St. Petersburg is one of the largest and most beautiful cities not only in the Russian Federation, but throughout Europe. Thanks to world-famous museums, architectural monuments and other attractions, tourism in St. Petersburg has become one of the main economic areas.
However, this city is also the largest industrial center of the Russian Federation. The production of St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region covers a wide range of industries and has a rich history.
Formation of production in the city on the Neva
Sovereign Peter Alekseevich actively developed in the St. Petersburg province the most important industries at that time for the country: arms, sailing, foundry, cannon, cloth, paper. This ruler made the city the capital of the Russian Empire and one of the largest industrial centers in the first half of the 18th century.
The main task for Russia at that moment in history was to provide access to the sea and the development of trade, for which a war was needed. And the power of the country's army depends primarily on the development of production and the economy. Peter I resolutely set to work.
The first plant of St. Petersburg
The city itself was founded by Emperor Peter I in 1703, and only a year later the first production company in St. Petersburg, the Admiralty Shipyards, was founded, which has not only survived to this day, but is now one of the largest shipbuilding enterprises in Russia.
This is a diverse company, building both oil tankers and submarines according to the latest projects.
Sestroretsk weapons factories
Almost immediately after the founding, many factories began to be actively built in the city, to guide them in 1719, the Manufactory College was created. In 1721, the Sestroretsk arms factory was founded, one of the first in the country to launch production for the army. Together with the powder mill built later on the Sestra River, these plants subsequently became the largest enterprise in the Russian Empire, one of the best equipment at that time.
It was the construction of dams designed to drive this industrial complex that led to the emergence of an artificial lake, now known as Sestroretsky Spill.
Now Sestra’s factories, along with the cable factory in Kronstadt and the Izhora factory, are an object of cultural heritage.
Some of the enterprises founded by Peter I were subsequently demolished, for example, the famous Cannon Foundry, which played a significant role in supporting the army.
However, the emperor laid the most powerful foundation, initially gave the city and the province the status of a large industrial center, which, of course, served as the reason for the fact that at the present time production in St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region is at its highest. The region has many large enterprises producing a wide range of products.
Engineering in St. Petersburg and the region
If we subdivide the companies of St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region by industry, then the palm should definitely be given to heavy industry. Here, in particular, many shipbuilding enterprises are located. Some specialize in large, including military, ships (Baltic Shipyard - Shipbuilding JSC, Severnaya Verf JSC, Admiralty Shipyards JSC). Others produce relatively small vessels - for example, mine sweepers or tugboats (PELLA factory, Sredne-Nevsky, as well as Vyborg shipyards).
Car production is extremely strong in St. Petersburg - factories of many foreign car manufacturers have been built here: General Motors, Hiundai, Nissan, Toyota, as well as Ford Sollers in Vsevolozhsk. In addition to cars, SCANIA buses are also produced; the plant's capacity is about 500 buses per year. Of course, these are not Russian-made cars, but these enterprises provide jobs for many residents of St. Petersburg and the region, and, moreover, the price of finished products decreases due to the localization of production.
In the city of Tikhvin, Leningrad Region, there is the largest Russian company for the production, modernization, repair and maintenance of railway cars - NPK United Wagon Company, which combines several city-forming enterprises.
Turbines and generators for the whole world
The real diamond in the crown of production in St. Petersburg is Power Machines, the most important energy machine-building concern in Russia, which supplies its equipment around the globe.
It is in Petersburg that the managing center of the concern and the most powerful enterprises are located - Electrosila, the Leningrad Metal Plant and the Turbine Blade Plant. The equipment manufactured by these enterprises (hydraulic, gas and steam turbines, generators for them and auxiliary equipment) work not only throughout the Russian Federation, but are also actively supplied abroad. Concern products can be found everywhere, from Angola to Iceland and from Canada to Argentina.
The most beautiful products of St. Petersburg
The Imperial Porcelain Factory was founded in the middle of the XVIII century by decree of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna. The plant used technologies developed by Russian scientist D.I. Vinogradov, which allowed domestic products to come close in quality to the famous Chinese porcelain.
Currently, the plant still produces a variety of products - from kitchen utensils to highly artistic sculptures, which, in addition to the domestic market, are exported to the most developed countries in the world - mainly to the USA, Germany and Great Britain.
The brainchild of N.I. Putilov
Founded at the very beginning of the 19th century as an iron foundry to supply the army, the current Kirovsky factory in St. Petersburg, after a quarter of a century after its foundation, was almost destroyed by floods.
However, in 1868, the plant was bought by the famous Russian engineer and entrepreneur Nikolai Ivanovich Putilov, who soon turned it into a large engineering complex.
Now this plant is a powerful enterprise producing products for agriculture, energy, and has its own foundry. The plant is the only manufacturer in Russia of energy-saturated (high power) tractors capable of performing a wide range of agricultural tasks. In addition, bulldozers, loaders and special equipment for various industries are produced. Technologies are constantly being improved, the line of equipment is being updated.
From gas to paint
Large chemical enterprises of St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region make a significant contribution to the Russian industry. The list of them looks impressive.
- Kirishinefteorgsintez is a large oil refinery that is part of Surgutneftegaz.
- JSC Metakhim, located in Volkhov, is the only Russian producer of a unique mineral fertilizer - sodium tripolyphosphate. Products are exported to South America, Asia, Africa and Western Europe.
- The Phosphorite Industrial Group in Kingisepp produces about 10% of all phosphate fertilizers in Russia.
- Volkhov Chemical Plant is a young but rapidly developing enterprise engaged in the production of paints and varnishes.
- Chemist OJSC is located in the city of Luga, a diversified enterprise producing the widest range of chemical products for the oil and gas complex, construction and transport.
If you make a complete list of plants in St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region, it will take more than one page. In addition to the giants described above, in the region there are dozens of enterprises specializing in various fields. These are pulp and paper mills, cement plants, enterprises for the production of various building materials and much more. Despite the fact that St. Petersburg is a major scientific and cultural center in Russia, the main income to the city’s treasury is brought by production. Thus, it occupies a well-deserved first place in the region’s economy.