My Grandfather Iakov Chernikhov was born in a small Ukranian town of Pavlograd on the 30th of December in 1889. Iakov was one of 11 children in this hard working middle class family. As the story goes – his father fell in love and “stole” his future wife from a Jewish family.

At a very early age Iakov shown a great interest to art. He was only 13 years old when he enters a photographic studio where he works and studies for about 3 years .

In 1907 he decides to live the small town where he was born and head for Odessa. Iakov's application was accepted at Odessa College of Art. And he becomes a student for the next 7 years. This was a big step and decision for some one of his class and income. There were no any family funds available to support his studies. But his determination and passion for art and design helped him to manage his studies and at the same time earn his living. He was doing all sorts of different jobs – working as docks and cardboard factory worker, he was doing joinery and timber cutting. But some jobs did allow him to use his talent – various photographic jobs and sign writing and finally an assistant architect. He also started undertaking freelance teaching jobs in 1912 advertising himself in a newspaper. And as a result of his hard work and studies, Iakov contributed to the annual Exibition of South Russian Artist in Odessa (1912 – 1914). This was a successful finish of Ukranian period of his life which opened him new horizons to a successful career in art, design and architecture in Russia.

In 1914 my Grandfather's talent and ambitions lead him to Petrograd – the capital of Imperial Russia. He enters Imperial Academy of Arts and studies both Painting and Pedagogic. Whilst being a student he started teaching technical drawing, sketching and calligraphy in schools both Middle and Technical, in various areas of Petrograd.

But just Painting course was not enough for Iakov and in 1916 he entered an architecture department. In 1922 Iakov re entered Architecture Faculty after serving in military. Even there his talent was noticed and after a short period in infantry he was called to paint General's portraits. At the Architecture Faculty Iakov was studying under following professors : V. Beklemishev, D. Kardovsky, I. Fomin, and Academician of Architecture Leonty Benua. During his studies at Imperial Academy of Arts the Soviet Social Revolution took place in 1917. And he was graduated only in 1925 in already Soviet Russia.

Still even during such difficult and tense time he managed to take part in the annual Spring Exhibition of student work in Academy in 1915-1917 and also organised his first personal exhibition.

After being graduated at the Academy Iakov was pursuing his teaching career and in 1932 he becomes a professor at the Leningrad Institute of Communications.

At the same year he marries second time on the 13th of December his second wife – Ksenia Temnomerova. On the 13 th of November in 1933 she gives birth to their daughter Elena (Elena was born in 1933 and now lives and works in St Petersburg). Iakov already had a child – Vera (1917-1966), his daughter from his first marriage. Unfortunately Iakov and Ksenia's marriage could not last long. Ksenia's father was a former archbishop and one of the leaders of the opposition to soviet revolution on the South of Russia. Coming from such family she could not possibly match the requirements of a “good” soviet wife for a career seeking soviet citizen. Their marriage does not last longer than a year.

In 1926 Iakov organizes another personal exhibition in the Society of Artist-Architects in Leningrad. And his first book comes out in 1927 and organizes yet another one-man exhibition of his work in the Leningrad Society of Artist Architects in 1928.

He becomes a Chief Architect in a Design Bureau Of Chemical Industry in 1928 in Leningrad. And in 1936 he leaves Leningrad and gets a Professor position in a Faculty of Industrial Architecture at the Moscow Architectural Institute. At the same time he also becomes a head of the Department of Descriptive Geometry and Graphics at the Economics and Engineering Institute.

In Moscow he marries again to his third wife Sofia Izmailova in 1935. They have two sons together – Aleksey (1939-1995) and Dimitry (Dimitry was born in 1936 and now lives and works in Moscow).

In 1939, this time in Moscow, Iakov organises his personal exhibition “Palaces of Communizm” in the Union of Soviet Architects.

After the Second World War, In 1945 Iakov Chernikhov had become a head of the Department of Architecture at the Mossoviet Institute of Building.

My Grandfather died in Moscow after a stroke and long fight with cancer at the age of 62 on the 8 th of May in 1951 surrounded by his close family – his wife Sofia and his sons Dimitry and Aleksey.