WSJ: Russian Coffers, and Sway, Fall Along With Gas Prices
The collapse of oil prices—added to the weight of Western financial sanctions—has hammered Russia’s economy. But Moscow is also suffering from the fall in prices of another important energy export: natural gas.
Gas represented 14% of Russia’s export revenues in 2013, compared with 54% for crude oil and oil products. But its gas is more important to Europe and Ukraine.
Gas is more than a commodity for Moscow: It has been a political tool that has helped it assert its influence in Central and Eastern Europe and beyond. Because of pipeline architecture, some European Union countries have had few alternatives to buying gas from Russia.