Rostov region
The Rostov region (Rostovskaya oblast) is a federal subject of Russia, which is located in the Southern Federal District. The region has land and water borders with the following regions: Donetsk and Lugansk Regions of Ukraine in the west and northwest (total length of the border is 660 kilometers), Voronezh and Volgograd Regions in the north and northeast, the Republic of Kalmykiya in the east and southeast, and Stavropol and Krasnodar Regions in the south. Rostov Region’s southwest section is washed by the Taganrog Bay of the Azov Sea, having the sea state border with Ukraine. The region stands out among other large territorial units of the Russian Federation due to its high scientific, industrial, resource and financial potential.
Overview
- The Rostov region was established on September 13, 1937.
- Region territory: 100.8 thousand km2
- Population: 4303.5 thousand people.
- Administrative center: Rostov-on-Don, which also became the administrative center of the Southern Federal District in 2002.
- Distance from Rostov-on-Don to Moscow: 1226 km
- Urban population: 66.7%
- Number of historical and architectural monuments: over 5,000
Time zone
The Rostov region is located in the Moscow Time Zone (MSK/MSD). UTC offset is +3:00 (MSK)/+4:00 (MSD).
Climate
TThe region enjoys a pleasant mildly continental climate. The average long-term temperature in January is -7°C, in July +23°C. The amount of sunlight is about 2050-2150 hours per year. The average annual precipitation is 424 mm. High temperatures in summer and a long growing period provide for higher than average harvests of wheat, melons and gourds, horticultural crops and grapes.
Natural resources
Fuel resources. Among the natural resources, the most important place is occupied by fuel resources. Almost the entire central portion of the region is rich in coal; coal resources are concentrated in 11 coal-mining areas. Due to high quality of the coal, the area’s most famous coal fields are in the Eastern Donbass. About 90% of the coal resources here are anthracites containing the best caloric value in the world.
A considerable part of the region is rich in oil and gas. The prospected gas resources are 36.85 billion cubic meters and the preliminarily estimated resource is 22.48 billion cubic meters. The same parameters for oil are 3.3 million and 2.3 million tons, respectively. There are oil fields in Neklinovsky and Tarasovsky districts. At the same time, the prospected resources of hydrocarbon materials are only 18.8%. Gas is mostly of methane composition, which determines its industrial value.
Chemical minerals. The region contains chemical minerals. The most valuable are phosphorites.
Certain peculiarities of the geological structure demonstrate the possibility of considerable expansion of industrially valuable mineral ore products. These peculiarities are as follows: the existing fields of non-ferrous metals (nickel, zirconium), which are not properly studied yet; indications and direct signs of the presence of noble metals; mercury; and diamonds.
Resources for construction industry. The following resources have a lot of industrial value: refractory clays and flux limestones. The Rostov region possesses unique reserves of non-ore materials used in the construction industry. There is a large field of carbonate strata whose reserve is 12 billion tons. The carbonate strata are the main components in cement production.
The region has 150 fields of different clays used for brick and tile production. One of the most famous is the bentonite clays, which can be used to produce facing tiles and brick, as well as in the food processing industry for refining vegetable oils and wines, and in the boring industry in the preparation of boring solutions.
The region has 17 active quarries of mortar sand. Silicate sands are used in glasswork.
Limestone is used for building lime production. Limestone and sandstone, which are concentrated in the Eastern Donbass area, are also used as building stones.
Water resources are estimated as 27.7 cubic kilometers of yearly water supply; only 2.7 cubic kilometers (10%) of them are formed within the region, and the remaining 25 cubic kilometers (90%) are supplied from outside areas. The Rostov region has 4,500 rivers, more than 250 lakes, three water reservoirs and a number of pools, and the Taganrog Bay of the Azov Sea.
The region possesses one of Europe’s greatest rivers, the Don, which is connected to the Volga by a canal, and forms a united transportation network throughout Russia’s European section. The main effluents of the Don (the Seversky Donets and the Manych) are navigable too.
A most important recreational resource of the region is formed by widespread mineral water and brine fields with specific components (bromine, iodine, boron, and sulfide hydrogen). There are 23 mineral water types found in the region.
Agricultural/climatic resources are characterized by a sufficient quantity of heat and insufficient humidity. This provides the required background for the successful development of different, highly productive agriculture branches.
