General info

 

Geographical location. Population. St. Petersburg is the city of federal subordination. St. Petersburg locates in the North-West of Russia in the Neva River delta on the Eastern coast of the Gulf of Finland. The city locates on 44 islands formed by the Neva River and 90 more rivers and canals. The area of St. Petersburg is 605.8 sq. km, with the administratively subordinated territories - 1439 sq. km. St. Petersburg is the largest city in the world located so far to the North, second city in Russia in the population and largest seaport on the European direction of Russian Federation.

Natural resources. Within the territory of the city and its environs there are sand and gravel quarries, pebble stones, sands, clays, sandstone, loamy soils, as well as peat.

Transport. The advantageous geopolitical location of St. Petersburg predetermines the development of the foreign trade activities. The city is advantageously located at the sea routes and onland roads (12 lines of railroads and 11 highways). This is the European gateway of Russia, its strategic centre which is closest to the European Union countries. St. Petersburg is the largest Russian sea port in Baltic Sea and largest river port (the finishing of the Volgo-Baltic waterway).

In 1999, total freight turnover of sea ports of St. Petersburg is 27 mln. tones. The JSC "Sea Port of St. Petersburg" handles one quarter of the total volume of foreign trade cargoes among other ports of Russia. The St. Petersburg & Leningrad Oblast transport network includes 5 main roads: Russia (St. Petersburg-Moscow); Narva -St. Petersburg-Estonia; Kol'skaj (St. Petersburg - Murmansk); Skandinavia (St. Petersburg-Finland) and St. Petersburg - Pskov, motorway (15,400 km in Leningrad Oblast and 3 090 km in St. Petersburg), the inland waterway (St. Petersburg - Neva - Ladoga lake - Svir'- Onega lake (2500 km) and 4 inland ports (St. Petersburg, Primorsk, Vyborg, Vysotsk).

Total extent of hard covered roads in St. Petersburg is 896.6 km; extent of the subway is 100 km.

Population (people).

Resident population by the beginning of 2000	4748.5 th	Economically active population by the end of 1999	3,4 mln
Share of urban population, %	66	Employed people (by the end of 1999), %	89.0
Density of population, th. people/km2	3.2
Share of population in employable age group, by the beginning of 2000, %	60.3	Unemployed people by the ILO (by the end of 1999), %	11.0

Administrative and territorial division. Administration. St. Petersburg has the status of "city of federal significance" and as one of the subject of RF has its own state bodies and legislation. According to a federal law St. Petersburg should enact a specific charter (ustav) defining its governmental bodies. St. Petersburg consists of 111 municipal districts (82 municipal districts in city, 8 municipalities in subordinate towns (Zelenogorsk, Kolpino, Kronshtadt, Lomonosov, Pavlovsk, Pushkin, Petrodvorets, Sestroretsk) and 21 independent settlements. The districts do have some specific duties, and they also take care of the duties of the regional administration in their area. The responsibilities of the territorial department of St. Petersburg administration are: maintenance of municipal residential and non-residential housing, garbage collection and treatment, urban area improvement and planting of trees, social protection for vulnerable sectors, pension allocation and organisation of allowances and other social disbursements, residential housing privatisation, public order in their areas. etc.

The Administration of St. Petersburg is the central office (the governor, his chancellery and various committees and departments) and 20 territorial departments of city administration. There are also committees in the city administration of St. Petersburg which are dually subordinate to the federal government and to the city of St. Petersburg (the committee for management of the city property, committee of land resources and land usage).

The Legislative Assembly of St. Petersburg is a standing legislative (representative) authority. It includes 50 deputies.

Economy. GRP in St. Petersburg in 1998 - R 89780.7 mln (USD 4337.2 mln), that amounts to 3.7% of GRP for Russian Federation (36.5 % of GRP for Northwest of Russia). GRP per capital in St. Petersburg in 1998 - R 18947.5 (USD 915.3).

In 1999 GRP for St. Petersburg was R 162.9 bln.

Industry. St. Petersburg is the second (after Moscow) largest manufacturing centre of Russia. St. Petersburg's history and its social and economic position are inseparably linked with industries, which have always been an important part in the city economy. In 1999 St. Petersburg's enterprises produced 3.5% of the industrial output all over Russia (R 105 mln).

