Документы жизни и деятельности семьи Нобель том 3 - Мелуа А.И
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The success of the Nobels oil business brought significant revenues to the Russian state. «The natural resources of Apsheron gave the country some 127 million rubles of revenue over 22 years. If we take into account that throughout that time oil production had greatly exceeded our enormous demands, and we sold the surplus to other states, not as crude oil but as ready petroleum products, then we must recognize that the country gained much more than that figure».
Growing amounts of recovered and processed oil gave a powerful impetus to the development of other industries in the country, such as shipbuilding and ship repair (since the demand for cheaper oil required construction of new tankers and added maintenance capacities), chemical industry, box-making and can-making. Even such a seemingly unimportant field as making tare for transportation and sale of kerosene acquired strategic significance for national development and helped improve the quality of life of all Russian people. «From Apsheron, various products used for lighting and heating spread across the country; in many places they had completely replaced analogous products: kerosene became a necessity even for the poorest families. Lighting increased work time and contributed to growing income, thus helping improve people’s welfare».
Speaking of great social significance of the Nobels for Russia, we cannot but mention their care for their employees. The Nobels provided their workers with housing, organized education for their children, created a system of health care establishments and opened savings accounts for them.
«On any of his enterprises, Ludwig Emmanuilovich sought to link the interests of all workers with those of the enterprise. The workers’ remuneration depended on the success of the enterprise as a whole. Thus creating solidarity between the owner and his employees, he helped the enterprise, and to some extent provided an ideal association between the capital and the workforce», the author of the article «Ludwig Nobel: In Memoriam» said.
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In 1880, Ludwig Nobel was commended by the August Patron of the Russian Technical Society, Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich, for his work and donations to schools of the Technical Society.
It was in front of members of the Russian Technical Society that Ludwig Nobel had first presented his views on expedient introduction of metric weights and measures in Russia. «The initiative was universally welcomed not only by the Company, but also by all agencies and scientists, who received the papers of the Technical Society prepared after the report by Ludwig Emmanuilovich. The project of introducing metric weights and measures in Russia was soon prepared and submitted to the Government.
The Nobels were aware that a radical reform of the whole state system of weights and measures was needed. Russia had joined several international agreements that required such a shift. In 1875 Russia, together with other 17 economically-developed countries, had signed the Metre Convention. It must be noted that the conclusion of the Convention had greatly contributed to the initiative to establish uniform metric standards for all countries, proposed by famous Russian physicist and electrical engineer, B.S. Jacobi. Jacobi also proposed making «standard prototypes» of metric measures of length, and developed galvanoplastic methods for that purpose.
However, the transfer to the metric system in Russia had to wait for quite a long time, and Ludwig Nobel died before it was implemented. The law «On Regulating Weights and Measures» allowed for optional use of the metric system in Russia only in 1899, due to tireless efforts of the great Russian scientist D.I. Mendeleev. The country officially switched to the metric system only in 1918 in accordance with the decree of the Soviet Government.
The idea of introducing the metric system in Russia was popularized by Dmitry Mendeleev’s Metering Station Network. The first metering station was opened in St. Petersburg on September 23 (September 10 Old Style), 1900. The appointed head of the station was D.B. Shostakovich, father of the great Russian composer, D.D. Shostakovich. Thus began the history of the organization, the direct heir and successor of which now is Federal State Institution Test-St. Petersburg. Measuring stations became cornerstones for the development and field testing of new metering techniques and methods, and schools for many future scientists and organizers of the Russian Metrological Service.
As of today, Federal State Institution Center for Testing and Certification - St. Petersburg (FSI Test-St. Petersburg) is the largest unit within the Federal Agency for Technical Regulations and Metrology (RosStandart). The Center represents RosStandart in St. Petersburg and Leningrad Region and provides public services in the field of metrology, standardization, testing and quality management to developers, manufacturers and consumers of various products.
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Laboratory of the Nobel Brothers Association in Baku
