Moscow Region
The Moscow Region, a constituent entity of the Russian Federation, is part of the Central Federal District.
Location
The Moscow Region is located in the centre of European Russia in the basin of the Volga, Oka, Klyazma and Moskva rivers. It borders on the Tver Region in the north and northwest, the Smolensk Region in the west, the Yaroslavl Region in the northeast, the Vladimir Region in the east, the Ryazan Region in the southeast, the Tula Region in the south, and the Kaluga Region in the southwest. The peculiarity of the Moscow Region is that Moscow, Russia's capital, is situated within its territory. The Moscow Region comprises 39 districts and 74 towns, of which 54 are subordinate to the administration of the Moscow Region.
Area
47.000 square kilometres.
Main cities
Podolsk, Balashikha, Korolyov, Mytishchi, Lyubertsy, Kolomna, Elektrostal, Khimki, Odintsovo, Serpukhov.
Climate
Temperate zone, continental climate. Average temperature in January: minus 8 degrees centigrade. Average temperature in July: plus 19 degrees centigrade.
Population
The Region's population is 1,208,200, including 550,500 men and 657,700 women. Seventy percent of the population is urban, and 30% rural. The economically active population is 713,300, including 532,700 employed in the economy. Unemployment, calculated using ILO methods, is 8.3%. Senior citizens and minors account for 33% and 7.9% of the population, respectively. Population growth rate is negative - minus 12.9 per every 1,000. The migration influx rate is 95.5 per every 10,000 per year.
Natural resources
The Moscow Region has the following natural resources: raw materials used for cement production, fireclay, natural facing stone, fusible and refractory clay, phosphorous, dolomite, raw materials used for mineral cotton production, freestones, carbonate rocks, rocks used to lime acid soils, ceramic clay, sand-and-gravel materials, quartz sand, sand for construction works and silicate production, fresh underground water springs and mineral water underground springs, therapeutic muds, peat and sapropel.
Economic development
The Moscow Region's leading industries are mechanical engineering, metalworking, the food industry, the chemical industry, the petrochemical industry, the construction materials industry, the timber industry, the woodworking industry (furniture production). Together, they account for 76% of the region's industrial output. The Moscow Region has a high tourist potential.
The energy industry
The energy industry accounts for 4% of the Region's industrial output. The largest power plants are the Kashirskaya Regional Power Plant 4 (OGK-1) (1580MW), Shaturskaya Regional Power Plant 5 (OGK-4) (1100MW), Heat and Power Plant 22 (1300MW), Heat and Power Plant 23 (1410MW), Heat and Power Plant 25 (1370MW), Heat and Power Plant 26 (1410MW) and Regional Power Plant 3 (610.3MW). The aggregate capacity of all the region's power plants amounts to 14, 844.69MW. The largest company of the industry is Mosenergo.
The chemical and petrochemical industry
The two industries account for slightly over 8% of the Region's industrial output, mostly turning out mineral fertilizers, plant protection items, plastics, synthetics, lacquers and paints.
The engineering sector
The industry accounts for some 27% of the Region's industrial output. The Region's plants manufacture a great variety of engineering goods - machines and equipment for the iron industry, the energy industry, the building industry, transport, agriculture, the light industry (Mytishchi, Lyubertsy, Podolsk, Kolomna, Dmitrov, Yegoryevsk); radio electronic equipment, rocket and space equipment (Korolyov, Reutov); equipment for nuclear power plants (Elektrostal, Podolsk). There are also optical and mechanical production facilities in Krasnogorsk, Sergiyev Posad and Lytkarino.
The iron industry
The industry accounts for over 3% of the Region's industrial output. One of the largest enterprises is the Elektrostal Metallurgical Plant, a leader in high-quality metallurgy. It supplies both domestic and foreign markets with a range of high-quality metal production items, including forging, washers, hot-rolled and forged rods, press-items, cold drawn wire, hot-rolled plates, and cold-rolled strip.
The timber and woodworking industry
The industry accounts for over 6% of the Region's industrial output. The largest enterprises are those manufacturing furniture: the Shatura Furniture Company, and the Electrogorskmebel Corporation.
The food industry
The industry accounts for over 27% of the Region's industrial output. The leading businesses are Mars, the Klinsky Meat-Packing Plant, Klinsky Brewery, Istra-Khleboprodukt bakery, Kolomensky Meat-Packing Plant, Ramensky Meat-Packing Plant, Sergiyevo-Posadsky Meat-Packing Plant, Podolsky Experimental Flour Mill, and Noginsky Bread-Baking Factory.
Agriculture
The Region's leading agricultural sector is livestock breeding (mainly dairy cattle husbandry and dual purpose cattle breeding, as well as pig breeding), and poultry farming. Production of fodder features prominently in the crop-growing sector. Also, grain farming accounts for a quarter of the sown area in the south of the Region, potato and vegetable growing in the open and in greenhouses (mainly in the areas in close proximity to Moscow) develop quite successfully. Average crop capacity is 15 centners per hectare for grains, 121 centners per hectare for potato, and 181 centners per hectare for vegetables.
The transport sector
The transport sector is one of the Region's key economic branches. Rail transport provides long-distance and short-distance passenger services, suburban commuter services (up to 70% of all transportation links between Moscow and the Moscow Region), and up to 40% of local cargo traffic. The transportation system comprises 11 basic line directions.
Water transport
The Moscow water junction includes two riverside stations (the Northern and the Southern), three river ports (the Northern, the Southern and the Western), and 23 moorings.
Automobile transport
Automobile transport accounts for the major share of overall traffic volume. In total, the length of motor roads is 12,320 kilometers, 8,820 kilometers of which are federal highways.
Air transport
There are four airports in the Region (three of which are international) and several departmental airports.
Foreign economic activity
The Region's main exports include mechanical engineering goods, ferrous and non-ferrous metals, petrochemical industry products, mineral fertilizers and cement. The main export partners are China, Ukraine, India, US, Germany. The key imports include mechanical engineering goods, food and petrochemical products. The main import partners are Germany, Italy, Poland, Ukraine and China.
Small businesses
The number of small businesses in the Moscow Region exceeds 47,000. They are mainly engaged in trade and commerce, construction, and IT sector. However, small businesses are barely represented in the crucial production branches (transport, communications and agriculture). Small businesses are also inconspicuous in the social sphere and public services.
Regional problems and prospects
Developing and optimizing the Region's transport infrastructure is one of the most promising areas. The Moscow Region's transport and logistics system should sustainably develop in two basic directions: expanding transit capabilities, and providing the growing internal production and consumption with high-quality logistics services. The following branches are most attractive for investors: the food and processing industry, construction materials production, logistics, road building and relevant infrastructure, as well as tourism infrastructure.
Acting Governor of the Moscow Region Andrei Vorobyov.
The Speaker of the Moscow Region Duma (Legislature) is Valery Aksakov.
