The portrait by an unknown artist depicts a hereditary honorary citizen of Tyumen, merchant of the first guild, Ivan Ikonnikov, in a provincial uniform made of dark green cloth with golden embroidery.
The sword indicates the belonging of the depicted to the merchant’s guild. On the neck of Ikonnikov, there is a gold medal “For Diligence” on the Vladimir ribbon with a bas-relief of Emperor Alexander II. The merchant was awarded this medal in 1856 — 1857 for the fact that he had built barracks for 90 people in Tyumen for the disabled military team at his own expense. The team was in charge of guarding and escorting criminals.
The second, lower medal is also very similar to the award “For Diligence”, but it is depicted without the ribbon. Researchers have not been able to find archival documents confirming the second award of Ikonnikov.
On the right side of the uniform there is a dark bronze medal “In memory of the Eastern War of 1853–1856” with the Anna ribbon. Ikonnikov received it for large contributions to the Russian army and militia made three times during the Crimean War.
Two gold rings and two class rings adorn the hands of the merchant. Ikonnikov received the diamond class ring as a gift from crown prince Alexander Nikolayevich. The future emperor Alexander II twice stayed overnight at the house of Ikonnikov during his trip to Russia in 1837. The gold rings testify that Ikonnikov was married twice. His first wife Anna died in 1849 and after some time the merchant married a merchant widow Evdokia Karmacheva. Children of both marriages died in infancy. Ikonnikov raised his adopted daughter Anna.
Ivan Ikonnikov traded in fish and leather goods and was the owner of a fat-melting factory. In different years, he was in public service, occupied public posts: a municipal councilor of the city court, a verbal and city judge, from 1836 to 1839, he was an elected Tyumen mayor, and from 1844 to 1846, he was a member of the Temporary Committee for the Arrangement of the Tyumen Fair.
Ikonnikov paid much attention to charity. In addition to the barracks for the disabled military team, he also built a chapel of St. John Chrysostom and renovated the altar and iconostasis in the Church of the Sign, where he was an elder. In addition, the merchant donated a large sum for the construction of the city’s water supply system. With his assistance, the Ascension Parish School in Zarechnoye was built with an apartment for teachers, and funds were allocated for their salaries and the upkeep of the building.
