OREANDA-NEWS. PAO Severstal, one of the world's leading vertically integrated steel and steel-related mining companies, opened a new Metallurgy Museum in Cherepovets. At the opening ceremony the ceremonial ribbon was cut by Alexey Mordashov, Chairman of the Board of directors of Severstal, Oleg Kuvshinnikov, Governor of Vologda region and Yuri Kuzin, Mayor of Cherepovets.

The Metallurgy Museum is a project led by Severstal and is the North-Western Region’s first cultural and educational center dedicated to the history of one of the driving industries of economy. The museum traces the history of metallurgy from the origins of iron craftwork, including in the Cherepovets region, to modern industry giants, such as the Cherepovets Steel Mill (part of the Severstal Russian Steel Division), which is one of the largest mills in Russia.

The new museum has been designed to attract visitors of all ages. The displays are both traditional and hi-tech, with interactive screens, electronic boards, audiovisual installations created from rare photo and video archives, documents and artifacts.

Alexey Mordashov said: “I am pleased that we are opening the Metallurgy Museum here in Cherepovets on the eve of our industry holiday and CherMK’s 60-year anniversary. This museum will play an important role in educating people more about our industry, its potential, its outlook, and opportunities. The museum also illustrates how today metallurgy is a modern, high-tech industry, and Severstal and CherMK are among the industry leaders.”  

On the eve of Metallurgists’ Day, the first stage of the project was completed: historic rooms were opened, including an exhibition dedicated to Cherepovets Steel Mill, which celebrates its 60th anniversary this year. This autumn, Severstal plans to start the second stage, which will focus on new technology in steelmaking.

In 2015, Severstal contributed around 150 million rubles to this project. The new generation interactive museum was also supported by the Russian Ministry of Culture (which provided a grant for engineering and transport infrastructure and exhibitions for the museum), as well as by the Government of the Vologda region, Cherepovets Mayor’s Office, Severstal’s  business partners, CherMK employees and city residents.