Dubious claim
The claim that Russia invented the lightning rod is doubtful for two reasons. First, it is unverifiable that Nevyansk tower, built between 1725 and 1732 was intended for the specific purpose of being utilized a lightning rod. Whather it was used as a lightning rod, it remains unverifiable. Secondly, I probably would believe such a claim if there was a in fact citation referenced in this article that is written in the English language. All we are given is an inappropriate and unacceptable reference in the form of a web page written in Russian that to English speakers, is totally useless to verify such a claim. This is English Wikipedia, not Russian Wikipedia. And thirdly, by conducting my own research, there is a vast consensus by doing a search engine which shows that by far and large, Benjamin Franklin is attributed to inventing the lightning rod, regardless if others may have built a rod that was unintended for such a purpose. Because of this, I have added a tag to the "Russia" section of this article.