The Kirov Plant Kirov Factory or Leningrad Kirov Plant (LKZ) (Russian: Кировский Завод, Kirovskiy Zavod) is a major Russian machine-building plant in St. Petersburg, Russia. It was established in 1789, then moved to its present site in 1801 as a foundry for cannon balls. In 1848 it was purchased by Putilov and named the Putilov Company; it initially produced rolling stock for railways. It boomed during the industrialization of the 1890s, with the work force quadrupling in a decade, reaching 12,400 in 1900. The factory traditionally produced goods for the Russian government and railway products accounted for more than half of its total output. Starting in 1900 it also produced artillery, eventually becoming a major supplier of it to the Imperial Russian Army alongside the state arsenals. By