Roman Kupchinsky

Also by Roman Kupchinsky

• July 28, 2006

  Russia: A New Gas Strategy Emerges

  Russia needs to develop new gas fields, the study finds (AFP) PRAGUE, July 28, 2006 (RFE/RL) -- A Gazprom subsidiary recently issued a report recommending a dramatic change of strategy for the Russian gas industry. It determined that Russia should decrease exports of natural gas to European markets and concentrate instead on developing new gas fields to keep up with domestic demand.

• July 14, 2006

  Ukraine: With Parliament Divided, Is Country Spiraling Into Chaos?

  President Viktor Yushchenko (file photo) (official site) With parliament hopelessly divided into the pro-Russian Party of Regions, aligned with the Socialists against the West-leaning Our Ukraine and the Yuliya Tymoshenko bloc, there are no signs of a viable government on the horizon. What can this lead to in the future? New parliamentary elections or anarchy?

• July 13, 2006

  Rosneft Goes For The Gold

  The suspense and hype surrounding the initial public offering of Russian state-owned oil giant Rosneft is mounting as major oil companies BP, China National Petroleum Corp., and Malaysia's Petronas have expressed a firm interest in participating.

• June 23, 2006

  Russia: Moscow Extends Its Pipeline Web

  (ITAR-TASS) In April, the Russian oil-pipeline monopoly Transneft announced that it had decided to support the construction of a new overland oil pipeline from the Bulgarian port of Burgas on the Black Sea to the Greek port of Alexandroupoli on the Aegean.

• June 14, 2006

  Russia: The Fight For The Gas Pipelines

  The EU thinks Russia should open up its gas-pipeline network (epa) PRAGUE, June 14, 2006 (RFE/RL) -- Access to Russia's "unified gas transportation system," the vast network of pipelines and compressor stations spanning 149,900 kilometers throughout the entire country, has become a crucial element in the worsening relations between the EU and Russia. As such, it might be raised during the July Group of Eight (G8) summit in St. Petersburg.

• June 02, 2006

  Analysis: Anticorruption Drive Extends To FSB

  Corruption is a perennial issue in Russia, and a favored tool for policymakers looking to stir public opinion. President Vladimir Putin once again raised the matter during his May 10 state of the nation speech, pointing to the damaging impact of corruption on the country's economy, and pledging to rid Russia once and for all of a "serious obstacle."

• June 02, 2006

  Gas-Price Hike Could Cause Severe Problems

  Ukraine's energy problems seem to be neverending. Now, less than half a year after Gazprom briefly cut off gas supplies to Ukraine, the Russian gas monopoly is threatening to raise the price again.

• May 19, 2006

  Russia's Demographic Crisis

  Russia's demographic woes have become such a hot topic of late that President Vladimir Putin made it his highest priority during a recent national address. Russia faces both a low birthrate and low life expectancy, compounded by the increasing spread of HIV/AIDS, especially among the young.

• May 11, 2006

  Analysis: The Recurring Fear Of Russian Gas Dependency

  (epa) PRAGUE, May 11, 2006 (RFE/RL) -- U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney's recent criticism of Russia for using natural gas as a political weapon is by no means new. Similar charges leveled 24 years ago during the Cold War resulted in an embargo on the sale of gas-extracting equipment to the Soviet Union and to the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency's (CIA) purported destruction of a Soviet gas pipeline.

• April 28, 2006

  All Eyes On Rosneft Ahead Of Controversial IPO

  The initial public offering of Russia's state-owned oil company Rosneft, expected this summer, is creating a storm in the investment community.

• April 25, 2006

  Analysis: Money Talks At London's Russian Economic Forum

  (ITAR-TASS) The ninth annual Russian Business Forum in London greeted Sergei Bogdanchikov, president of Russia's state-owned Rosneft oil company, with open arms on April 24, as he explained how his company will become the largest oil company in the world.

• April 24, 2006

  Russia: Gazprom Stares Down The West

  The Myldzhinsky gas condensate storage facility, which belongs to Vostokgazprom, a subsidiary of Gazprom (file photo) (ITAR-TASS) Several events occurred in In April that again showed the increasingly important role that energy security is playing in the uneasy relationship between Russia and the West.

• April 04, 2006

  Analysis: Typology Of The Ukrainian Elections

  Following Ukraine's March 26 parliamentary elections, what has emerged is a country firmly split along regional and ideological lines?

• April 03, 2006

  Is A Gas War Brewing?

  The head of Russia's state gas monopoly has announced that in 2007, Belarus will be charged European rates for Russian gas, a fivefold rise that could unbalance the economy.

• March 28, 2006

  Russia: Gas Export Plans Dependent On Central Asia

  Two new proposed pipelines would link Russia and China In March, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed an agreement in Beijing on the construction of two pipelines to supply China with gas.Officials said the pipelines could deliver up to 80 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas annually and could be ready within five years.

• March 09, 2006

  Analysis: Russia's Nuclear Ambitions Heating Up

  Russia currently has 31 operating reactors (official site) While European policymakers cautiously watched the recent Ukrainian-Russian gas conflict, debating among themselves if Russia was a reliable supplier of energy, policymakers in the Kremlin were busy preparing for an even greater role in the world energy market. Their attention, however, was concentrated not on gas or oil, but on preparing the country's nuclear power industry for its future role.

• March 06, 2006

  First The Apology, Then The Agenda

  Russian President Vladimir Putin's charm offensive last week in Budapest and Prague was not limited to apologies for crushing the 1956 Hungarian or the 1968 invasion of Czechoslovakia. Putin was also pushing energy politics.

• March 01, 2006

  Analysis: Is Ukraine's Richest Man Also Its Future Prime Minister?

  Akhmetov addressing voters in Donetsk (Ukrinform) In mid-February, 40-year-old Rynat Akhmetov -- one of Ukraine's richest men by virtue of his 90-percent stake in the Donetsk-based System Capital Management Corporation (SCM) -- was interviewed on his nationwide television station, TRK Ukrayina.

• February 22, 2006

  Ukrainian-Turkmen Gas Squabble Intensifies

  The head of Ukraine's state oil and gas company, Oleksiy Ivchenko, has said Ukraine is prepared to turn to the Stockholm Arbitrage Chamber of Commerce in its dispute with Turkmenistan over gas deliveries.

• February 17, 2006

  Turkmenistan's Price Demands Imperil Moscow-Kyiv Gas Deal

  Russian Industry and Energy Minister Viktor Khristenko has commented on a decision by the Turkmen leadership to raise the price of natural gas, and his words came as a grim reminder in Kyiv that Ukraine's gas woes are far from over.

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