Russia in Global Affairs

Russia’s standing in the world is in great part contingent on its rich mineral resources. Successful participation in the international division of labor presupposes effective use of this advantage, although it should not be confined to this.

While in Soviet times there were reasons to speak of mineral extracting sectors – particularly oil and gas extraction – as a burden on the economy, analysts now tend to speak of the oil and gas sector as a locomotive promoting economic growth. This growth has been sound enough, which is made evident by the steady increase in the energy efficiency of the Russian economy.