Russia's Most Powerful Weapon Isn't What You'd Expect

[Tx4obama]

Russia's Gas Can Blow Up Ukraine Tomorrow

UKRAINE - Military pressure on Ukraine has never been this strong, but cannons aren’t Moscow’s best weapon. With the growing Crimea issue — a pro-Russia Ukrainian region — gas appears as a threat in the resolution of the crisis. Ukraine highly depends on Russian energy. Rising gas prices decided by Moscow could lead, at any moment, to the country’s collapse.

A new twist could emerge soon in the affair: as of March 1, Russian gas giant Gazprom will have the possibility to renegotiate its contract with Ukraine’s state oil and gas company, Naftogaz.

Given the agreement on Russian gas supplies to Ukraine, the two companies are bound to sign a new contract each quarter. When diplomatic relations between Ukraine and Russia are good, so are prices.

The last agreement, signed in December, set the rate at $268.5 for 1,000 meters cubed. This was a competitive price, given the market rate at the time of negotiations was $400.

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Full article here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/28/russia-gas-ukraine_n_4876832.html

[freshwest]

1. Forget the ethnic issues, democracy, corruption, etc. It's all about the fuel, IMO. And it's a bad

place for any nation to be in, beholden to another for what are considered the essentials.

Everything that our civilization deems essential relies on energy whether it's fossil or otherwise. The only other necessities are water, food and shelter. And of course land.

But fuel is involved with all of that because of our numbers. Thanks for bringing this here. It's more likely the true source of their financial woes.

[spike91nz]

2. Control of policies through economic manipulation

is the dream of the global corporatist. The whole mechanism in the NAFTA, TPP etc. is implemented in economic terms, such that the local and immaterial issues may be addressed in the pretense of democracy, while the constraints of "economic reality," imposed by the construction of the negotiated contracts and treaties, can be manipulated in the interest of corporate power and profits to "encourage" a "rational economic decision" being made by those assigned responsibility for local governance. It appears to be the ideal of the global corporatist that they can indirectly manage political realities in terms of economic manipulations executed to effect political change in manner compliant with their interests. Such a strategic design avoids the problems associated with democracy, where the opinions of the citizens matter and must (at least) be considered. When they own water rights and food production, the opinions of the citizens, with respect to justice and democratic ideals, become irrelevant to power. Besides, it will be the job of the local face of the branch manger (that is, the current president or PM) who will bear the responsibility for the management of public dissatisfaction. Gas in the Ukraine, water in Texas, food in India, the vital resources may change, but the strategy remains the same. Those with economic power can, under the threat of increasing costs and contrived economic crises, extort political cooperation in defiance of the public will, and with indifference to a nation's commitment to principles of justice and democracy.

[Democracyinkind]

3. Ukraine lost what little leverage it had in 2011 when NorthStream was completed. nt