Nikita Demidov (full name Nikita Demidovich Antufiev), (5 April 1656 Tula – 28 November 1725 Tula) was a Russian

industrialist A business magnate, also known as an industrialist or tycoon, is a person who is a powerful entrepreneur and investor who controls, through personal enterprise ownership or a dominant shareholding position, a firm or industry whose goods or ser ...

who founded the Demidov industrial dynasty.

Peter I of Russia Peter I (, ; – ), better known as Peter the Great, was the Tsar of all Russia from 1682 and the first Emperor of all Russia from 1721 until his death in 1725. He reigned jointly with his half-brother Ivan V until 1696. From this year, ...

charged the enterprising blacksmith Nikita with casting cannon for his many military expeditions and he was ennobled with name ''Demidov'' for having strongly supported the tsar's activities. In 1699 he set up Nevyansk's first iron foundry and in 1725 discovered mines at Kolivan (Kolyban), whose exploitation enriched him. A museum is devoted to him in Tula.

Life

The founder of the Demidov family, he was the eldest son of Demid Grigorevich Antufiev (1624–1664), a free

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...

from Tula. Nikita began as a blacksmith himself and was put in charge of producing

musket A musket is a muzzle-loaded long gun that appeared as a smoothbore weapon in the early 16th century, at first as a heavier variant of the arquebus, capable of penetrating plate armour. By the mid-16th century, this type of musket gradually dis ...

s and

halberd A halberd (also called halbard, halbert or Swiss voulge), is a two-handed polearm that was in prominent use from the 13th to 16th centuries. The halberd consists of an axe blade topped with a spike mounted on a long shaft. It may have a hook or ...

s (of which he was the main supplier) for the

Russian Army The Russian Ground Forces (), also known as the Russian Army in English, are the Army, land forces of the Russian Armed Forces. The primary responsibilities of the Russian Ground Forces are the protection of the state borders, combat on land, ...

by Tsar

Peter the Great Peter I (, ; – ), better known as Peter the Great, was the Sovereign, Tsar and Grand Prince of all Russia, Tsar of all Russia from 1682 and the first Emperor of Russia, Emperor of all Russia from 1721 until his death in 1725. He reigned j ...

. Conceded many privileges, Nikita built one of Russia's first metallurgical factories in Tula between 1694 and 1696. This produced the first Russian iron to rival English- and Swedish-produced iron for quality. In 1699, Nikita built a new factory at

Yekaterinburg Yekaterinburg (, ; ), alternatively Romanization of Russian, romanized as Ekaterinburg and formerly known as Sverdlovsk ( ; 1924–1991), is a city and the administrative centre of Sverdlovsk Oblast and the Ural Federal District, Russia. The ci ...

. He then opened Siberia's first iron mine at Kolyban. In 1702 the Tsar granted him permission to change his name to Demidov and put a new foundry in the

Urals The Ural Mountains ( ),; , ; , or simply the Urals, are a mountain range in Eurasia that runs north–south mostly through Russia, from the coast of the Arctic Ocean to the river Ural (river), Ural and northwestern Kazakhstan.

under his command - it became Russia's first true armaments factory. Between 1716 and 1725 Nikita built four new metallurgical factories in the

. During Russia's

Great Northern War In the Great Northern War (1700–1721) a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern Europe, Northern, Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the ant ...

against Sweden (1700–1721), the Demidov factories became the main supplier to the Russian army, supplying cannons, pistols, swords and other munitions, producing them twice as fast and twice as cheaply as the competition and thus making a decisive contribution to the Russian victory. On 21 September he was

ennobled Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. Th ...

by Tsar Peter the Great in reward for his services. Nikita Demidov had three definitely-attested children (and a possible fourth) with his wife Evdokia Fedotovna Demidova (1660-1745): * Akinfiy Nikitich Demidov (1678–1745). Married firstly Avdotya Jevdokia Tarassovna Korobkova and married secondly Jevfemia Ivanovna Paltseva. He had five children. * Grigory Nikitich Demidov (1683-1728). Married firstly Anna Emelyanovna Ksenifontova and secondly Khristina Borisovna, had issue. * Nikita Nikitich Demidov (1688-1758). Married Anastasia Gerasimovna Pastukhova, had issue. * Anastasia Nikitichina Demidova

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Demidov 1656 births 1725 deaths 18th-century businesspeople from the Russian Empire Nikita People from Tula, Russia 17th-century Russian businesspeople