In this chapter we review economic, geographical and historical literature on the spatial allocation of the economic activity in Russia. We distinguish three main factors which shaped Russian economic geography, namely physical geography, policy of the state and historical circumstances. We discuss how these factors affected the location of population and economic activity from the 16th century to the present time. We consider historical trends in population geography, industrial and migration policy during the Imperial and Soviet eras, and the changes in spatial economy of Russia during the post-Soviet period.