Gazprom is decreasing its business in Europe in a move that marks a departure from the group's aim of controlling the entire value-added chain. The company has sold its stake in a German distributor, for example. High-flying plans to get involved in power plant construction have now been shelved.

The EU has always been a thorn in the Russian giant's side. The EU Commission is leading cartel proceedings against Gazprom. The group has never been willing to stick to the EU's anti-monopoly rules. Seen in this light, Gazprom's partial withdrawal from the European market is only logical; it would continue to supply gas, after all. If only all those economic contradictions and political undertones weren't there.

Europe has long been seen as a source of trouble for Gazprom's executives. Asia, on the other hand, is the region of the future. The company has signed a long-term supply contract with China, which is said to benefit the Chinese partners while containing less favorable conditions for Gazprom. The corporation doesn't just do what makes economic sense. Rather, as a state-controlled company, it also serves as a foreign policy tool for the Kremlin. A tool that Vladimir Putin knows how to use as though it were a weapon. The Kremlin punishes political insubordination with higher gas prices; conversely, those who toe the Kremlin's line can expect price rebates.

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