Portrait of Ivan Maksymovich Synelnikov

Portrait of Ivan Maksymovich Synelnikov. Hud. Okulov P.T. Katerynoslav city, Russian Empire; the last quarter of the 19th century. Canvas, oil.

SYNELNIKOV IVAN MAKSYMOVYCH (1741-1788). Governor of the Katerynoslav Governorate (1784–1788). Synelnikov was born in the Biryutsky district of the Voronezh province in the family of a nobleman. Already at the age of 25, he was elected a deputy from the nobles of the Voronezh province to the commission of the New Constitution. In the capital, he showed himself as best as possible, was noticed and continued his service in the army. Took part in Russian-Turkish wars. During the suppression of the Pugachov rebellion in the Kazan province, Synelnikov married the daughter of the local landowner Strakhov, Yevdokia Vasylivna, with whom he had a son, Peter. For some time he served as a voivode in Poltava, and then, under the leadership of Suvorov, he was engaged in the affairs of immigrants within the borders of the Azov province. It was Suvorov who recommended Synelnikov to Prince Potemkin, who entrusted him with managing the commission that provided food for the displaced. In 1777, he was granted ownership of a lot of land on both banks of the Dnieper in the area of the Nenasitetsky threshold (now the villages of Vasylivka, Mykilske, and Viyskove), in the present Synelnyk District, with the district center of Synelnykovo. During his governorship, Sinelnikov made a lot of efforts to expand the construction of the provincial center of Katerynoslav on the right bank of the Dnieper. He was entrusted by the Potemkins with huge sums of money for the procurement of materials, various supplies, and the invitation of craftsmen and workers to carry out work in the new city. He also prepared everything necessary and determined the route of the famous trip of Catherine II in 1787 through the southern lands. He accompanied her around the territory of the Katerynoslav Governorate, received her in his estate (now the village of Mykilske-on-Dnieper), where a specially built wooden palace with a balcony was built across from the Nenasittsky threshold. He was present at the laying ceremony of the Transfiguration Cathedral by Catherine II in Katerynoslav. During the second Russo-Turkish war, Potemkin entrusted him with the work of equipping the Black Sea fleet, providing food for the army that surrounded Ochakiv. He was mortally wounded near Ochakov and died.