{"id":101275,"date":"2023-05-01T12:53:00","date_gmt":"2023-05-01T16:53:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=101275"},"modified":"2023-05-09T15:10:56","modified_gmt":"2023-05-09T19:10:56","slug":"russian-oil-and-gas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/russian-oil-and-gas\/","title":{"rendered":"How Russian Oil and Gas Gave Putin More Power"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

How have Russia’s oil and gas industries made the country a superpower? In what ways has Putin taken advantage of them?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In her book Blowout, <\/em>Rachel Maddow claims President Vladimir Putin used Russia’s energy companies to manipulate other countries. She argues that he’s created a monopoly that relies on illegal and corrupt practices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keep reading to learn about Putin’s control of Russia’s energy resources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Russia\u2019s Energy Monopoly and Its Political Consequences<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Maddow describes Russia\u2019s oil and gas industries as some of the most corrupt in the world<\/strong>, with President Vladimir Putin using his position to take over private energy companies and redistribute their resources among his allies. His administration\u2019s increased wealth and power has enabled not just Russia\u2019s dominance of the gas industry in Europe but also, Maddow argues, its increasingly aggressive and illegal behavior in Ukraine since the 2010s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Shortform note: Maddow\u2019s discussions of Russian interference in Ukraine only mention the annexation of Crimea in 2014 and subsequent war in Donbas, since the book was published in October 2019, before Russia\u2019s February 2022 invasion<\/a>. In a televised address<\/a> on February 24, 2022, Putin claimed that Russia was fighting for the \u201cdemilitarization and denazification\u201d of an increasingly \u201canti-Russia\u201d Ukraine. Critics of the invasion argued that it violated both Ukrainian sovereignty and international law<\/a>.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Putin\u2019s Monopolization of Russian Energy Production<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Putin has been the primary leader of Russia since 2000, serving continuously as Prime Minister, President, or occupying both positions at once. When he was first elected, the country was still recovering from its 1998 financial crisis; his leadership is credited with stabilizing the economy, greatly reducing Russia\u2019s foreign debt and increasing its ability to export oil and gas throughout the world. However, Maddow suggests that Putin has used his position to enrich himself and his allies, such as Igor Sechin, the former deputy prime minister and current energy mogul. Putin\u2019s administration has been repeatedly accused of corruption and using violent tactics to silence critics\u2014such as assassinating Russian physicist and opposition politician Boris Nemtsov in 2016. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Shortform note: Putin\u2019s administration has always targeted activists, the independent press, and individual journalists. Anna Politkovskaya, who reported on atrocities committed by Russia in the Second Chechen War, was assassinated in 2006<\/a>. Alexei Navalny, a lawyer and anti-corruption activist, has been poisoned at least once and is currently held in prison<\/a> indefinitely. Most news organizations are owned by the state<\/a>, and in 2019 Russia passed the \u201cfake news\u201d law<\/a> prohibiting the dissemination of \u201cunreliable\u201d or unflattering information\u2014which is often applied to coverage of the war in Ukraine<\/a>.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Maddow, Putin\u2019s goals for the Russian energy industry, once he took power, were to modernize its equipment and expand its operations as quickly as possible, using foreign investors like Morgan Stanley and ExxonMobil to finance this growth. Today, his administration asserts near-total control over oil and gas production<\/strong>, having slowly consolidated Russia\u2019s equipment and reserves under two state-owned companies: Rosneft, an oil company run by Sechin, and Gazprom, a gas company that is the sole supplier for many Eastern European countries, including Ukraine. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

An example of the industry\u2019s corruption comes from Rosneft\u2019s hostile takeover of its main competitor, Yukos, in 2003; CEO Mikhail Khodorkovsky was arrested on what are largely considered to be false charges of tax evasion and fraud, enabling the government to seize the company\u2019s assets and sell it at auction to Rosneft, through a front company for an extremely reduced price.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Shortform note: The rise of Russia\u2019s oligarchs\u2014wealthy businessmen who have influence in government and use mobster tactics<\/a>\u2014actually predates Putin, since most of these men made their wealth under President Boris Yeltsin in the 1990s<\/a>. When Putin took office, he destroyed many oligarchs\u2019 careers to reduce their power, only keeping those who were loyal to him. Aside from Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Putin also seized and nationalized the media companies of Boris Berezovsky and Vladimir Gusinsky<\/a>, who eventually fled the country.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

