Berezniki

Berezniki Nitrogen Fertilizer Plant

Main types of products:

sulphuric and nitric acid for the production of explosives

potassium and sodium nitrate for propellants and combustible mixtures

raw materials for the production of ammunition: catalysts, sodium nitrite, ammonium sulphate, oil of vitriol, hyposulphite, sulphur, methanol

Director of the Berezniki Nitrogen Fertilizer Plant from 1942-1946. V.S. Uvarov. 1970s

Director of the Berezniki Nitrogen Fertilizer Plant from 1942-1946. V.S. Uvarov. 1970s
The city of Berezniki during the Great Patriotic War (reference book). –Berezniki, 2015, p. 117

Chief engineer of the Berezniki Nitrogen Fertilizer Plant from 1941-1942. G.V. Mishenkov. 1940s

Chief engineer of the Berezniki Nitrogen Fertilizer Plant from 1941-1942. G.V. Mishenkov. 1940s.
The city of Berezniki during the Great Patriotic War (reference book). –Berezniki, 2015, p. 112

A.M. Kostyushev’ excerpt of the Stalin Task for the Front issued by the authorized Communist Party bureau of the Berezniki Nitrogen Fertilizer Plant

A.M. Kostyushev’ excerpt of the Stalin Task for the Front issued by the authorized Communist Party bureau of the Berezniki Nitrogen Fertilizer Plant. July 15, 1943
There was a People's War. Collection of documents and memoirs. - Berezniki, 2014, p. 108

A group of workers in the synthesis shop of the Berezniki Nitrogen Fertilizer Plant

A group of workers in the synthesis shop of the Berezniki Nitrogen Fertilizer Plant. Berezniki, Molotov region. 1945.
There was a People's War. Collection of documents and memoirs. - Berez-niki, 2014, p. 120

Berezniki Potash Combine

The plant was built in the City of Berezniki in 1929-1932. During the Great Patriotic War, the plant produced cobalt hydroxide, which was used in the manufacture of armored vehicles and artillery pieces; nitric acid, which was used in the manufacture of explosives; potassium and sodium nitrate, which was used in the production of gunpowder and combustible mixtures; oil of vitriol, synthetic ammonia and ammonium nitrate, which were also used for the production of ammunition. In total, in the period of 1941-1945, the Berezniki Nitrogen Fertilizer Plant supplied production sufficient for the manufacture of more than 30,000,000 artillery shells and more than 250,000 heavy air bombs.

In 1943, at the Berezniki Nitrogen Fertilizer Plant a fundraising campaign was held for the construction of aircraft of the Berezniki Nitrogenist aviation squadron, as a result of which 371,728 rubles were collected. For their successful work during the war, most of the employees of the Berezniki Nitrogen Fertilizer Plant were given state government awards.

The directors of the Berezniki Nitrogen Fertilizer Plant during World War II were Abram Lifshits and Vladimir Uvarov.

The chief engineers of the Berezniki Nitrogen Fertilizer Plant during the Great Patriotic War were Grigoriy Mishenkov and Abram Lifshits.

Personal Stories

The Story of Vassily Agafonov - a Welder at the Berezniki Nitrogen Fertilizer Plant

In 1942, Vassily Nikolayevich Agafonov, a welder at the Berezniki Nitrogen Fertilizer Plant, worked hard for the front, fulfilling all tasks, in spite of difficulties, fatigue, and lack of sleep. He seldom saw his wife and children, since he practically did not leave the workshop. After working one shift, he stayed up for the next one and only sometimes went to the adjacent room to sleep a little.

Once at 3 o'clock in the morning the sleeping Vassily was awakened by the workshop foreman and asked to urgently weld the weakened anchor pipes. This had to be done before six in the morning. Vassily Agafonov immediately got to work, knowing both the importance of the task and the complexity of the ceiling welding. He worked attentively and intensely, in a hurry, but tried to stay calm. The clock had not yet struck six when the work was done.

Vassily was a modest man, he did not like to talk about his achievements. For example, when he welded a container for another workshop, he humbly said that he had to "strain himself a little". Not many people knew that two days of continuous labor stood behind those words. The task was completed with high quality and on time, the production facility resumed its work immediately.

Agafonov's colleagues knew about the real heroism of the welder, about which he refused to talk. Vassily Nikolayevich accomplished his feat of labor while welding a live (superheated) steam collector at the Berezniki Heat and Power Station. Welding was carried out at a high temperature, in an atmosphere of noxious gas and coal dust. Agafonov covered his mouth with a gauze bandage and started to work. From the first hours, he had a headache, watery eyes, it was difficult to breathe, then a strong cough began. However, Vassily Nikolayevich continued his work. For almost a day he worked non-stop, got thinner, looked haggard and tired, but flatly refused the demands of his colleagues to leave his post. When the work was almost finished, Agafonov suddenly stopped the work himself. He went to the window, opened the collar of his overalls and removed the bandage from his face. It was soaked in blood. For half an hour, Agafonov stood at the window and breathed fresh air. Then he squeezed the bandage dry, put it on and returned to work.

As Vassily Nikolayevich later said, hatred of the atrocities of the Nazi invaders gave him strength in his hard work.

Zvezda newspaper. November 24, 1942, No. 279. "In a labour battle."

Plants of the Perm Region
 Solikamsk  Berezniki Kizel