The forest industry of the Republic of Karelia suffers from a lack of machines and spare parts. China has become the most important trading partner. The sanctions imposed by Western countries on Russia have hit the forest industry of Karelia hard. It has become difficult to buy European machines and equipment, and there are no spare parts for previously purchased machines. "Usually we have used foreign machines in Karelia. Now spare parts have to be bought most often in a roundabout way. It will take much more time than before sanctions were imposed," says Karelia's Minister of ...