The article is devoted to problems and priorities of the prospective development of raw areas in Russia. It considers strategies of socio-economic development for the period of 2025 – 2030 in order to analyze the economic growth and diversification of economy of these areas in conditions when extracting raw materials is reduced. Strategic documents of socio-economic development of the raw areas were analyzed, and to single them out the indicator of the share of the gross value added in mining in the GRP structure was used as a key criterion. The analysis resulted in choosing 11 raw areas in the RF whose socio-economic development is significantly determined by the mineral complex.

Conclusions: prospects for economic development of the areas are practically completely bound with development plans of the minerals mining companies. The other conclusion, supported by the results of the analysis of the priorities for the raw areas development, is that the regional authorities view prospects of their regions development very much in versifying mining production. The national strategic planning documents state the government support for the development of the prioritized territories but without considering their regional economy peculiarities.

Recommendations: state regional policies should focus on shaping a general ideology of a long-term development of the raw areas in conformity with internal and external changing situations. RF subjects of raw materials mining specialization should rearrange the strategy format of their development by widening horizons of strategic planning, and by concentrating on the prospects of a commodity area future. It is necessary that new requirements to creating a general typology of raw areas for the purposes of regional policies alongside with a simultaneous improvement of requirements to the strategies of socio-economic development should be made up.