Saint Petersburg Mining University of Empress Catherine II, Saint Petersburg, Russia

А. B. Мokeev, Associate Professor of the Department of History, Candidate of Historical Sciences, e-mail: Mokeev_ab@pers.spmi.ru

The St. Petersburg Mining University of Empress Catherine II is the first higher technical educational institution in Russia. From the moment of its foundation to the present day, highly qualified mining engineers have been trained here, who protect the national interests of the country helping to develop the domestic industry. The scientific school of mellurgists occupies an important place at the Mining University. Professor Tikhon Aleksandrovich Obolduev (1873–1942), a graduate of the Mining Institute, is worth highlighting in the gallery of portraits of outstanding metallurgical miners of the 20th century. His years of scientific and pedagogical work deserve our sincere respect. Tikhon Aleksandrovich is not only the author of many works on non-ferrous metallurgy, but also an active participant in the creation of a number of scientific research institutes of the USSR, such as Giproaluminium, VAMI (All-Union Aluminium-Magnesium Institute), Giprotsvetmet and many others. By creating a scientific and technological base for future enterprises, the research institutes have contributed to the development of the domestic mining and metallurgical industry, which will become an important part of the country's industrialization process. Based on archival materials, as well as sources of private origin, the biography of the talented metallurgical engineer Tikhon Aleksandrovich Obolduev has been comprehensively studied. The following issues are considered: T. A. Obolduev's studies at the Mining Institute, the young engineer's first labor and scientific achievements; his development as a scientist and lecturer at the university; his contribution to the development of industry and the country's defense capability during the Soviet industrialization; the fate of the scientist during the Great Patriotic War.

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