The renowned Russian engineer and metallurgist Pavel Matveevich Obukhov was born on October 30 (November 11) 1820 in Votkinsk, Vyatka province, where his father, a retired captain, owned an estate. The Obukhov family were hereditary Ural metallurgists. His grandfather, Fyodor Obukhov, worked as a blacksmith in the 1760s and amazed many specialists with his skill. Over time, he became a master without formal education. Fyodor's son, Matvey, also began his career at an ironworks and was appointed senior master due to his abilities. In 1822, Matvey Fyodorovich was sent to the Serebryansky foundry in the Goroblagodat mining district, where he gained fame as a remarkable self-taught mechanic, reconstructing the factory dam and water engines. For this work, Matvey Fyodorovich, lacking technical education, was promoted to mining engineer, and in 1835 became the manager of the Kushvinsky plant with the rank of major. He retired as a captain, overseeing the Votkinsk foundry.

His son Pavel showed exceptional abilities from childhood: he drew designs of dams, water engines, forges, and furnaces from the age of six. In 1832, at the age of 12, he entered the St. Petersburg Institute of Mining Engineers, graduating in 1843 with a large gold medal.

The young engineer began working at Ural plants, serving as a supervisor at the Serebryansky plant from 1844 to 1846. In 1846, he was sent on a business trip to Germany and Belgium to study mining and metallurgy, which he visited twice more in 1848 and 1857. Upon returning to St. Petersburg, P.M. Obukhov signed a contract with the Mining Engineers Corps to serve them for six years. Initially, he was sent to his plant, became the manager of the Kushvinsky plant in 1848, then the Yugovsky Metallurgical plant in 1851, and from 1854, the Zlatoust Arms Factory, attaining the rank of staff captain. While studying iron and copper production, P.M. Obukhov paid special attention to devices for steel and weapon production. At the Kushvinsky plant, Obukhov conceived the idea of creating cast steel. He gathered talented individuals around him, who were not just assistants but dedicated to the cause. Obukhov valued good Russian craftsmen, selecting those he had not encountered in Germany or Belgium.

During this time, the young talented engineer gained recognition in the capital. In 1854, Obukhov was transferred to the Zlatoust mining district as the manager of the arms factory, which produced cold weapons. He was tasked with mastering the production of firearms, which required smelting particularly strong grades of steel. Just three years later (1857), Pavel Obukhov received a patent for his invented method of mass production of high-quality crucible steel. The uniqueness of this method was the use of iron ore in the crucible process, allowing for steel of consistent composition. It became possible to cast barrels for rifles, and after successful tests, steel cannon barrels.

The production was state-owned and extremely important, with all news reported to the emperor. Alexander II personally ordered the allocation of funds for testing. In 1859, a steel cannon factory was built in Zlatoust under the guidance of P.M. Obukhov, where cannon steel was melted and blanks for barrels were cast. Steel cast cannons were being produced in Russia for the first time, previously made only in Germany, the famous Krupp cannons. The factory was named after Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolayevich, who facilitated its opening. The factory consisted of raw material, steelmaking, and drilling departments. The cast steel produced by P.M. Obukhov had excellent qualities. Contemporaries noted its extraordinary elasticity: swords made from this steel could be freely coiled into a ring without losing their straightness. This steel was used to make breastplates, blades, working tools, and castings for rifle barrels. In 1860, the factory began producing 4-pound steel cannons, which were tested in St. Petersburg. On the range, the weapons made from Krupp, English, and Obukhov steel were compared. No foreign cannon withstood more than two thousand shots, while the Obukhov one endured twice as many. From November 26, 1860, to March 8, 1861, the cannon produced 4017 shots. The success of the tests was colossal, and Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolayevich kissed the metallurgist on both cheeks.