How have Russia’s oil and gas industries made the country a superpower? In what ways has Putin taken advantage of them? In her book Blowout, Rachel Maddow claims President Vladimir Putin used Russia’s energy companies to manipulate other countries. She argues that he’s created a monopoly that relies on illegal and corrupt practices. Keep reading to learn about Putin’s control of Russia’s energy resources.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":101541,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[81,275],"tags":[1006],"class_list":["post-101275","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economics","category-politics","tag-blowout","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"\nHow Russian Oil and Gas Gave Putin More Power - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Thanks to Russia's oil and gas industries, Putin has been able to gain power in Asia and Europe. Let's take a look at how it all began.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/russian-oil-and-gas\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How Russian Oil and Gas Gave Putin More Power\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Thanks to Russia's oil and gas industries, Putin has been able to gain power in Asia and Europe. Let's take a look at how it all began.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/russian-oil-and-gas\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Shortform Books\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-05-01T16:53:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-05-09T19:10:56+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/wordpress.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Putins-eyes.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1238\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"742\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Hannah Aster\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Hannah Aster\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/russian-oil-and-gas\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/russian-oil-and-gas\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Hannah Aster\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/f39f52830e4f7039a16e45d12354542f\"},\"headline\":\"How Russian Oil and Gas Gave Putin More Power\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-05-01T16:53:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-05-09T19:10:56+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/russian-oil-and-gas\/\"},\"wordCount\":671,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/russian-oil-and-gas\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Putins-eyes.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Blowout\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Economics\",\"Politics\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/russian-oil-and-gas\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/russian-oil-and-gas\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/russian-oil-and-gas\/\",\"name\":\"How Russian Oil and Gas Gave Putin More Power - Shortform Books\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/russian-oil-and-gas\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/russian-oil-and-gas\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Putins-eyes.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-05-01T16:53:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-05-09T19:10:56+00:00\",\"description\":\"Thanks to Russia's oil and gas industries, Putin has been able to gain power in Asia and Europe. Let's take a look at how it all began.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/russian-oil-and-gas\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/russian-oil-and-gas\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/russian-oil-and-gas\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Putins-eyes.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Putins-eyes.jpg\",\"width\":1238,\"height\":742},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/russian-oil-and-gas\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How Russian Oil and Gas Gave Putin More Power\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Shortform Books\",\"description\":\"The World's Best Book Summaries\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Shortform Books\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png\",\"width\":500,\"height\":74,\"caption\":\"Shortform Books\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/f39f52830e4f7039a16e45d12354542f\",\"name\":\"Hannah Aster\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0302cb2690b70a21639bc6873e587f42d39d02385b7e59d8efd0d3e000ae7681?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0302cb2690b70a21639bc6873e587f42d39d02385b7e59d8efd0d3e000ae7681?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Hannah Aster\"},\"description\":\"Hannah is a seasoned writer and editor who started her journey with Shortform nearly five years ago. She grew up reading mostly fiction books but transitioned to non-fiction writing when she started her travel website in 2018. When she's not writing or traveling, you can find Hannah working on home reno projects, crafting, or taking care of plants.\",\"knowsAbout\":[\"Graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor's degree in English and minors in professional and creative writing\"],\"jobTitle\":\"SEO Team Lead\",\"worksFor\":\"Shortform\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/author\/hannah\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How Russian Oil and Gas Gave Putin More Power - Shortform Books","description":"Thanks to Russia's oil and gas industries, Putin has been able to gain power in Asia and Europe. Let's take a look at how it all began.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/russian-oil-and-gas\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How Russian Oil and Gas Gave Putin More Power","og_description":"Thanks to Russia's oil and gas industries, Putin has been able to gain power in Asia and Europe. Let's take a look at how it all began.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/russian-oil-and-gas\/","og_site_name":"Shortform Books","article_published_time":"2023-05-01T16:53:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-05-09T19:10:56+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1238,"height":742,"url":"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/wordpress.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Putins-eyes.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Hannah Aster","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Hannah Aster","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/russian-oil-and-gas\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/russian-oil-and-gas\/"},"author":{"name":"Hannah Aster","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/f39f52830e4f7039a16e45d12354542f"},"headline":"How Russian Oil and Gas Gave Putin More Power","datePublished":"2023-05-01T16:53:00+00:00","dateModified":"2023-05-09T19:10:56+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/russian-oil-and-gas\/"},"wordCount":671,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/russian-oil-and-gas\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Putins-eyes.jpg","keywords":["Blowout"],"articleSection":["Economics","Politics"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/russian-oil-and-gas\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/russian-oil-and-gas\/","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/russian-oil-and-gas\/","name":"How Russian Oil and Gas Gave Putin More Power - Shortform Books","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/russian-oil-and-gas\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/russian-oil-and-gas\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Putins-eyes.jpg","datePublished":"2023-05-01T16:53:00+00:00","dateModified":"2023-05-09T19:10:56+00:00","description":"Thanks to Russia's oil and gas industries, Putin has been able to gain power in Asia and Europe. Let's take a look at how it all began.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/russian-oil-and-gas\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/russian-oil-and-gas\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/russian-oil-and-gas\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Putins-eyes.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Putins-eyes.jpg","width":1238,"height":742},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/russian-oil-and-gas\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How Russian Oil and Gas Gave Putin More Power"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/","name":"Shortform Books","description":"The World's Best Book Summaries","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"Shortform Books","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png","width":500,"height":74,"caption":"Shortform Books"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/f39f52830e4f7039a16e45d12354542f","name":"Hannah Aster","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0302cb2690b70a21639bc6873e587f42d39d02385b7e59d8efd0d3e000ae7681?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0302cb2690b70a21639bc6873e587f42d39d02385b7e59d8efd0d3e000ae7681?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Hannah Aster"},"description":"Hannah is a seasoned writer and editor who started her journey with Shortform nearly five years ago. She grew up reading mostly fiction books but transitioned to non-fiction writing when she started her travel website in 2018. When she's not writing or traveling, you can find Hannah working on home reno projects, crafting, or taking care of plants.","knowsAbout":["Graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor's degree in English and minors in professional and creative writing"],"jobTitle":"SEO Team Lead","worksFor":"Shortform","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/author\/hannah\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Putins-eyes.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101275","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=101275"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101275\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":101656,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101275\/revisions\/101656"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/101541"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=101275"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=101275"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=101275"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}