Vasily Berkov

Vasily Ivanovich Berkov (Russian: Василий Иванович Берков) (Dutch: Wicher Berkhoff) (Vriezenveen, Netherlands, 21 August 1794 – Saint Petersburg, Russia, 5 April 1870) was a Russian shipbuilder and from 1829-1870 Director of the Admiralty Shipyard of Saint Petersburg, possibly in the rank of Counter-Admiral.According to  Polovtsov (1896-1918), Berkov was "Head of the City Wharfs in Saint Petersburg (начальник с.-петербургской городской верфи)". The biography ends in 1840. According to Janssen and Jonker (ca. 1955), Berkov was "Head of the Naval Wharfs of Saint Petersburg (Chef van de Marinewerven in Sint-Petersburg)" and obtained the "rank and/or title [both possible] of Admiral (titel van Admiraal)". Harmsen (1966), states that Berkov was "Head of the Naval Wharf of St. Petersburg (Chef van de Marinewerf te St. Petersburg)". Hosmar (1976), claims Berkov was "Head of the Naval Wharfs of Kronstadt (Chef der Marinewerven in Kroonstad)" and was addressed as "Admiral". Hosmar (1986), cites an undated letter in Dutch translation of Berkov to the Czar in which he refers to himself as “Vice-Admiral (Vice-Admiraal)”, a three star Admiral rank. According to Holtrop and Van Staalduine (2005), Death Registers, Berkov had at the time of his death the social class position of "Acting State Councilor (staatsraad in werkelijke dienst)". According to the Russian social class system (Табель о рангах) this is civilian rank class 4 (Действительный статский советник), of a total of fourteen. The corresponding Czarist Navy rank is Counter-Admiral (Контрадмирал), a one star Admiral rank. According to Berkov, in: EBE (2009), Berkov was "Head of the Office of the City Wharfs in Saint Petersburg (начальник конт. СПб. город. верфи)" until his retirement in 1859. According to Berkhof (2011), Berkov was until his death in 1870 "(Acting-)Director of the Admiralty Shipyard ((Waarnemend-) Directeur van de Admiraliteitsscheepswerf)". Berkov would have reached the civilian rank of Acting State Councilor in 1866. Berkhof states that (at the moment) no original source material available is which conclusively proves that Berkov held a Navy Admiral rank. According to Berkhof the title of Admiral should be considered as hearsay, based on the name of Admiralty Shipyard. Berkov deserves special credit for his translations of West-European literature on shipbuilding, into the Russian language. He was one of the so-called nl, a Dutch community in 18th and 19th century Saint Petersburg, most of whose members originated from (Berkov's native village) Vriezenveen.

Education
The son of carpenter Albert Berends Berkhoff and Berendina van den Bosch, Berkov left his native village 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 fellow villagers 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.

Career
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.

Translator
Berkov was highly regarded in shipbuilding circles for his translations of shipbuilding literature into the Russian language. He had a talent for languages and was fluent in English, German, French, Russian and Dutch. Many of his translated works were published under Russian State authority. He also compiled the first Russian text book on naval architecture, including a manual on the construction of yachts.

Personal
On May 13, 1870 Berkov married the Russian Alexandrine Wolkow (1804–after 1870), daughter of the Imperial Cup Bearer /Table Setter Ivan Prokoviev Wolkow and Nadeschda Wolkow. The Russian Orthodox marriage took place in the Saint Nicholas Naval Cathedral in Saint Petersburg. Six children are known from this marriage: Elena (*ca.1828), Nadezhda (*1834), Victor (*1837), Alexandra (*1840), Maria (*1842) and Alexander (*1844). In 1846 Berkov acquired the Russian nationality. The next year he was raised into the Russian hereditary peerage. Despite his career in Russian service, Berkov stayed in touch with the Dutch merchant community in Saint Petersburg. In later life he returned once more to his birthplace Vriezenveen, where even his own sister did not recognize him. After his death in 1870 he was buried in the Evangelical-Lutheran Volkovo Cemetery in Saint Petersburg. His grave can still be found there today. In 2007 the Municipality of Vriezenveen named in his honour a street after him.

Honours

 * Saint vladimir (bande).png Order of Saint Vladimir, 4th class (1834)
 * Order of Saint Stanislaus Ribbon.PNG Order of Saint Stanislaus, 2nd class (1836)
 * Order of Saint Anne Ribbon.PNG Order of Saint Anne, 2nd class with crown (1840)
 * Crimean War Medal (1853–56)