| In the section | Articles |
| Title of the article | Russia’s Gold Mining Industry: Sanctions Shocks |
| Pages | 70-93 |
| Author 1 | Natalya Vasilyevna Galtseva Doctor of Economics, Deputy Director North-East Interdisciplinary Scientific Research Institute n. a. N.A. Shilo FEB RAS (NEISRI FEB RAS) 16 Portowaya St., Magadan, 685000, Russian Federation This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ORCID: 0000-0002-2163-418X |
| Author 2 | Olga Anatolyevna Sharypova Candidate of Sciences (Economics), Senior Research Fellow North-East Interdisciplinary Scientific Research Institute n. a. N.A. Shilo, FEB RAS (NEISRI FEB RAS) 16 Portowaya St., Magadan, 685000, Russian Federation This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ORCID: 0000-0001-5402-820X |
| Abstract | The deliberate fragmentation of the world market as a result of the establishment of a global sanctions regime provoked a complete transition of both the Russian and the entire world economy to non-stationary modes of operation, one of the fundamental features of which are the deformations of the global monetary and financial system, which only two years ago seemed to have no alternative to the one based on the US dollar. One of the consequences of these events is the objective strengthening of the role of gold as the basis for the stability of national reserves and a single base in the transition to a plurality of global means of payment. The only source of replenishing gold reserves is gold mining, especially for modern Russia, which Western sanctions have effectively cut off from the world trade in gold. Russia has traditionally been one of the world leaders in terms of gold reserves and resources, ranking third in world production. Gold production in Russia increased by a factor of 1.5 in 2012–2021, facilitated by the growth rate of the Russian gold price relative to the global price due to the rise in the dollar exchange rate after 2014. At the same time, the share of gold in Russia’s gold and foreign exchange reserves is three times smaller than that of developed countries. This article discusses the problems of production localised in the regions of the Russian Far East and Siberia, its impact on the socio-economic development of these regions and the role of gold in the country’s economy. The impact of sanctions on the circulation of precious metals, including gold, is assessed. The authors assess the effects of external sanctions and the macroeconomic policy of the Russian Central Bank in terms of replenishing gold reserves and the volatility of the Russian ruble on gold production, the structure of gold consumption, and the economic situation in the gold mining industry |
| Code | 339.722+341.655 |
| JEL | E58, Q34, L72, R19 |
| DOI | https://dx.doi.org/10.14530/se.2023.2.070-093 |
| Keywords | strategic minerals, gold, gold consumption patterns, gold reserves, sanctions, major gold mining regions, Russia |
| Download | SE.2023.2.070-093.Galtseva.pdf |
| For citation | Galtseva N.V., Sharypova O.A. Russia’s Gold Mining Industry: Sanctions Shocks. Prostranstvennaya Ekonomika = Spatial Economics, 2023, vol. 19, no. 2, pp. 70–93. https://dx.doi.org/10.14530/se.2023.2.070-093 (In Russian) |
| References | 1. Bashmachnikov А. Gold Mining of the Russian Federation: Prospects for the Development of the Industry in the Face of Sanctions. Zoloto i Tekhnologii [Gold and Technology], 2022, 25 June. Available at: (accessed March 2023). (In Russian). 2. Connolly R., Mackenzie R. Gold Mining Industry. Russkiy Yuvelir [Russian Jeweler], 2022, 25 October. Available at: (accessed March 2023). (In Russian). 3. Egorova Е. ‘Everything Is Filled Up’: Russia Has Nowhere to Put Gold after the Import Ban. Moskovskiy Komsomolets [Moscow Komsomol], 2022, 18 October. Available at: (accessed March 2023). (In Russian). 4. Federal State Statistics Service. On Foreign Trade in 2021, 2022. Available at: (accessed March 2023). (In Russian). 5. Galtseva N.V., Rudenko E.B., Chugunov A.N. Influence of Economic and Institutional Factors on Gold Mining Enterprises of North-East Russia (Оn the Example of PJSC ‘Susumanzoloto’). Mineralnye Resursy Rossii. Ekonomika i Upravlenie = Mineral Resources of Russia. Economics and Management, 2019, no. 6 (169), pp. 25–30. (In Russian). 