In 2000 total industrial output was R 128.7 bln (126.2% to 1999 level).The city industrial complex is widely represented by enterprises belonging to various branches of industry, among which the dominant ones are machine-building and metal-working, food industry, electrical power, chemical and petrochemical industry, construction materials and forest, timber processing and pulp and paper industries. Some industries have lost their significance such as light industry. On the other hand a spectacular growth of the food and beverages which recording the high share in the tax revenues. St. Petersburg remains the Russia's ship-bulging centre.

Investment Activities. The investment climate in St. Petersburg is the one from the most favourable and stable in Russia. Coca-Cola, Pobeda-Knauf, Gillette International, Rothmans-Neva, Nevsky-10, Philip Morris, British American Tobacco Russia and many other companies have already invested in the economy St. Petersburg.

In 2000 investments in the fixed assets of all St. Petersburg enterprises and organisations amounted to R 35 381 mln or 79% of 1999 level. The per capita investment in fixed capital amounted to R 7 537 in St. Petersburg. As in 1999, the bulk of investments fell on private companies (23% of the total) and enterprises owned by federal entities (22%). Industry is the most attractive investment goal (33.8% of the total), including the food industry (13%) and transport and construction materials industries (23%).

Foreign investments in St. Petersburg in 2000 amounted to USD 1 147.5 mln, or 1.7 times more than 1999. The bulk of foreign investments went to industry, including in food industry, and catering and trade.

St. Petersburg is already the motor of the North-West Region economy. According to the Strategic Plan of St Petersburg the main goal for the development of St. Petersburg is sustained improvement of the quality of life of all categories of the citizens. Its depends upon:

 

• St. Petersburg becoming a multifunctional city integrated into the Russian and world economy and providing a favourable environment for life and economic activity;
• consolidation of St. Petersburg's role as the main Russia's principal centre of contact between the Baltic region and the North West of Russia .

Laws and Orders related to the investment activities in St. Petersburg:

 

1. Federal Law on Foreign Investment in the Russian Federation of 25 June 1999
2. Federal Law on Investment Activities in the Russian Federation performed as capital investment of 15 July 1998
3. Law of St. Petersburg "On the Principles of the Budgeting Process in St. Petersburg" of 27.12.95.
4. Law of St. Petersburg "On the Order of Introduction, Reading and Passing of the Law of St. Petersburg on the Budget of St. Petersburg " of 18.09.98
5. Law of St. Petersburg "On Special Programmes in St. Petersburg" of 06.11.97
6. Law of St. Petersburg "On the Federal Support to the Investment Activities on the Territory of St. Petersburg " of 30.07.98
7. Law of St. Petersburg "On the Order and Conditions of Granting and Cancellation of Tax Reductions" of 07.02.97, amended on 09.12.97
8. Law of St. Petersburg "On Investment into Real Estate in St. Petersburg " of 09.07.98
9. Instruction of the Governor of St. Petersburg of 04.04.97 No. 283-СЂ "On the Improvement in Granting Real Estate Objects and Property Rights for them on Investment Conditions"
10. Instruction of the Governor of St. Petersburg of 08.09.97 No. 678-СЂ. "Regulations for the Preparation and Coordination of the Investment Tender Documentation in Granting Real Estate Objects and Property Rights for them on Investment Conditions ".

Events and meetings

02.10.2002

St. Petersburg City Governor meets the Chairman of Baltic Sea States Sub-regional Co-operation Organization (BSSSC)

October 2^nd, 2002 Mr. Vladimir Yakovlev, the Governor of St. Petersburg City met Mr. Brunon Synak, the BSSSC Chairman. At the meeting the issues of the BSR cities and states’ co-operation were discussed. The special attention was paid to Environmental problems. A number of large ecological projects are developing in St.Petersburg: among them - the building of the South- West water recycling constructions. The operation of these construction will allow to decrease the daily volume of unfiltered currents from 800 thousands cub meters to 350-400 thousands cub meters. Five years ago the city dumped daily about 1,5 million cub meters of unfiltered currents. This project is planned for completion in two years.

 

 

 

23-24 September 2001 The Third Baltic Development Forum.

• Address of the Governor of St. Petersburg, Vladimir A. Yakovlev «The Role of St. Petersburg in Improving Cooperation Between Russia and the European Union» at the opening of the Baltic Development Forum

• G.I. Tkachev, Vice Governor of St. Petersburg  
  «Economic Cooperation Between Cities of the Baltic Sea Region»

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