The soils are the real treasure of the region. Black earths are the most widespread and the most fertile earths (64% of the territory). “Chestnut” earths occupy 21% and are mostly found in the more dry eastern areas.
Forestry. The overall area of the Rostov Region‘s forest resources amounts to 375.1 thousand hectares. These resources include widespread conservation areas and nature reserves that protect the nature of the Don region. Oaks (45%) and pines (21%) predominate among the forest trees.
The Don area offers great fishing possibilities mostly unavailable in other Russian regions. More than 90 kinds of fish inhabit open water basins (sturgeon, bream, carp, pike, perch, and the famous Don herring).
Economy
A very favorable geographical position in the south of Russia, between the European part of the CIS and the Caucasus Mountains, has encouraged the dynamic development of the Rostov Region. The abundance of also has played an important role in the region’s economic advancement.
Rating agency Moody's Interfax Rating Agency in 2006 has appropriated the Rostov region a credit rating on a national scale at level Aa2.ru. The appropriated rating means, that the Rostov region concerns to a category of borrowers with very high credit status in relation to other emitters in the country.
The greatest share belongs to machine-building, food, ferrous and non-ferrous metals and the power generation industries.
Investment climate
- The Rostov region has several competitive advantages, which create favorable conditions for attracting investment and constant development. The main advantages are:
- its favorable geographical position, which gives the region the status of being the gateway of Russia to the countries of the Black Sea area, the Mediterranean and the Caspian region;
- the great geopolitical importance of the region for the whole of Russia;
- the well-developed transportation infrastructure, represented by the railroad and the motorways of federal importance, sea and river ports and the international airport in Rostov-on-Don;
- favorable and abundant natural resources in the region (moderate continental climate; chernozem comprising 65% of the soil resources)
- well-developed production industry, led by machine building;
- a rich raw materials base for the processing industry;
- a wide variety of raw materials and mineral resources;
- the existence of a highly-qualified and active workforce;
- the dynamic formation of a market institutions infrastructure (banks, insurance firms, investment companies, leasing organizations, etc.);
- the existence of a good legislative basis that contributes to the investment appeal of the region;
- high consumer demand;
- stable social and political situation.
The basic branches and the major products
Machine-building and metal-working manufacturing. Regional enterprises deliver 100% of the line electric locomotives and steam boilers, and 75% of the cereal combines produced in the country. The heavy helicopter industry and the production of ship navigational systems occupy leading places in Russia. The region’s production share of facilities for cultivators is nearly 50%; of steel conduits, 15%; and of ferrous metals produced in Russia 16.5%. Automobile construction continues to developing, and is the newest machine-building industry for the region (JSC “Rostselmash”, JSC “Taganrogskiy Combainoviy Zavod” and other).
Metal manufacturing. Enterprises there produce steel, rolled iron and wire, well tubes, water and gas pipes, electrodes for aluminium industry, profiles and rolled aluminium. Nearly 20% of the Russian rolled aluminium market is the result of products from JSC “Belokalitvenskoe metallurgicheskoe proizvodstvennoe obiedinenie“– the largest enterprise of nonferrous metal manufacturing. One-third of the products are exported.
Power engineering industry and engineering tools are represented by JSC “Atommash“ and “Krasniy kotelshik,“ which supply boiler equipment and items for heat-powered engineering to 223 countries in the world. Other important companies in this sector are “Donpressmash“, Taganrog plant “Pressmash“, Azov plant “KPA“, and “Desayatiy podshipnikoviy zavod“. JSC RVPK “Rostvertol” specializes in the production of heavy helicopters Mi-26 and Mi-26T.
Coal-mining, Natural gas and Petroleum industries. The fields are quite close to the ports of the Black and Azov Seas and the territories of other districts of the Southern Federal District. All this predetermines the role of the industrial complex in the region, one of the main suppliers of energy resources for the area and the whole European part of Russia.
Chemical industry. The most developed sectors of the chemical industry are methanol production on a new technological basis in JSC “NZSP“; chemical fibers and threads in JSC “Kamenskvolokno“; production of modern road facilities construction in JSC “Darus“; and coating composition in JSC “Empils“.
Timber industry is represented by the timber-processing enterprises (forestries), furniture factories and enterprises of the paper industry. The leading place in volume of manufacturing production in the region is held by the part of the timber industry that is involved in woodworking and furniture manufacturing.
