Vologda, Russia — In a dense forest northeast of Moscow, logging machines cut down rows of trees as Russia taps foreign demand for its wood as part of efforts to reduce its dependence on oil exports. Nowhere is this more evident than in Vologda, a region 500 kilometres (310 miles) northeast of the Russian capital, where forests of birch and pine stretch as far as the eye can see. Tracked vehicles equipped with booms that can grab and cut trees are used by the Segezha group, which turns the wood into planks at a nearby factory. For Segezha vice president Dmitry Rudenko, the scene illustrates a turning point for Russia’s timber sector. “What we’re seeing today is the rise of the timber construction industry. It is Russia’s future without a doubt,” he told AFP at the Moscow offices of the Sistema holding firm, of which Segezha is a subsidiary.