Gazprom being used to punish Ukraine

Far from serving as a mere tool, Gazprom, Russia’s most important company, is a driving force in pushing the Kremlin’s Ukraine policy

Last winter, the Kremlin-backed candidate in Ukraine’s contested presidential election lost to Viktor A Yushchenko, the pro-Western leader of the Orange Revolution. This winter, Russia is demanding almost a five-fold increase in the price of gas supplied to Ukraine, a change widely seen as payback for Moscow’s embarrassment a year ago.

At the centre of this geopolitical game is Gazprom, Russia’s natural gas monopoly, the country’s largest company and the producer of a third of the world’s supply of natural gas.
Gazprom is a corporation aspiring to join the ranks of energy majors like Exxon Mobil and BP, with the scope and bulk to operate worldwide.

It is also a powerful instrument of Russia’s emerging foreign policy doctrine, which rests on energy exports _ and the power and prestige they bring _ in place of lost military might.

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