Throughout history, there have been instances where prominent scientists became widely known not for their primary scientific achievements but for minor, sometimes outright trivial, associations. For example, Nikolai Przhevalsky would likely be surprised to learn that more than a century later, his name is most commonly linked to the wild Asian horse he discovered, rather than to his numerous geographic and natural history discoveries, let alone his life's work—exploring Central Asia.
A similar situation befell the Soviet metallurgist Vyacheslav Lipin.
In the early 20th century, as revolutionary sentiments and atheistic ideas gained traction, cremation emerged as an ideologically charged practice. Bolshevik leaders considered this method of burial the most ideologically appropriate and, in 1920, announced a contest in the journal Revolution and Church for the design of the country's first crematorium under the slogan, "The Crematorium – the Pulpit of Atheism." The new authorities poured tremendous effort into implementing this plan in Petrograd. Renowned artists were tasked with creating propaganda posters, poets wrote agitational verses, and talented architects and metallurgists were engaged in the project.
Ultimately, from 200 blueprints, constructivist Artemy Dzhogorov’s design was chosen, and Vyacheslav Lipin, then a professor at the Mining Institute, developed and built the regenerative furnace. While this project was a significant professional milestone for some participants, for Vyacheslav Nikolaevich, it was merely a minor episode in a career dedicated to metallurgy.
He began his engineering career back in 1881 when water wheels were still in operation in the Urals—the main black metal production region in Russia—and pig iron was primarily refined in puddling furnaces. By 1920, he had become one of the leading industrial figures, directly overseeing projects such as the creation of the first giants of Soviet industry—the Magnitogorsk and Kuznetsk plants. Thus, the "fiery cemetery" association is purely an ideological burden for Lipin, who devoted his entire life to science and industry.
The metallurgist was born in 1858 in Saint Petersburg. After graduating from the Mining Institute, the young man spent over a year abroad, where he was sent by the institute's administration to study metallurgical practices in Europe. Upon his return to Russia, Lipin fully immersed himself in industrial work.
His career advanced rapidly. In 1883, he joined the Nizhny Tagil factories of Demidov, where he organized the production of open-hearth steel. Two years later, as the manager of the Teplogorsky and Biser factories in the Lysva district, he participated in the construction of blast furnaces. Four years after that, the renowned Putilov Factory in Saint Petersburg—one of the oldest and largest metallurgical and mechanical engineering enterprises in the Russian Empire, producing everything from cranes to torpedo boats—invited him to the position of chief metallurgist and assistant director.
His high qualifications enabled him to initiate and lead strategically important research into the effects of various impurities—such as copper, chromium, titanium, and aluminum—on the properties of pig iron, iron, and steel. Through his studies, the scientist laid the foundation for the domestic metallurgy of alloyed specialty steels, particularly tungsten steel. His work fundamentally altered many views on the effects of certain additives on iron's properties. For instance, copper was previously considered "the most harmful impurity in iron," thought to severely degrade its quality, but Vyacheslav Nikolaevich was the first to prove that, up to a certain limit, it is actually beneficial. Today, he is referred to as "the founder of domestic high-quality steel production" and "the organizer of the first steel electric melting in our country" (at the Obukhov Plant).
On behalf of the Putilov Factory, he designed and built the Vidlica Pig Iron Plant in the Olonets Governorate. Unlike most state enterprises, which still relied on blast furnaces with outdated cold-air blowing technology, the furnaces at the Vidlica Plant featured hot air blasting. The machinery and air-blowing units were powered by steam engines.
«World-renowned figures such as Mikhail Pavlov (an academic and two-time Stalin Prize laureate – ed.) and Vladimir Grum-Grzhimailo (an inventor and author of the hydraulic theory for calculating flame furnaces – ed.) graduated from our institute just four years after Lipin. Naturally, all three should be regarded as part of a single powerful cohort. However, the first was the god of blast furnaces, the second—the god of flame furnaces. Lipin, on the other hand, mastered all processes of ferrous metallurgy equally and, like Zeus, was in our minds the god of gods. Tall, slender, impeccably composed, perfectly self-controlled, approachable and straightforward in demeanor, yet without the slightest hint of familiarity—this is how we knew Vyacheslav Nikolaevich», - wrote Naum Greiver, an alumnus and professor of the Mining Institute, in his memoirs.
Of course, Lipin’s alma mater could not overlook the accomplishments of its distinguished graduate. The institute invited him to take up teaching. He became an adjunct professor and later a full professor, heading the Department of Metallurgy. Lipin did not leave industrial work but managed to find time to prepare future specialists in parallel.
Vyacheslav Nikolaevich was the author of the first comprehensive and original course on metallurgy since Lomonosov, titled “The Metallurgy of Pig Iron, Iron, and Steel.” This three-volume seminal work quickly found its place not only in the portfolios of students but also on the desks of every metallurgical engineer.
For 35 years, Professor Lipin delivered his lectures on the same days and times—Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, from nine to eleven. Only frequent trips abroad, particularly to France for consultations on electric steelmaking, interrupted this established routine. Lipin’s office in the Voronikhin Building doubled as a personal lecture hall. Around a large table, 15–20 students typically gathered to learn from him.
His students went on to lead departments of metallurgy in specialized universities across Kyiv, Moscow, Kuznetsk, and Sverdlovsk. Another protégé, Anatoly Kuzmin, became the director of the Elektrostal plant, then the First Deputy Minister of Ferrous Metallurgy of the USSR, and eventually the Minister himself. Vvedenov, Kupriyanov, and Bodyagin served as chief metallurgists at three of Leningrad’s largest factories—Kirovsky, Bolshevik, and Izhorsky.
Among the institute's students and graduates, a story circulated about an incident during a thesis defense. Alexander German, a prominent scholar in mining mechanics and professor at the Mining Institute, asked a diploma candidate why their project featured an inclined blast furnace skip hoist instead of a vertical one.
The question was elementary, and the student could easily have provided an explanation. However, Lipin took offense—asking his students such trivial questions, in his view, displayed a lack of respect for their instructors. Without turning his head toward German, Lipin retorted into the air, "Metallurgists do not engage with people who suggest vertical lifts. One should know that vertical lifts require personnel on the charging platform. And in a place like Kerch, what would you have them do during a northeasterly storm—blow out the blast furnace?"
When posing his question, German had slightly risen from his chair and froze in that position. At the time, Alexander Petrovich was the deputy director and a formidable figure in general. Yet, he did not dare contradict Lipin, especially during a defense. Lipin's authority was truly boundless.
In 1926, with the active participation of Vyacheslav Nikolaevich, the world’s first design institute for the planning, reconstruction, and technical re-equipment of ferrous metallurgy enterprises—Gipromez—was established and began operations. Lipin became the head of the ferrous metallurgy department, a cornerstone division within the organization.
During the Civil War, the development of metallurgy was halted, leaving only a handful of facilities operational. It wasn’t until 1926 that the production level of 1913—the peak pre-revolutionary steel output of 4.3 million tons—was regained. Lipin assembled a powerful team of colleagues and students at Gipromez, laying the foundation for the scientific design of Soviet ferrous metallurgy enterprises. Under his leadership, the restoration of metallurgical plants in southern Russia and the Urals was undertaken, along with the creation of designs for the first industrial giants of Soviet industry—Magnitogorsk and Kuznetsk plants.
In 1927, Lipin became the director of the Mining Institute, and in 1928, he was elected a corresponding member of the USSR Academy of Sciences. Two years later, in 1930, Vyacheslav Nikolaevich passed away.