Frederick Bruce Thomas - son of slaves, Moscow millionaire, a prisoner in a Turkish prison Automatic translate

MOSCOW. The publishing house "New Literary Review" published a book about one of the best entrepreneurs and restaurateurs of pre-revolutionary Russia, a native of a family of former slaves.

The book about Frederick Bruce Thomas (Frederick Bruce Thomas) professors at Yale University, writer Vladimir Alexandrov inspired memoirs of Alexander Vertinsky. Writing about his performance at one of the concert venues in Moscow, he also mentioned her dark-skinned host, Fedor Fedorovich Thomas. He was also the managing director of the popular theater variety show Maxim, in which they danced on the glowing floor, admired the "belly dance", the program "8 American Beauties Regtimes" and indulged in pleasant excesses in a luxurious atmosphere.

The phrase dropped by Vertinsky made Vladimir Alexandrov, who until then knew only about one famous Russian with dark skin - Pushkin’s great-grandfather Abram Hannibal, start searching in foreign archives. The life story of Frederick Bruce Thomas or Fedor Fedorovich struck his imagination. A young guy, the son of former slaves, having wandered around the world in search of a better life, ended up in Moscow and made a dizzying career there: from the waiter of the Yar restaurant to a member of the merchant guild, director of the Aquarium garden, the founder of the popular variety show Maxim, where you can was to see the silent movie star Vera Kholodnaya and singer Alexander Vertinsky.

Fyodor Fyodorovich did not encounter xenophobia in pre-revolutionary Moscow, nor did the pupils of the Smolny Institute from Ethiopia and Siam. Charisma and enterprise brought Thomas millions. But he did not fit into the idea of ​​the Bolsheviks about the correct world order and social justice. Millions and real estate were taken from him. The hanging threat of arrest and execution forced him to flee to Turkey. Frederick Bruce Thomas, "Black Russian", went bankrupt, ended up in a prison in Constantinople and died there from pneumonia.

Elena Tanakova © Gallerix.ru