THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE RUSSIAN IRON AND STEEL INDUSTRY

The original base of the Russian iron and steel industry was located near Tula which is situated in the Central Industrial region. The smelting of small deposits of local iron ore was begun with the utilization of charcoal made from the surrounding forests. A secondary region developed near Lake Onega in the northwestern section of Russia. The local availability of iron are and charcoal and a nearby market were major factors in the establishment of this early center of production. During the reign of Peter the Great in the early 18th century a considerably greater development of ferrous metallurgy took place in the Urals where there were rich deposits of iron are. Again the smelting of iron are was done with charcoal from local forests. The Urals quickly became the main metallurgical base of Russia and remained in that position for nearly two centuries until they were surpassed by the eastern Ukraine with the technological shift in iron smelting from charcoal to coke