Novokuznetsk

City in the Kemerovo oblast (region) of southern Siberia, Russian Federation; population (2002) 565,700. Novokuznetsk is the principal industrial centre of the Kuznetsk Basin. One of the largest iron and steel works in the Russian Federation is located here. There are also ferro-alloy and aluminium plants, chemical, light, and food industries, and a major hydroelectric power station. Situated on the River Tom and served by several railway lines, including the South Siberian railway, the city is an important transportation centre.

Novokuznetsk was founded in 1617 as a Cossack fortress and garrison; an ironworks was built in 1771 and closed down in the 1860s. The industrial expansion of the city began in 1929, as part of the first Soviet Five-Year Plan.

The Kuznetsk Metallurgical Complex first began production here in 1932, using iron ore extracted from the Urals (at Magnitogorsk); this was later supplanted by local sources, such as that at Shoria. To increase capacity, a second major iron and steel works, the West Siberian Metallurgical Plant, was later constructed outside the city. This steel mill uses coke from the Kuzbas (Kuznetsk Basin) and agglomerate caked from the iron-ore concentrates from the Korshunov plant.