Gazprom Not your average Russian bear

Russian President Vladimir Putin paces the bridge. He pulls on levers that should manoeuvre his giant ship, but the ship doesn’t respond. Such is the chaotic state of Russian policy-making today. The on-off-on again merger between gas giant Gazprom and oil company Rosneft is just the latest indication of this. The idea behind the merger is simple. Putin wants to create an oil and gas behemoth to further Russian energy and foreign policy. Furthermore, there is agreement among his entourage that ...