6. Gold Double Standard. Review. Interfax [Interfax], 2022, 9 April. Available at: (accessed March 2023). (In Russian). 7. Gold Miners May Reach Negative Profitability by the End of the Year. TASS [TASS], 2022, 18 October. Available at: (accessed March 2023). (In Russian). 8. Gold Mining in Russia – What is the Current State of the Industry? PromoGroup Media, 2022. Available at: (accessed March 2023). (In Russian). 9. Gold Production in Russia. Zolotodobycha [Gold Mining], 2023. Available at: (accessed March 2023). (In Russian). 10. Gold Reserves of Russia. Gosudarstvo. Bizness. Tekhnologii [Government. Bizness. IT], 2018, 22 March. Available at: (accessed March 2023). (In Russian). 11. Gold Reserves of the Russian Federation – Year 2022. Bankirsha [The Banker], 2023, 1 March. Available at: (accessed March 2023). (In Russian). 12. Kuznetsov М. Citizens Bought a Record Number of Gold Bars in 2022. Vedomosti [Vedomosti], 2023, 12 January. Available at: (accessed March 2023). (In Russian). 13. Minakir P.A., Izotov D.A. World Money in Time and Space: A Blow to the Dollar or a Blow by the Dollar? Prostranstvennaya Ekonomika = Spatial Economics, 2022, vol. 18, no. 1, pp. 7–33. https://dx.doi.org/10.14530/se.2022.1.007-033 (In Russian). 14. Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation. About Gold and Silver Production in 2021, 2022. Available at: (accessed March 2023). (In Russian). 15. Ministry of Natural Resources of the Russian Federation. State Report ‘On the State and Use of Mineral Resources of the Russian Federation in 2020’, 2021, 570 p. Available at: (accessed March 2023). (In Russian). 16. Obraztsova М. Global Gold Market. Rough and Polished, 2022, 2 May. Available at: (accessed March 2023). (In Russian). 17. Overview of the Russian Gold Mining Industry by the Results of 2019 – the First Half of 2020. Union of Gold Producers, 2020, 60 p. Available at: (accessed March 2023). (In Russian). 18. Production Results for the 2nd Half of the Year and 2022. PJSC ‘POLYUS’, 2023, 18 p. Available at: (accessed March 2023). (In Russian). 19. Review ‘Gold 2021’ (Metal Focus – IGT). Мoscow, 2022,102 p. (In Russian). 20. Russian Gold 2020. Vestnik Zolotopromyshlennika [Bulletin of the Gold Industrialist], 2021, 15 April. Available at: (accessed March 2023). (In Russian). 21. Russian Gold is Being Narrowed by Geography and Margin. Review. Interfax [Interfax], 2022, 30 June. Available at: (accessed March 2023). (In Russian). 22. Russian Gold Mining Companies. Uglevodorody [Hydrocarbons], 2023. Available at: (accessed March 2023). (In Russian). 23. Solid Minerals. N.M. Fedorovsky All-Russian Scientific Research Institute of Mineral Raw Materials, 2023. Available at: (accessed March 2023). (In Russian). 24. Tarakanovskiy V.I. Gold as a Guarantor of Economic Stability. Vedomosti [Vedomosti], 2022, 26 December. Available at: (accessed march 2023). (In Russian). 25. Tarakanovskiy V.I. Placer Gold Mining in Russia: Status, Problems and Solutions. Zolotodobycha [Gold Mining], 2021, 21 July. Available at: (accessed March 2023). (In Russian). 26. The Central Bank of the Russian Federation Buys Gold from Banks at a Discount of about 15%. Finmarket [Financial Market], 2022, 14 April. Available at: (accessed March 2023). (In Russian). 27. The Future of the Jewelry Industry in Russia – Export or Domestic Market? Guild of Jewelers of Russia, 2022. Available at: (accessed March 2023). (In Russian). 28. Tkachev I., Degotkova I. Golden Fuse. RBK [RBC], 2022, 26 August. Available at: (accessed March 2023). (In Russian). 29. Viktor Tarakanovskiy Summed Up the Results of 2022. Zolotodobycha [Gold Mining], 2023, 10 January. Available at: (accessed March 2023). (In Russian). 30. Yakubchuk А. Russian Gold Mining Is 30 Years Old. Vestnik Zolotopromyshlennika [Bulletin of the Gold Industrialist], 2021, 24 April. Available at: (accessed March 2023). (In Russian). 31. Zayganov M. How will the EU and UK Embargo on Russian Gold Affect the Economy and Business. Rossiyskaya Gazeta [Russian Newspaper], 2022, 21 July. Available at: (accessed March 2023). (In Russian). |
| Financing | |
| Submitted | 24.03.2023 |
| Approved after reviewing | 19.04.2023 |
| Accepted for publication | 25.04.2023 |
| Available online | 30.06.2023 |