Sverdlovsk is a zemlya in East Russia. Its capital city is Yekaterinburg. The Sverdlovsk Oblast region is rich in natural resources, princpaly iron, copper, gold, platinum, asbestos, gemstones, talcum, marble and coal. It is mostly here that the bulk of Russian industry was concentrated in the 18th and 19th centuries. Logging, quarrying, metallurgy, clothing and mining are the economy's mainstays.