Production of Ural state-owned factories: product range and logistics (1702–1719)

This article examines the product range, shipment volumes, and distribution routes of Ural state-owned metallurgical factories from 1702–1719. Based on published materials and archival documents, the quantitative indicators of deliveries from the Kamensk and Uktusk factories are clarified, and the ratio of military, metallurgical, and household products is analyzed. Particular attention is paid to the problem of distinguishing data on production, distribution, transportation, and actual delivery of products to consumers. It is shown that the military-artillery specialization of the first state-owned factories was limited and largely experimental. After 1705, the production of iron, ammunition, tools, and household goods became of primary importance. Differences in the functional specialization of the Kamensk and Uktus plants are identified, as well as the broad geography of their deliveries, encompassing Moscow, Arkhangelsk, and cities in Siberia. The organization of the first water caravan of 1703 is examined, demonstrating the role of the Chusovaya–Kama–Volga–Oka–Moscow river route in the formation of a sustainable system for the interregional export of Ural metals. It is concluded that the Ural state-owned plants became an important element of the emerging national industrial infrastructure and one of the instruments of Peter the Great's modernization.