Money, Not Geopolitics, Drives Russian Energy Policy

Russian commentators have complained in the last several weeks about how Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has sought to transform his country’s image in the West from an authoritarian pariah state into yet another victim of Russia’s “energy imperialism”. Russians ask: why does the West criticize Russia for subsidizing Lukashenko, and then criticize us again for stopping these subsidies? And how exactly does the West expect us to get countries like Belarus or Ukraine off the dole without threatening to shut off gas supplies? Russians scoff at the idea that Lukashenko would ever agree to price increases that could threaten his grip on power because the European Union presented him with a polite request.

It is clear to the Russians that they can no longer afford to subsidize their neighbors with cheap natural gas while continuing to meet Russia’s export obligations to the rest of the world.
Russia Blog