Russia gets Gas, and Other Stuff

The CS Monitor is reporting that glasnost is officially dead as the Kremlin assumes (rather re-assumes) control of roughly 30% of all Russian petro-assets.

How much more will they grab? Hard to say, but given the West's and the burgeoning Chinese and Indian markets for black gold, no matter how you slice it, it's a damned good business for the state to be involved in.

Russia is the currently the second largest petroducer(new word!) and the Russian state is likely eager to futher 'tap' into this highly lucrative field.

The Monitor reports that:

[...]

A long-delayed law on subsoil resources, to be passed by the Duma next year, is expected to ban foreign-owned companies from exploring or developing Russian oil fields and other key mineral resources.

"Amazing changes are happening swiftly, because Putin has understood that energy is Russia's key card to play at the international table," says Michael Heath, a political analyst with Aton, a Russian brokerage. "Instead of the military force the Soviet Union used to project its power, Russia is using oil as a major tool of foreign policy."

[...]

Much like the US gov't. is heavily involved with the 'defense' industry, Russia is playing to its strength.

While this will be seen as a gigantic step backward from the Russian's particular form of democracy, it is more an evolutionary one.

We've got double secret wiretapping going on in the interest of national security.

Are not Russia's oil reserves a matter of national security?

I'm certainly not condoning either activity. I just bring this up as a countervail to the Right that will pounce on this as a talking point that the Kremlin will simply ignore.

When all is said and done, the US government only really cares about the flow of oil. If the Russian state gives the world a good market rate, we'll be more than accepting of the takeover of the Russian petro-assets.

The US doesn't seem to really concerned about truly open markets, and much less so about democracy, but we need cheap SUV juice dammit! Open markets for the US, and the US only is the true prize.

Capitalism without democracy is okay.
Democracy without capitalism is cause for invasion.

Condemning the Russians for reclaiming their oil assets is not likely to happen in the circles of power where these things are really decided.

The talking heads will continue to parrot Russian civil rights violations, and a return to the Soviet Union's way of conducting the show(our own record in these two areas has been less than exemplary as of late). This has absolutely nothing to do with the real issue.

We need cheap oil. The Russians have oil. The deals are done.

Damned shame, really.