In the autumn of 1936, representatives of the Mykolaiv city committee began the reburial of the nobleman Mikhail Faleev from the Admiralty Cathedral. Upon opening the coffin, they discovered a decayed body, a medal on the chest, and a saber nearby. The award was removed, the tricorn hat was discarded, and a NKVD officer broke the banners. The Mykolaiv Bolsheviks likely knew that Faleev was one of the founders of the city, an outstanding hydrographer, and the organizer of the Dnipro-Black Sea flotilla, which distinguished itself during the capture of Ochakov. However, old heroes did not fit into the new system.

Mikhail Leontyevich Faleev came from a family of merchants from Kursk and started as a supplier of provisions for Potemkin's army, who paved the way for him in life. One day, Potemkin joked with Faleev, suggesting he clear the Dnipro rapids for transporting goods to Kherson. Faleev accepted the challenge and built a bypass canal with locks around the rapids. In 1783, the first barge with a load of iron reached Kherson from Bryansk, followed by ships with provisions. Catherine II, impressed by the successes, ordered the establishment of a pilot school.

Faleev's main life achievement was the founding of the city of Mykolaiv. During the active development of Russia's southern borders, he, as the head of the pilot school and a shipyard specialist, worked on the establishment of a strategic site. A small settlement grew around him, named in honor of the capture of the Turkish fortress Ochakov on the day of Saint Nicholas. Mikhail Leontyevich dedicated his life to the improvement of this settlement, turning it into a jewel by the Black Sea.