The Nikolsky glass factory in the Penza region was founded in 1764 by the landowner Bakhmetev by decree of Catherine II – “to make crystal and glassware for the most solid craftsmen …”.

From European countries, samples of products began to be imported here, on which local Bakhmetev masters should learn.

The first glass factory here was built by the landowner A.I. Bakhmetev in 1764. According to the location and by the name of the owners, the factory in the village of Nikolsky began to be called Nikolsko-Bakhmetevskaya.

the tireless activity of three generations of the Bakhmetevs, the perfection of products, the brilliantly executed orders ensured the success of the plant and the attention of the Imperial Court. After the death of the third owner – A.N. Bakhmetev, one of the great-nephews, Prince A.D., became the heir to the estates and the plant. Obolensky. The powerful base created by the Bakhmetevs allowed the new owner to successfully develop the crystal factory in Nikolskoye in the new market conditions at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. He seriously, enthusiastically and competently took up the affairs of the oldest glass factory in the empire.

Throughout the nineteenth century. The Nikolsko-Bakhmetevsky Plant participated in all domestic exhibitions, starting from the first in 1829, at which it was awarded a large gold medal.

Participation and victories in exhibitions gave the right to depict the State Russian Emblem on factory stamps.

At the International Industrial Exhibition in Paris in 1900. the plant was awarded the Big Gold Medal, and the master performers of the exhibition works received personalized bronze medals. The plant has always been proud of its craftsmen. In ancient times, the roots of the famous Nikolsky dynasties – Vertuzaevs, Kurtsaevs, Chistovs, Romadins, Kalagins, Makarovs, Kitaevs, Bloshkins, Powder, Solntsevs, etc.

In 1923, the Nikolsko-Bakhmetevsky plant of Prince A.D. Obolensky received a new name – “Red Giant” and, due to the difficult situation in the country, switched to the production of simple glass household utensils.

Production was stopped in 2008. In 2010, the Red Giant plant was sold out in parts, several years before its 250th anniversary.

Now there are six private glass enterprises operating on the territory of Nikolsk, which produce a wide range of crystal and glass products, which allows us to be confident in the further development of Russian glassmaking and the preservation of the traditions of the oldest masters.

In the Nikolsky Museum of Glass and Crystal, you can find out the names of famous local glassblowers. The plant has raised entire dynasties of outstanding glaziers.