Russia as Energy Superpower
How Russia built its foreign policy around oil and gas exports, weaponized energy dependence, and faces an uncertain future.
The Petro-State Model
Russia is the world's third-largest oil producer and second-largest gas producer. Hydrocarbons account for roughly 45% of federal budget revenue and 60% of export earnings. Under Vladimir Putin, energy policy and foreign policy became inseparable. Gazprom, the state-controlled gas giant, and Rosneft, the state oil company, serve as instruments of Russian power projection.
The strategy was deliberate. In the 2000s, Russia built pipelines specifically designed to create dependence: Nord Stream 1 under the Baltic Sea to Germany, TurkStream to Turkey, and Power of Siberia to China. Each pipeline was as much a political project as a commercial one, tying consumer countries to Russian supply and giving Moscow leverage over their foreign policy decisions.
