Territorial development of Russia as a leading exporter in global raw materials markets

Abstract

The impact of Russia’s participation in global raw materials markets on its territorial development is considered. A review of a 400-year period is given. In the 17th century of critical importance for our country was export of furs; in the 18th century, ship commodities; in the 19th century, they also included export of grain and gold; in the 20th century, gold; and later, oil and gas. It is shown that successive waves of the Russian territory’s development and the country’s urbanization were connected with supplies of these commodities to world markets. Russia’s four largest Russia’s historico-geographical macroregions have been distinguished, where urbanization and the development of the territorial structures of the economy were in many respects conditioned by the participation in global raw materials markets in those centuries.