Chokhov, Andrei

(also Andrei Chekhov). Year of birth unknown; died between Jan. 23 and Dec. 8,1629. Russian maker of cannons and bells.

For more than 60 years, Chokhov worked at the Cannon Yard (Pushechnyi Dvor) in Moscow, where he made many heavy artillery pieces. More than 20 of these were mentioned in historical documents, including the Tsar Cannon (1576). Chokhov usually gave a name to each cannon, for example, Lisitsa (Vixen, 1575), Volk (Wolf, 1576), Inrog (Unicorn, 1577), Lev (Lion, 1590), Aspid (Asp, 1590), and Tsar Akhilles (King Achilles, 1617). Chokhov’s cannons were outstanding examples of artillery engineering. They were decorated with high relief, ornate floral ornamentation, and inscriptions in keeping with their names. Some of the sturdy weapons were used in the Northern War (1700–21). Of the 12 Chokhov cannons that have survived, seven are in Leningrad, at the Military History Museum of the Artillery and Engineer and Signal Corps, and three are in the Moscow Kremlin. Two others, the Volk models produced in 1576 and 1578, are housed in Gripsholm Castle, near Stockholm; they were brought to Sweden during the Livonian War. Tsar Peter I ordered that Chokhov’s cannons be preserved as historical monuments.

Chokhov also made bells, including the Reut (Howler, 1621–22), which weighed 2,000 poods (about 32 tons), for the Bell Tower of Ivan the Great. He taught his craft to many pupils.