The area was granted to the Strogonov family by Ivan the Terrible in 1558 and was originally exploited for salt production. Peter the Great started the mining of copper in the area, and it is said that the copper used in the Statue of Liberty came from his mines in the Urals. In 1878 the Trans-Siberian railway arrived in Perm, which really started the integration of the area into the economy of Russia.

Perm is one of the more developed areas of Russia, with a gross regional product of US$ 7.5 billion. It is rich in natural resources. The power potential of the river Kama is vast, as are coal reserves. There are 205 proven oil and gas fields. Europe’s largest potassium salts deposits are located in the northern part of the region, which also has deposits of diamonds, gold, platinum and chrome. The region has enormous forest
resources.

The Perm Krai has fuel, power, chemical and petrochemical, engineering and metalworking, timber, woodworking and pulp-and-paper industries. The regional economy is largely extractive and therefore export-based. Its transport links are important, and are constantly being improved.

Perm is an important railway junction on the Trans-Siberian Railway with lines radiating south to Central Russia, and north and east to the Urals, and Siberia. The recent go-ahead for the long mooted Belkomur project for a new railroad linking Perm with the Arctic port of Arkhangelsk will cut railway shipping distances between Western Siberia and the Barents Sea by 800 km.

The Kama River is an important link in the connected deepwater transport system of European Russia, connecting Perm with the seaports of the White, Baltic, Azov, Black and Caspian seas without any need for trans-shipment.

There is also an international airport in Perm, Bolshoye Savino, which receives three flights a week from Frankfurt. A smaller, regional airport, Bakharevka, serves flights to Moscow and Ekaterinburg.

Agriculture is a cornerstone of Perm’s economy ROSTELMASH