Current Changes on the Industrial Map of Russia

Abstract

The study is based on an inventory of new industrial construction projects (more than 1000 objects were taken into account), based on materials from business journalism and regional, industrial, and corporate Internet sites, as well as data from individual researchers and the author’s field surveys in a number of regions in Russia. Changes in the geography of industrial sectors related to new industrial construction in Russia in the post-Soviet period are revealed. The features of the territorial structure of modern industry, manifestations of its inertia and dynamism, primitivization and growth of volatility, increased specialization, and strengthening of the complexity of territorial units are considered. The influence of foreign economic conditions on the spatial structuring of Russian industry has grown. The extractive industry is drawing on the deposits of resources that are in demand on the world market, and the exploitation of resources for domestic consumption has been reduced. Extraction of mineral resources is moving into increasingly remote and environmentally sensitive areas with more severe natural conditions. The new manufacturing reveals two vectors of preferential orientation: the capital and the seaside, primarily towards the Baltic Sea coast and Azov and Black seas’ coasts. The new industrial constructions are mainly located outside the regional centers, with a significant number located in small towns. A new phenomenon, village industry, has appeared on the industrial map of Russia.