ENVS645 - Energy Geopolitics in Eurasia

Russia is one of the major players in the international energy market: the largest oil producer (including lease condensate) and second-largest (after the U.S.) natural gas producers (2016 data). It is also a top coal and nuclear power producer. But the geopolitical might that the country holds with respect to energy markets stems not as much from how much energy it produces as from how much energy it exports. Today Russia leads global natural gas exports and trails only the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in oil exports. Russia is also reliably one of the top coal-exporting countries. This class will explore the geopolitics of energy from the perspective of Russia and its interests. In doing so, it will provide a slightly different understanding of global energy geopolitics, which is usually taught from either the U.S. or OPEC angle.