[3][4] Together with his younger brother, Alexander, Ivan Tereshchenko studied at the Kreyman gymnasium in Moscow, after which he enrolled at the St. Vladimir Imperial University of Kiev, from where he graduated with a degree in law.

During his years of military service, he became close friends with Vasily Vereshchagin, the official artist of the Russian army.

The work depicted victorious Turkish soldiers removing the boots and uniforms from the corpses of Russian mercenaries who had fought on the side of Serbia, leaving the dead and wounded at the mercy of birds of prey.

This painting, exhibited in St. Petersburg, shocked Russian civilians and stirred up national pride, following which Emperor Alexander II of Russia declared war on the Ottoman Empire.

They are buried in the Tereshchenko family's estate, where an angel crafted in white marble watches over Olga's grave.