Natural resources
Russia is extremely rich in natural resources; It has a fifth of the world’s proven gold deposits, around 18% of the world’s coal deposits (Kuznetsk coal basin, Pechora, Kansk-Achinsk, South Yakut coal basin, eastern Donets coal basin) and very large oil and natural gas deposits (Western Siberia, Volga-Ural oil region, North Caucasus, Komi Republic, offshore in the Barents Sea and off Sakhalin in the Sea of Okhotsk). Russia is the world’s second largest natural gas producer (production in 2016: 579.4 billion m 3, estimated reserves 32.3 trillion m 3[= around one fifth of world reserves]), oil production is the second highest in the world (production in 2016: 554.3 million t, estimated reserves 15.0 billion t [= 6.2% of world reserves]). Russia also ranks first in the world for diamond production (2015: 41.9 million carats); the most important production area is Yakutia. The deposits of non-ferrous ore and precious metal deposits such as copper, zinc, gold, silver, platinum, cobalt, mercury and uranium are to a large extent located in Siberia and the Far East, which are poorly developed in terms of settlement and infrastructure, which means that high investments are required for mining. Iron ore mining focuses on the Kursk and Belgorod areas in southwest Russia (Kursk Magnetic Anomaly), the Urals, the Schorijabergland, southern Yakutia, the Angara region as well as Karelia and the Kola peninsula.
The location of many deposits in the undeveloped expanses of the Far North or Siberia as well as the huge distances to the processing centers, which are mostly in the more densely populated central Russia, in the central Ural region or abroad, prove to be a major problem in the development and extraction of mineral resources. Large mining companies such as Gazprom (natural gas) or Norilsk Nikel (non-ferrous metals) make a substantial contribution to GDP.
Energy industry
Russia is the largest energy producer in Europe (2014: 1,056.8 billion kWh). The share of energy sources in exports reached 69.5% in 2014. About 67% of the electrical energy is generated from fossil fuels, 17% from nuclear power, 15% from hydropower (mainly on the Volga, Kama, Yenisei and Angara) and 1% from other energy sources (wind, solar energy).
Industry
Around 27% of all employees work in industry (including mining and construction); in 2017 they generated 30% of GDP. During the 1990s, industrial production fell by around 50%; The manufacturing industry was particularly affected by the decline (especially the science and technology-intensive sectors, e.g. electronics and automation technology, but also the textile industry). Since 1999 there has been gradual industrial growth, mainly due to increased production in the raw materials industry.
According to allcountrylist, the iron and steel industry is concentrated in the Urals, in Tula, Lipetsk, Kursk, Moscow, Cherepovets and in the Kuznetsk coal basin who have favourited non-ferrous ore smelting in the Urals, the Kola Peninsula, the North Caucasus, North Siberia and the Far East. Machine, plant, vehicle and device manufacturing companies are particularly located in the European part of the country (Moscow region, Volga region, northwest, Urals). Important locations for the chemical and oil processing industry are in the Central European and northwestern part of the country, in the Volga region and in the Urals; the wood industry is located in the northern and eastern regions, the textile industry is found particularly in the central and north-western European regions, the food industry mainly in the central European regions, in the northern Caucasus and in the south of western Siberia. In addition to the traditional main industrial locations around Moscow, Saint Petersburg, After 1945, Nizhny Novgorod and in the middle Urals developed increasingly the industrial centers in the Kuznetsk coal basin, in Siberia, in the Volga region around Kazan and Samara, in the Timan-Pechora basin and in the southern Urals around Orenburg. The largest cities (including Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, Nizhny Novgorod, Irkutsk, Izhevsk) were mostly important centers of the arms industry during the Soviet Union; Despite a strong decline, armaments still have a significant share in industrial production in the metalworking branches in many places. Technology- and research-intensive industries such as aerospace, nuclear technology, electronics and automation technology are often concentrated in highly specialized cities that were founded in Soviet times; especially many of these technology and science cities can be found in the Moscow region. In the Volga region, the Urals and Siberia, there are a number of highly specialized cities involved in the nuclear industry (including nuclear weapons development and production), most of which have a closed status.
Service sector
The service sector generates 66% of GDP (2017); Around two thirds of all employees work in it. In the big cities in particular, a differentiated, business and consumer-oriented service sector developed during the 1990s. Moscow is the leading national center of trade, finance and business; Business activities with an international orientation, more than 80% of Russian banking capital and around a third of Russian retail sales are concentrated in the capital.
