Russia's first aluminium plant is 70

On Tuesday the Volkhov aluminium plant marks its 70th birthday. On that day the works will melt a jubilee batch of Russian aluminium, the plant's press service told RIA Novosti. Ground for the plant was broken on the Zvanka railway station near the Volkhov hydropower station in July 1930. Two years later on May 14, 1932 the Volkhov aluminium plant produced the first Russian aluminium. Another two years later the Soviet Union fully discontinued the import of aluminium and by the start of the Great Patriotic War on Germany's Nazism in 1941-1945 the Soviet Union emerged among the world's largest producers of aluminium. In the late 90s the Volkhov aluminium plant was on the verge of bankruptcy. Today the works is resuming its lost positions on the aluminium market and is increasing production, said the press service. In 2001 the volume of production increased by 2.5 times in comparison with the 1998 level, reaching 21,600 tonnes.