kotzebue (1787-1846). After a brief career in 1825 as Master-Shipbuilder at Saint Petersburg’s City Wharfs, he accepted in 1826 the position of Deputy Navy-Inspector for Innovative and Technological Requirements, at his former training college. This civilian college merged in 1826/27-28 with the equivalent Navy college into the Academy of Navy Engineers. In 1829 Berkov returned to the City Wharfs as Director. As such he participated in the merging in 1841-43 of the civilian City Wharfs with the adjacent Navy Admiralty Shipyard into the New Admiralty Shipyard, of which he became Director. He continued this position until his death in 1870. In the hierarchy of the Russian social class system, Berkov rose to the civilian rank of Acting State Councilor (4th class), which equals the rank of Counter-Admiral in the Navy. Whether Berkov had actually held a Navy Admiral rank, is subject of debate among Dutch historians.
...
Wikipedia