Russia Industry Sectors

By: EconomyWatch Content   Date: 8 April 2010

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Russian industry sectors encompass a wide range of sectors, such as mining, energy, automotive, defense, manufacturing and communication. Moscow is the center for many manufacturing industries such as cars, steel and other heavy manufacturing industries. In 2010, Russia’s industrial production growth rate was estimated at 8.3%, having dropped 11% in 2009. At the start of 2011, the Russian economy was showing reasonable to strong resilience in all of its sectors.

Since 2000, Russia has initiated a policy of nationalization in order to prevent the collapse of key industries and protect its workers’ interest against foreign capital. Particularly in the energy sector, nationalization and the renegotiation of contracts with foreign firms were used to maximize profits to be made from the sharp rise in oil and natural gas prices, a major source of revenue for oil companies and the Russian government.

In mid 2010, Russian finance minister Aleksei Kudrin announced plans to partially privatize its major industries, a move that is in line with modernization plans promoted by President Dmitry Medvedev.


Key Russian Industries 

The oil sector has undergone substantial liberalization and is now primarily restructured and privately held. Unlike gas and electricity, the oil industry was broken up into a dozen companies as it was privatized and oil prices moved very swiftly to match world oil prices. Oil prices were phased out entirely in June 1996 but with oil production excise taxes increasing simultaneously.

Natural gas is the predominant fuel in Russia, accounting for more than half of the country’s domestic consumption. With 1.7 quadrillion cubic feet in proven gas reserves, Russian supplies are in abundance, allowing it to be the world’s largest gas exporter. However, with low investment in the gas industry, production levels are slowly declining.

Manufacturing is also a key industry in Russia, which is concentrated mostly in Moscow, St. Petersburg, the Urals and Western Siberia. Important manufacturing output includes electronics, robotics, automobiles, aircrafts and computers.


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