Is gas a tool of Russian foreign policy?

Matthew Lynn

Russia still hasn't mastered the art of investor relations. Just before Christmas, President Vladimi...

Russia still hasn't mastered the art of investor relations. Just before Christmas, President Vladimir Putin signed a law ending limits on foreign ownership of shares in OAO Gazprom, the country's natural-gas export monopoly, which is 38% owned by the Russian government. Then on 1 January, a dispute flared between Russia and Ukraine over the terms on which Gazprom's gas is shipped through the country and into western Europe. For a few days, natural gas supplies to countries such as Germany and France dropped 40%, threatening a chilly winter for nations dependent on Gazprom for their energy....