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HISTORY
Russian metallurgists

Continuation
The cradle of metallography, an important
section of the science of metal, the Zlatoust
plant was the place where the work of another
outstanding metallurgist of the 19th century, the
Russian scientist Pavel Matveyevich Obukhov,
developed.
In 1845 Obukhov graduated from the
Corps of Mining Engineers with a large gold
medal and left St. Petersburg for the Urals,
the then center of the Russian metallurgical
industry. After working for several years at
the Serebryansky and Kushvinsky plants, the
young engineer was transferred in 1851 to the
Yugovsky plant. Here he begins his experiments
on the manufacture of cast steel.
The experiments, however, could not be
completed. The technical backwardness of the
plant prevented. Its equipment, once in the
18th century, was advanced, by the days of
Pavel Matveevich Obukhov (1820—1869)
Obukhov, by the middle of the 19th century,
remained almost unchanged.
The Yugovsky plant was no exception. By the time of Obukhov, the mining equipment of
the whole country had already been shackled for decades by the stupor into which the political
and economic backwardness of autocratic, feudal Russia had plunged it.
In the Urals, as well as a century ago, the main engine was a water wheel. Even in 1864
- a century after the great Polzunov waged a war with the "water leadership" - more than 9/10
of the capacity was produced by mills.
The Crimean War of 1854 - 1856 showed how hopelessly feudal Russia lagged behind
capitalist Europe. Neither the heroism of Russian soldiers and sailors, nor the talents of such
Russian military leaders as Nakhimov, saved the autocracy from defeat. Even during the war,
seeing the huge gaps in the supply of weapons to the fighting army, the ruling elite began to
stir. They decided to pay attention to the military industry.
Obukhov, who had already established himself as an excellent specialist, in 1854 was
transferred to the center of the mining district, to the Zlatoust plant, where the glorious Anosov
traditions were still alive. There Obukhov continued his experiments on cast steel. He set himself
a task of enormous importance - to find a recipe for making steel for gun barrels.
At that time, armies and fleets of the whole world were armed with bronze artillery. And
although the superiority of durable steel cannons was obvious, capable of taking large powder

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