Title: The Past, Present and Future of Russian Energy Strategy
Headings: The Past, Present and Future of Russian Energy Strategy
ON GEOPOLITICS
The Past, Present and Future of Russian Energy Strategy
Russia's Imperatives and the Energy Factor
Evolution of Russian Energy Strategies
Challenges to Maintaining Russian Energy
Russia's Next Move
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The Past, Present and Future of Russian Energy Strategy
Lauren Goodrich
Senior Eurasia Analyst, Stratfor
Marc Lanthemann
Eurasia Analyst
18 MIN READ Feb 12, 2013 | 10:01 GMT
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin (2L) tours the reconstructed Sayano-Shushenskaya dam, Russia's largest hydroelectric plant, in Cheryomushky on February 24, 2010. (ALEXEY DRUZHININ/AFP/Getty Images)
The future of Russia's ability to remain a global energy supplier and the strength the Russian energy sector gives the Kremlin are increasingly in question. After a decade of robust energy exports and revenues, Russia is cutting natural gas prices to Europe while revenue projections for its energy behemoth, Gazprom, are declining starting this year. Russia holds the world's largest proven reserves of natural gas and continually alternates with Saudi Arabia as the top oil producer. The country supplies a third of Europe's oil and natural gas and is starting to export more to the energy-hungry East Asian markets. The energy sector is far more than a commercial asset for Moscow; it has been one of the pillars of Russia's stabilization and increasing strength for more than a century. The Kremlin has designated energy security as the primary issue for Russia's national security, especially since recent changes in global and domestic trends have cast doubts on the energy sector's continuing strength. Throughout Russian history, the country's energy sector periodically has strengthened and weakened.