Irony of fate: Lenin's cousin grandfather renounced Judaism in favor of Orthodoxy and was nevertheless killed by Orthodox Russians who mistook him for a German.
Lenin's sister Anna Ilyinichna wrote: “The elders could not clarify this for us. The surname seemed to us to be of French origin, but there was no evidence of such ancestry. Personally, I had long entertained the thought of possible Jewish origin, mainly prompted by our mother's statement that our grandfather was born in Zhytomyr — a well-known Jewish center. Grandmother — our mother's mother — was born in Petersburg and was of German origin from Riga. But while connections with maternal relatives were maintained for quite a long time by our mother and her sisters, no one had heard of her father’s relatives, A.D. Blank. He seemed like a cut-off piece, which also led me to think of his Jewish origin. No stories from grandfather about his childhood or youth were preserved in the memory of his daughters.”
But Lenin’s grandfather Alexander Blank had much to tell. However, the story began long before him.
His father Moishe Blank appeared in the town of Starokonstantinov already as an adult and in 1793 married a local 29-year-old maiden Maryam Froimovich. Documents show that he could read both Hebrew and Russian, owned his own house, engaged in trade, and in addition had about 3 hectares of land leased near the town of Rogachevo, which was sown with chicory.
In 1794 he had a son Abel, and in 1799 a son Israel, writes the magazine "Historian". From the very beginning, Moishe Itskovich had a difficult relationship with the local Jewish community. He was “a man who did not want or perhaps could not find common ground with his compatriots.” In other words, the community simply hated him. In 1808 his house was set on fire. The family moved to Zhytomyr.
Many years later, in September 1846, he wrote a letter to Emperor Nicholas I. He proposed — for the purpose of assimilating Jews — to forbid them from wearing national clothing, and most importantly, to oblige them to pray in synagogues for the Russian emperor. He told the tsar that “40 years ago he renounced the Jews,” but because of his “excessively devout wife,” who died in 1834, he converted to Christianity and received the name Dmitry only on January 1, 1835. Nicholas I fully agreed with the proposals of the “baptized Jew Blank,” as a result of which in 1850 Jews were forbidden to wear national clothing, and in 1854 a corresponding prayer text was introduced.
Both sons, like their father, could read Russian, and when in 1816 a district school opened in Zhytomyr, they were enrolled there and successfully graduated. In spring 1820 they went to the capital and submitted a petition to the metropolitan expressing their desire to be baptized and leave the Pale of Settlement. The petition was granted, and on May 25, 1820, the priest baptized both brothers. Abel became Dmitry Dmitrievich, and Israel became Alexander Dmitrievich.
On July 31 of the same year, by order of the Minister of Education Prince Alexander Nikolaevich Golitsyn, the brothers were appointed pupils of the Medical-Surgical Academy, which they graduated from in 1824, receiving the academic title of second-class doctors and a gift in the form of a pocket set of surgical instruments.
Dmitry Blank (Vladimir Lenin’s cousin grandfather) remained in the capital as a police doctor, while Alexander Blank (Lenin’s biological grandfather) in August 1824 began service in the town of Porechye, Smolensk province, as a district doctor. He did not like the province much, and already in October 1825 he returned to Petersburg and was enrolled, like his brother, as a police doctor in the city. In 1828 he was promoted to staff doctor.
At first, things went well for Alexander Blank. As a police doctor, he earned 1,000 rubles a year. Soon he proposed to Lenin’s grandmother.
The cholera epidemic broke out in spring 1831. Quarantines on the distant approaches to the capital did not help. On June 14, 1831, Dmitry Blank, doctor of the main cholera hospital in Petersburg, identified the first patients. Within a week, the number of sick exceeded three thousand, nearly half of whom died, reports the magazine "Pages of History".
Cholera primarily struck the common people. Rumors spread through the capital that German doctors were deliberately poisoning Orthodox Russian people. On June 22, a crowd gathered at Sennaya Square and rushed to the main cholera hospital. The riot turned into a mass killing of doctors, among whom was Dr. Dmitry Blank. He was beaten to death, mistaken by surname for a German. Alexander Blank, Lenin’s biological grandfather, was also in Petersburg that day; he was lucky. The death of his brother so shocked him that he did not work for a year and was recovering.
The next morning, Emperor Nicholas I himself went to Sennaya Square. A crowd was already gathering there to resume the riots. According to the official version, Nicholas ordered everyone to take off their hats and read a patriotic lecture: “It is shameful for the Russian people, forgetting the faith of their fathers, to imitate the frenzy of the French and Poles.” According to an unofficial version, the sovereign’s speech began with the words “On your knees! Scoundrels!” and consisted mostly of profanities.
One way or another, the emperor made a great impression on everyone, which pleased him greatly, and he promised forgiveness to all. Indeed, no one was brought to trial in the case of the cholera riot in the capital.
Sources:
https://годы-и-люди.рф/entry/7117
Author: Maxim Kuznetsov
