St Petersburg
The city of St Petersburg is the capital of the Leningrad Region, which is part of the North-Western Federal District and the North-Western Economic Region.
Location
St Petersburg is located in the north-west of the European part of Russia, on the eastern tip of the Gulf of Finland, in the mouth of the Neva River and on islands in its delta.
Area
700 square kilometres.
Capital
651 kilometres.
Climate
The climate is transitional from maritime to continental. The average January temperature is -7 C, the average July temperature is +15 C.
Population
The city's population is 4,571,000 (2007). The population dynamics is negative: -7.3 per 1,000 inhabitants. The migration growth is positive: 35 per 10,000 of the local population.
Economic development
Along with Moscow, St Petersburg is a major economic, scientific and cultural centre of Russia. Among all the constituent entities of the Russian Federation its economy is second only to Moscow's. That contributes to the emergence of bifocal Russian space, which is a unique feature of the "northern capital". Its geographical location in the proximity of the most developed parts of Russia, on the one hand, and of the EU, on the other, has turned St Petersburg into a hub of Russian and international transportation. St Petersburg is the most developed part of the north-west, which spearheads its economy accounting for 60% of GRP and 55% of industrial output. The key sectors of St Petersburg's industry are engineering, metal working and the food industry, which account for about 70% of its output.
Energy industry
The city's energy supply system includes the generating capacity of the city thermal power plants, which are part of Lenenergo, small generators at individual industrial facilities, high-voltage transmission lines and transformer substations, which are parts of the Lenenergo system. The energy industry accounts for 12% of industrial output.
The chemical and petrochemical industry
That industry accounts for a little over 1% of the city's industrial output. The biggest companies are NPF Pigment (dyes and varnish industry), Krasny Treugolnik (rubber ware), Petrospirt (organic synthesis products) and Plastpolimer (plastics).
Engineering
Engineering accounts for over 33% of industrial output. The biggest engineering plants include: Izhorskiye Zavody (equipment for the nuclear industry, mining, the petrochemical industry and production of special steels and semi-processed goods from them; Leningradsky Metallichesky Zavod (one of Russia's largest producers of energy machineryб which designs, manufactures and operates steam, hydraulic and gas turbines of various sizes), Kirovsky Zavod (one of the largest producers of sanitary and heating equipment), Nevsky Zavod (electrical equipment for thermal, hydraulic and nuclear power plants as well as for industrial and agricultural enterprises), Elektrosila (electrical motors, hydrogenerators, turbogenerators, AC generators).
St Petersburg is also a ship-building centre. Its enterprises Baltiisky Zavod, Admiralteiskye Verfi, and Sudostroitelnaya Firma Almaz build various types of ships: nuclear-powered ice-breakers, tankers, refrigerators, air cushion vessels, racing and cruise yachts.
Forestry and woodworking industry
The industry accounts for slightly more than 2% of the total industrial output. The largest enterprises are: Ust-Izhorsky plywood factory, Lenraumamebel, Sevzapmebel, Svetoch and Parus.
Food industry
The food industry accounts for about 35% of the total output. The leading enterprises are: Krupskaya Confectionary Factory (confectionary, chocolate), Petmol (dairy products), Parnas-M (sausages, smoked foods, meat products), St Petersburg Piskarevsky factory (dairy products), Liviz (alcohol), Nevo-tabak (tobacco products, cigarettes), Petro (tobacco products), Baltika Brewery (alcoholic and soft drinks, beer, mineral water), Stepan Razin combine (brewery, soft drinks), and Vena (one of the leading premium beer producers in Russia).
Transport
St Petersburg is one of the largest transportation hubs in the country where 12 railways and 11 automobile roads converge. It has one of the biggest Russian international seaports and is the final point of the Volga-Baltic Waterway and home of one of the country's largest airports (Pulkovo).
Railway transport
Eighty-seven companies, the largest of which is Oktyabrskaya Railway, which carries about 16% of all passenger traffic in Russia and about 10% of all cargo traffic; more than 70% of this is export-import cargo.
Marine transport
The St Petersburg seaport is one of the largest in Russia linked by 18 regular lines with other ports. More than 400 companies and entrepreneurs working in the sphere of marine transport are registered in St Petersburg.
River transport
The North-Western Shipping Company carries cargo and passengers on the Volga-Baltic Waterway.
Automobile transport
The road transport services market in St Petersburg has about 18,000 businesses, of which 13% are large, operating more than 100 vehicles.
Air transport
More than 50 companies offering air transport services are registered in St Petersburg. Regular flights from St Petersburg are operated to 65 cities in Russia and the CIS, as well as 48 cities around the globe. AIRPORTS: Pulkovo-1 caters to national airlines and Pulkovo-2 to international airlines.
Foreign economic activity
The main commodities exported from the region are engineering products, ferrous and non-ferrous metals, timber and goods made from it, and petrochemical products. The main export destinations are China, Germany, Finland, the United States, Ukraine and Kazakhstan. The main imports into the region include: food and raw materials for food production, machines and equipment, and petrochemicals. The main importers into the region are Germany, Finland, the United States, Brazil, Italy and Ukraine.
Small businesses
There are 89,900 small businesses registered in the region, of which 11,100 are industrial companies, 10,100 construction companies and 45,800 are trade and public catering companies. The remaining businesses specialise in agriculture, transport, science and science service.
The governor is Georgy Poltavchenko
