The far abroad offers future security for the Kremlin and other oligarchs

Energy became an instrument of politics, as well as the motor for Russia’s economic revival, under president turnedPrime MinisterVladimir Putin, as Moscow has sought to secure resources,maintain control over markets and raise its statusin global diplomacy after the post-communist slump. Putin’s favoured instrument Gazprom is positioning itself to have a sayin as many projects as possible that control energy highways into the European Union – including the Nigeria-Niger-AlgeriaTrans-Saharan Gas Pipeline and even Eni’s proposed second Greenstream pipeline from Libya to Italy– and this will continue under President Dmitry Medvedev, who moved from the Gazprom boardroom into the Kremlin.