After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the city's population dropped due to increased unemployment. Nevertheless, the city was able to keep its main industries on track. Large chemical plants such as titanium and sodium factories as well as several huge Potassium, Magnesium and Potash mines are operational in Berezniki.
The potash mine, owned by Uralkali, was the basis of the fortune of Dmitry Rybolovlev who sold his interest in 2010 to Suleiman Kerimov. Mine supports in the huge underground mine, about 1,000 feet beneath the city, consist of soluble salt which is being dissolved by water flooding into the mine. The city, a former Soviet era labor camp, was built near the work site, over the mine. Several sinkholes, some huge, have opened within the city. The situation requires round-the-clock monitoring. The problem is believed to be limited to a small part of the mine which was not filled properly and to be limited in its future impact, but relocation of the city is under consideration.
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