The book presents the results of an interdisciplinary study on the past, present and future of the Russian coal industry during the period of the climate agenda actively promoted by developed countries, including, among others, a complete abandonment of coal generation.
How did the “miners” turn into a driving political force over 300 years and form a socially significant class throughout the country? How did the Russian government, together with regional authorities and emerging businesses, manage to transform Russia’s oldest energy sector from unprofitable to export-oriented, generating multi-billion-dollar profits? What is unique about the Russian experience of painful transformation of the industry in the main coal-mining regions? What role does the coal industry play in the modern Russian economy and what are its prospects? How significant is it for ensuring the country's energy security? How do you manage to maintain the export potential of coal companies in the face of sanctions and difficulties with transportation by rail? How do inter-fuel competition and the fight against climate change affect the prospects for Russian coal exports to Asia?