In 1815, at the age of 21, Tereshchenko was drafted into the army and deployed to contest the Napoleonic
invasion of Russia, finally ending up in
Paris. His regiment was ordered to stay in apartments outside the French capital. For a few months, Tereshchenko and his fellow Cossacks lived near the town of
Beauvais, where the fertile soil of the Bree valley produced
beets just like those of his
Ukrainian homeland. Tereshchenko took advantage of his stay by studying
French. At this time, a blockade by the
United Kingdom hindered the delivery of
sugarcane from the Antilles to
France, so Napoleon began producing
sugar from beets as a workaround. Northern France, in particular, was a center of production. Tereshchenko became friends with a group of young scientists who had worked on producing sugar from beets at the University of
Beauvais under the leadership of Jean-Say Basta. Tereshchenko realized that if he could introduce sugar beet production in Ukraine, it might help reduce hunger in the region. In 1816, the
Grande Armée was finally defeated and Tereshchenko's regiment was sent home.
Birth of the Dynasty Shortly after arriving home, Tereshchenko met and proposed to Euphrosyne Gregorievna Steslyavskaya. They were married on January 15, 1819. Their first son, Nikola, was born on October 14, 1819. They had two more sons and all three eventually joined him in the family business. The Tereshchenkos utilized
trade credits, offering a good price to product manufacturers who came to sell at the local fair in exchange for deferred payment until the return of the convoy. Since these transactions required a high amount of trust, and since the Tereshchenkos were reputed to always keep their word, the surname Tereshchenko became known throughout the
Russian Empire as a synonym for "guarantor" among sellers and buyers.
Crimean War In 1853, the
Crimean War began.
Emperor Nikolai I was faced with maintaining the expedition corps of the Russian army in the difficult conditions of the
Crimean peninsula, which was in the hands of the
sultan. As he knew Tereshchenko to be an old soldier who was familiar with the area, the Tsar instructed
chumak Tereshchenko to supply the Crimean contingent of the Russian troops with bread and firewood. For three years, including during the difficult days of the
Siege of Sevastopol, Tereshchenko kept the supplies coming. ==Charity work==