Rosugol (russian: Росуголь) was a state-owned coal producer in Russia. It controlled 232 mines, 65

open-cast mine Open-pit mining, also known as open-cast or open-cut mining and in larger contexts mega-mining, is a surface mining technique of extracting rock (geology), rock or minerals from the earth from an open-air pit, sometimes known as a Borrow pit, b ...

s and 68 coal preparation plants. In 1995, it was the fourth largest company in the country by revenue. Yuri Malyshev was the company's chairman. Rosugol was established in March 1993 by the

Russian government The Government of Russia exercises executive power in the Russian Federation. The members of the government are the prime minister, the deputy prime ministers, and the federal ministers. It has its legal basis in the Constitution of the Russia ...

. Created as a successor to the Soviet

Ministry of Coal Industry The Ministry of Coal Industry (Minugleprom; russian: Министерство угольной промышленности СССР) was a government ministry in the Soviet Union. A ukase of the Presidium Supreme Soviet USSR of 28 December 1948 c ...

, it retained many of its functions. It operated as a national coal monopoly, and its functions included allocating subsidies to mines. As part of the country's transition to a market economy, Rosugol classified mining operation based on their economic viability. Those deemed unlikely to survive market conditions were closed down, with miners being relocated to other regions. In 1994, the Russian government allocated $2.8 billion on direct subsidies to the sector through Rosugol, or more than 1% of the country's GDP. Part of the support came from the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...

. In July 1997, the World Bank postponed a $500 million loan to the coal sector, citing a misuse of fund given to Rosugol. Under pressure from the bank, President Yeltsin abolished the state-owned company in November 1997. Its administrative functions were transferred to the Ministry of Fuel and Energy.

References

{{authority control Coal companies of Russia Former monopolies Defunct companies of Russia Government-owned companies of Russia Companies established in 1993 Companies disestablished in 1997