Pyotr Zakharov-Chechenets

Pyotr Zakharovich Zakharov-Chechenets (; 1816 – 1846) was a Russian painter of Chechen origin, best known for his portraits, typical of Romantic style. He is generally remembered as the first professional painter of Chechen origin.

Biography In 1819, during the Caucasian War, Russian troops razed to the ground the Chechen aul Dadi-Yurt. Commonly, men were killed but the surviving women and children taken captive. One of them was a three-year-old boy. The commander-in-chief of the Russian army Aleksey Petrovich Yermolov had the child given for nursing to Cossack Zakhar Nedonosov. From the name of this Cossack, the child got his surname and patronymic. Later Pyotr appended the word Chechenets to his surname in order to show his ethnic identity.

At the age of seven, Pyotr was adopted by Major-General Pyotr Yermolov, Commander of a Georgian Grenadier regiment and a cousin of Aleksey Petrovich Yermolov. Pyotr Yermolov liked Zakharov very much and, despite having seven children of his own, treated him as his own son.

On 14 January 1846, Zakharov married, but their happiness was short. On 13 June 1846, his wife died from tuberculosis. Zakharov died from the same disease a few months later. Zakharov is depicted in the painting by landscape painter Grigory Chernetsov "Parade on October 6, 1831 in St. Petersburg." The list of persons who were to be depicted in the picture was approved personally by Emperor Nicholas I. In the subsequently published list of characters from among the spectators, Zakharov appeared under the number 204. A fictional pastoral painting titled Empty Pasture in Afternoon accredited to Zakharov features prominently in Anthony Marra's book The Tsar of Love and Techno: Stories. Before the First Chechen War in Grozny worked the Chechen-Ingush Republican Museum of Fine Arts named after Pyotr Zakharov. In 2016 the name of Pyotr Zakharov was awarded to the Grozny children's art school No. 2. October 5, 2017 in Grozny opened a park named after Pyotr Zakharov.