According to a recent article by Oxford Analytica, Alrosa, which accounts for 97 percent of diamond production in Russia, continues diamond production as usual.

Around the world diamond producers such as De Beers reduced production by as much as 91 percent in response to plummeting prices for polished diamonds. Mines in Western Australia and Botswana have stopped production entirely. However, in the first five months of 2009 diamond production in Alrosa decreased by only 1.9% compared to the same period last year. Alrosa, which usually accounts for 25% of total rough diamond production, has become the largest producer of rough diamonds in the first five months of 2009.

Instead of feeding the diamonds into the world market, Alrosa, which is state owned, is selling its diamonds to the State Repository of Precious Metals and Precious Stones (Gokhran). The Russian diamond company is directly supervised by a board chaired by Minister Aleksey Kudrin from the Ministry of Finance (MinFin). Alrosa's diamond mines are spread through western Russia, Angola and eastern Siberia.

Oxford Analytica reports that Russia's diamond production and stockpiling strategies raise concerns of intentions to manipulate global market prices.