On Friday, April 9, it became known that in the museum of Novocherkassk Michael Archangel Church an exposition dedicated to the history of the Yuganov family, one of the most glorious Cossack dynasties, was opened. The exhibition is called “ The Yuganovs. For Faith, Tsar and Fatherland, To those who loved truth, piety, and faithfulness.”
The ancestor of the dynasty is Archpriest Andrew Yuganov (1791 - 1872), rector of St. Michael the Archangel Church. One of his sons, Major General Fedor Yuganov took part in the Crimean War of 1853-1856. Another one, Nikolai Yuganov, was the first certified mining engineer from the Don Cossacks. In 1852 he became one of the 24 graduates of the Institute of the Corps of Mining Engineers (today - St. Petersburg Mining University).
Nikolai Yuganov contributed greatly to the development of coal mining on the Don, particularly to the study of the anthracite deposits on the Grushevka River (near the present town of Shakhty). After graduating from the Institute with the rank of lieutenant, he worked at the Lugansk Foundry. In need of a stable supply of raw materials, the plant was actively exploring anthracite reserves in the lands of the Don Army.
Soon Nikolai Yuganov was appointed head of the mining affairs in the Land Expedition of the Voivodeship Board. Under his leadership, serious changes in the normative regulation of usage of subsurface resources in the south of Russia were introduced. The result of this tremendous work was the adoption in 1864 of the “Regulations on mining in the Land of the Don Army," which removed restrictions on the industrial development of coal deposits.
Modern technology for that time came to the region. Productivity and mining volumes increased sharply. If in 1845, about 19 thousand tons of coal were produced; by the beginning of the 1860s, the total output was brought up to 80 thousand tons. It was at that time a railroad was built to the Aksaiskaya station, i.e. the products of coal mining got a transport outlet to the Don River, and hence to the central part of the country. The Grushev mines laid the foundation for the industrial potential of the entire Eastern Donbas region.
“The new exposition will also be of interest to Novocherkassk polytechnics, especially students of the Department of Geology, Mining, and Oil and Gas. Nikolai Yuganov stood at the origins of the development of coal deposits of the Donbas, and in his work as a mining engineer, he showed a true statesmanlike approach. This history allows us to pay attention once again to how the birth of the mining industry in the Rostov region," said at the exposition opening Yury Razorenov, Rector of M.I. Platov South Russian State Polytechnic University (NPI).
To recall, in January of this year scientists of this university presented an innovative plastic from unused by-products of agro-industrial production they had developed. It can quickly decompose under the influence of sunlight. The sphere of application can be the production of packaging materials, antibacterial medical dressings, and high-performance adhesives.