Light industry is represented by such enterprises as CJSC “Gloria Jeans Corporation” (the production of clothes for children and teenagers), OJSC “Donetskaya Manufaktura M” (the production of terrycloth and goods made from it), CJSC “Don-TEX” (the production of cotton yarn, mixed yarn, fabric and ready-made garments), CJSC “Donobuv” (the production of men’s shoes), CJSC “Elegant” (the production of coats for women) and OJSC “Kolfa” (the production of hosiery, including children’s socks and knitted underwear).
Food industry takes second place in the volume of production output in the Rostov region. It is represented by a wide network of enterprises that are engaged in producing and processing meat, fish, dairy products, oil, wine, beer, Champaign, soft drinks, bakery goods, pasta, canned fruit and vegetables, and tobacco products.
- The following companies also belong to the leading enterprises in the region:
- “Baltika-Rostov“ and “Moskva-Efes“ – the largest producers of beer in the Region;
- “Donskaya Konditerskaya Fabrika“ (Don Confectionry Factory);
- “Donskoy Tabak“– a large cigarette producer (more than 100 years old); and
- “Azovskiy Kombinat Detskogo Pitaniya“ (Azov Babyfood Factory).
Agriculture. Grain growing occupies a leading position in the structure of agriculture. Main grain is winter wheat, although spring barley, corn, millet, rice, buckwheat, marrowfat, soybeans. Also is growing rice, potatoes, vegetables, melons and gourds. Main technical crop is sunflower.
Livestock breeding makes more than 40% of gross agricultural output. The cattle-raising companies in the region specialize in milk and meat cattle, pig, horse and sheep-farming, poultry-farming and beekeeping.
- Food and processing industry comprises of a vast network of companies, making and processing dairy, meat, fish, alcohol and nonalcoholic production, bakery, confectionary, pasta, tobacco and other. Produce of food industry leaders in the Rostov region are:
- OJSC “Yug Rusi”,
- “Baltika-Rostov”, branch of OJSC “PK Baltika”,
- OJSC “Donskoy tabak”,
- “Atlantis-Pak” company.
Infrastructure
In Russia, the Rostov region is considered the gateway to the Black Sea and to the Caspian Sea basins. Therefore, it has a well-developed transportation infrastructure made up of railways, federal highways, seaports and river ports, and Rostov-on-Don International Airport.
The transportation infrastructure of the region is a component of Crimean transport corridors (No. 7 and No. 9) and the “North-South” transcontinental corridor.
- The region is crossed by:
- The Don Highway;
- the Moscow to Rostov to the Caucasus railway;
- the navigable river route from the central regions of Russia to the Black Sea and to the Mediterranean Sea; and
- the air corridor between Saint Petersburg, Moscow and the Caucasus region.
Railways. The main regional road for cargo and passenger transportation along domestic and international routes is the North Caucasian Railway. The region contains other arterial railways that connect central and western regions of the country, as well as Siberia and the Southern region. There are active terminals that provide the reception, handling and dispatch of almost any type of cargo. The length of the region’s railways is about 3.3 thousand kilometers.
- Ports. The following ports are located in the Rostov region:
- Rostov International River Port, which has three cargo zones and specializes in the handling of minerals/building material cargo, cargo in containers or by the piece, lumber materials and metal;
- Taganrog International Trade Seaport, which is equipped to handle the transshipment of loose cargo, general cargo, container cargo and rolled ferrous metal;
- Azov International Seaport, which specializes in the handling of minerals/building material cargo, cargo in containers or by the piece, lumber materials, coal, and rolled ferrous metal;
- Volgodonsk Port; and
- Ust-Donetsk Port.
Highways. The length of common-purpose highways with concrete pavement is more than 12 thousand kilometers. Cargo transportation along international routes is provided by the “Sovtransavto-Rostov” company, which has more than 250 heavy vehicles at its disposal.
Air transport. The Rostov-on-Don International Airport provides flights along domestic routes (85 flights within Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States), as well as along international routes, including flights to Finland, Germany, Turkey, Yugoslavia and Bulgaria. Five flights to Moscow are provided daily, the possibility to select further international routes.
Communication. Today 252 enterprises and organizations on the territory of the Rostov region deliver all kinds of telephone communications, including analog, digital and mobile, radio, television and computer services.
External links
http://www.donland.ru/ - Official website of the Rostov region