The Petrovsky Plant is one of the oldest metallurgical industries in Siberia, which gave birth to the city of the same name (now Petrovsk-Zabaykalsky). It is known in history as the place of exile of the Decembrists. Unfortunately, he befell the fate of many illustrious enterprises - in 2002 the plant was declared bankrupt.
Birth
Under Catherine the Great, Russia quickly acquired new territories. Thousands of merchants, Cossacks, researchers and travelers explored the vast expanses of Siberia and the Far East. Settlements appeared, fortresses and trading posts were built. First of all, building materials and metal were required for the arrangement. Forests and stones were in abundance, but the simplest metal products had to be delivered thousands of kilometers away.
The merchant Butygin appealed to Catherine II with a request for the construction of an ironworks in the Trans-Baikal Territory. The Petrovsky Plant (as the Empress called it) began to be erected in 1788 by the efforts of exiles and recruits. Around the enterprise, the village of the same name arose, which grew over time to the size of the city.
The beginning of the way
November 29, 1790, after two years of construction, the Petrovsky Plant produced its first products. Ore was mined nearby, near the Balyagi River. Initially, only one blast furnace operated, its capacity was enough to cover the needs of a small population of neighboring regions. Production consisted of:
- Iron smelting, conversion sites.
- Forges.
- Anchor, carved, molding factories.
- Dams.
- Hospital, barracks, shop and other facilities.
The working staff consisted of 1300 people, many of whom were exiles. For their protection, more than 200 Cossacks and soldiers were kept.
The main products were cast iron, steel and products from them. In 1822, the plant expanded, the range increased due to sheet, strip and broadband iron. During this period, the first steam engine designed by Litvinov and Borzov in the history of the country's ferrous metallurgy was built at the enterprise (based on the works of Polzunov).
Decembrists
After an unsuccessful uprising, more than 70 Decembrists were exiled to the Petrovsky Plant, among them such well-known personalities as M.K. Kyukhelbeker, N.M. Muravyev, N.A. Bestuzhev, K.P. Repin and others. The wives of some officers also moved here.
However, the authorities did not allow the "troublemakers" to the factory, fearing their influence on the workers. The Decembrists mainly performed housework, dug bypass ditches, repaired roads, ground flour with manual millstones. At the insistence of the officers, they organized a “academy" in which they taught the local population literacy and social sciences. After 9 years of hard labor (1830-39), most of them were released on a free settlement.
The second half of the XIX century
By this time, the Petrovsky plant not only smelted metal, but also produced complex products and assemblies. Steam engines made at the enterprise were installed on steamboats plying the Shilka, Argun and Amur rivers .
By 1870, a welding furnace, rolling mills, a pudding and screaming factory appeared in production. There were a mechanical, foundry, blast furnace shop. After the abolition of serfdom, wage labor began to be used, which allowed to increase productivity.
At the end of the 19th century, it was decided to lay the Trans-Siberian Railway through this area. In 1897, the construction of the Petrovsky Zavod station began, and on January 6, 1900, the first train arrived here.
Twentieth century
Unfortunately for the local population, with the construction of the railway, cheaper metal poured into the region from the Urals. Iron smelting has become unprofitable. The economic crisis caused by the defeat in the Russo-Japanese War finally finished off the enterprise. In 1905, the work was almost discontinued, there were only small production: art casting, the manufacture of mechanical and forging products. In 1908, the merchants Rif and Polutov bought the plant, reconstructed and launched production. The main customer was the War Department.
After the revolution, despite the low profitability, the company continued to work. A molding hall and a power station were built. Since 1937, Chuglit (as the plant was called) exported significant volumes of products to Japan and China.
The Great Patriotic War contributed to the development of production. Located deep in the rear, the plant was a convenient base for building up metal smelting and manufacturing scarce products. During the war years, productivity more than doubled: from 27,600 tons of steel in 1940 to 66200 tons in 1945.
In the postwar years, production capacity was constantly expanding. The smelting of steel, cast iron, and the manufacture of rolled products increased. The total volume of production in 1960 was 10 times higher than in 1940.
Decline
By the 1970s, local stocks of raw materials were depleted. Ore and fuel had to be imported from afar, which led to higher prices for products. If in the Soviet period they put up with this in order to provide employment for the citizens of Petrovsk-Zabaykalsky, then after Russia gained independence, economic feasibility came to the fore.
If you look at the photo of the Petrovsky Plant from afar today, it seems that the metallurgical giant is about to straighten its shoulders, smoke pipes. Its bodies seem to be directed to the sky. But the reality is that the last heat was carried out in 2001. A year later, the company was declared bankrupt, production was stopped. Probably forever. Thus ended the 211-year history of one of the first-born of Russian metallurgy.