Moscow’s economic potential

Moscow is one of Russia’s major industrial and economic centers, a metropolis with a broadly diversified economy in industrial terms.

Over the period of economic reforms, most of Moscow’s commercial, industrial and service companies were privatized, with the privatization process itself differing greatly from those in other regions with its more socially oriented approach. Retail and wholesale, as well as the tertiary industry, were given some powerful momentum at that time. Furthermore, Moscow worked itself into the center of Russia’s present-day monetary and financial system.

Meanwhile, Moscow was able to retain the bulk of its industrial enterprises, and the industry now generates a fifth of the total contributions to the city’s budget, and it produces over 11% of the total consumer goods in the country.

Machine building, metalworking and defense sectors, with their traditionally high potential for development in terms of science and technology, have so far remained the largest in Moscow’s manufacturing industry structure. Yet the output of the food and light industries has been claiming a steadily increasing share of Moscow’s total industrial production in the past years.

Moscow accommodates Russia’s main research centres and think tanks, and the research segment of the Moscow economy has enjoyed positive dynamics over the past few years. According to the Science and Industrial Policy Department, as of the end of 2010, over 1,500 research centres of various forms of ownership were up and running in Moscow, employing a total of 300,000 people in the segment. The Moscow City Government has been invariably focused on promoting science and developing and implementing cutting-edge technology, as it places high priority on the area in terms of the city’s further development.

The unprecedented construction boom in Moscow has been a result of the city’s flexible policy aimed at attracting private investors to various projects for the city’s benefit. Therefore, investors have been increasingly active in Moscow’s real estate sector, which in turn bolstered the development of the city’s construction companies.

Furthermore, located at the strategically important crossing of international transport corridors passing through Russia, Moscow is still a major transportation hub.

Motor vehicles have been gaining importance as a means of freight transportation in Russia, against a steadily rising demand for passenger transportation by road. With this in mind, the Moscow City Government has been taking action to perfect the city’s transportation infrastructure.

Moscow is the uncontested leader among Russia’s regions and republics and 30 of its major cities, leaving its closest rivals far behind in terms of economic diversity, flexibility and versatility. The city’s gross regional product per capita is twice that of the average in Russia.

Moscow is Russia’s largest research, industrial, educational and cultural centre.