In 1721, prospector Mikhailo Volkov was peacefully floating down the Tom River when he saw black smoke. The locals told him about a strange red hill that had been struck by lightning and had been burning ever since. And so Kuznetsk coal was discovered. The Red Hill Mine founded there in 1907 triggered the industrial development of the entire region…

All was quiet in Kuzbass until the Stock Corporation of Kuznetsk Coal Mines was founded in 1912. Its owners invited outstanding scientists, geologists, and engineers, attrackted foreign and Russian funds, and did their best to send the whole region into a happy and wealthy tomorrow. Who would have thought back in 1912 what the future held…

"Proletarians of the world, unite!" said Carl Marx. And so they did in 1920s in Kuzbass. The unique international experiment was blessed by Lenin himself . It was called Autonomous Industrial Colony Kuzbass and it welcomed hundreds of qualified specialists and industrial workers from all over the world…