The Zlatoust cannon surpassed the durability and strength of the weapons cast at the Krupp factory. Moreover, the cannons made from Obukhov steel were significantly cheaper for the treasury. Soon, Obukhov produced five grades of domestic steel, displacing expensive English steels. Tests proved that Obukhov steel surpassed both Krupp and English steel. For example, a plane made from Obukhov steel processed two thousand hides, while a plane made from English steel managed only eighty.

In the second half of the 19th century, the emergence of the Obukhov cannon revolutionized cannon production and placed Russia among the leading military powers. The famous cannon was left for eternal storage in the Artillery Museum in St. Petersburg. An inscription was engraved on the barrel: "Cast in 1860 at the Knyaze-Mikhaylovsk factory from Obukhov steel. Withstood over 4000 shots." Obukhov's cannons multiplied the glory of Russian artillery, which is still considered the best in the world. However, cannon production in Zlatoust did not receive proper development, as the production of steel weapons was deemed more convenient at the Perm plant and in St. Petersburg.

In 1862, at the World Exhibition in London, P.M. Obukhov's steel cannon, which had withstood over 4000 shots, received the highest praise and was awarded a gold medal.

In 1861, P.M. Obukhov was elected a corresponding member of the Scientific Artillery Committee of the Main Artillery Directorate, promoted to colonel, and appointed head of the Zlatoust mining district. From 1861 to 1863, he was the mining chief of all Zlatoust plants, and in 1863, he was sent to St. Petersburg to oversee the construction of a large steelmaking plant. The plant was founded on May 16, 1863, by Russian entrepreneurs P.M. Obukhov, N.I. Putilov, and merchant S.G. Kudryavtsev. During the same year, two stone buildings were erected, a building was adapted for finishing steel cannon blanks, mechanical machines were ordered, and preparations for crucibles for the first smelting began. Soon, Zlatoust masters arrived, and Putilov provided them with the best housing. On April 15 (27), 1864, the first steel casting was produced at the plant, and two weeks later, the factory was visited by the Sovereign, who observed the casting of a 96-pound steel blank. Until 1868, Pavel Obukhov led production at the plant, improving steel smelting methods. In the same year, he received the title of actual state councilor.

The work on building the plant and producing cannon steel required much effort from P.M. Obukhov. Due to declining health, Pavel Matveevich Obukhov was forced to leave work and retire. In the autumn of 1868, he went abroad for treatment, but it was too late, and he began to develop tuberculosis. Obukhov passed away on January 1 (13), 1869, at the age of 49 in the Bessarabian village of Pyatra. His body was transported to St. Petersburg and buried at the Nikolsky cemetery of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra.

The St. Petersburg steel plant founded by P.M. Obukhov was named Obukhovsky in his honor in 1869. From 1886, the plant became state-owned and passed into the possession of the Naval Ministry. It became one of the leading enterprises in Russia, producing steel, cannons, shells, and tools. In 1871, the Naval Ministry did not order a single steel barrel from Krupp; all cannons on Russian ships were exclusively of Russian production. In 1872, Obukhov's weapons were exhibited at the Polytechnic Exhibition in Moscow, and in 1873, at the World Exhibition in Vienna. By 1908, the Obukhov plant was manufacturing weapons of all calibers for the Naval and Military Ministries, turret installations, mine devices, torpedoes, gyroscopic instruments, optical sights, and armor. From its founding until July 1, 1912, the plant produced 13,203 artillery pieces. To this day, the Obukhov plant remains one of the largest enterprises in the country's defense complex.

Pavel Matveevich Obukhov, one of the most prominent figures in the history of domestic steelmaking, an engineer-metallurgist, founder of large-scale production of cast steel and steel cannon barrels in Russia, a scientist who discovered the method of producing high-quality steel. This became an important condition for the improvement of Russian artillery and ensured Russia's "steel independence" from Germany and England. P.M. Obukhov, a knight of the highest orders of the empire, an outstanding patriot, and a Russian master of steel weapons, created the most reliable steel cannons in the world.