Alfons Koziełł-Poklewski

Facing discrimination against Polish people, around 1838 he decided to relocate to Siberia, Russian empire's "wild frontier", where there was less prejudice regarding one's origins.

In 1837, he received an award from the Russian Treasury Ministry, and from 1839 he worked in the administration of prince Pyotr Gorchakov.

He renovated the boat, and in 1846 launched the first regular shipping service in Western Siberia, on the rivers Ob and Irtysh (which would expand to number three steamboats and dozens of lesser vessels).

He invested in the construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway, built the first phosphorus factory in Russia, owned half of the glasswork production in Western Siberia, and in 1866, after completion of a steam-powered grain mill, he became a major player in the regional flour market.

[1][2] When he died in 1890, his business empire, then called Poklewski Brothers Trading House, was estimated to be worth four million rubles, with major investments in 17 cities and towns, employing over 4,500 people.