The medal on display in the Historical and Memorial Museum of the Demidovs was made at the Dugna plant, as evidenced by the inscription:“From the Dugna plant to the Krasilnikov brothers.”
The Dugna plant was first mentioned in 1689 in connection with the construction of an “iron foundry”. Nikita Demidov issued a request to rent this land from the stolnik (young nobles who brought dishes to the tsar’s table among other things) Ladyzhensky for 20 years for construction. Some sources suggest that in the early 1710s, Nikita Demidov and his middle son Grigory managed the company together. The factory where cast iron was smelted and iron was forged, became the place where young Demidov would gain a wealth of experience in managing a factory. Then, a few years after Commissar Demidov restored his presence in Tula, the Dugna plant was bought by Nikita Nikitich Demidov — the youngest son in the family. He rebuilt it on a new site, and thus, the Lower Dugna plant was born, which would soon become known as just the Dugna plant.
The Krasilnikovs are a family of Russian entrepreneurs who did weapon production and metal smelting. The Krasilnikovs came from Tula gunsmiths, they were part of the Demidovs’ inner circle, and took the example from them in business matters. The family has been known since the 17th century. From the 18th century, they were first mentioned as gunsmiths and later as metalworkers. The founder of the family is Mark Yevseyevich Krasilnikov. According to Igor Nikolaevich Yurkin, Mark Yevseyevich was indirectly related to Pyotr Lukyanovich Krasilnikov, whose great-grandfather is thought to be Evsey Krasilnikov. However, other researchers believe that the founder of the family was the builder of the Tula Arms Factory, Mark Vasilyevich Sidorov-Krasilnikov.
Mark Vasilyevich Sidorov-Krasilnikov was born in the late 17th century. He was taught to read and write. His father Vasily Andreyevich Sidorov was a former Tula citizen, who became a state blacksmith in 1705, a machine tool master in 1710, and received the status of chief broadsword master in 1711. His children — Semyon Markovich and Lukyan Markovich Krasilnikov — were in the arms trade. Lukyan Markovich served as a clerk for Akinfiy Nikitich Demidov, for quite a long time.
