The Vaporous Russian Sword

Russian energy giant Gazprom has said it will more than double prices of gas supplies to Georgia from 2007.

Gazprom said it would charge Tbilisi $230 (£121) for 1,000 cubic metres of gas, compared with the $110 cost now.

Russia has often been accused of using Gazprom, a state-controlled natural gas monopoly, as a political weapon to keep its neighbours in line.

From here.

Also with respect to Gazprom and the Russian Gas Wars, the Eurasian Daily Monitor has an interesting conclusion comment about the same applied to Belarus:

Gazprom’s threat to quadruple the price of gas to Belarus after December 31 to $200 per 1,000 cubic meters was meant to force Minsk into ceding 50% ownership of the state gas transport company Beltransgas to Gazprom. However, the threat seems to have the opposite effect thus far. President Alexander Lukashenka is publicly expressing an anger bordering on defiance, and the Economics Ministry is ruling out selling any share in Beltransgas to Gazprom unless the price of Russian gas is what Minsk officials describe as a “normal price” (Interfax, October 31).

[...]

...an irate Lukashenka told a visiting Russian regional governor that Minsk “categorically opposes the tearing up of union relations and union agreements” -- that is, the switch of Moscow’s priorities toward economic integration of Belarus with Russia. “Well, we don’t want to sell certain state assets,” he confirmed, alluding to the oil refineries. And, “Why is Russia building up a [customs] border with Belarus? In that case we can also start building up a customs border” (Interfax, October 31).

Lukashenka was responding to Putin’s October 25 remark that “economic integration” must become the first stage toward creating a union state (Kremlin.ru, October 25). At present, the Kremlin’s idea of “economic integration” implies a gradual takeover of the Belarus economy. Political “integration,” in contrast, comes cost-free to Belarus and Lukashenka because it has been confined to public speech-making and unenforceable documents. However, Kremlin succession plans for 2008 may well envisage creating some real state structures for the Russia-Belarus Union as a possible job option for Putin after the expiry of his final constitutional term as president of Russia.

[emphasis added - DT]

From this article.

oh. ouch. If true. EDM has been wrong before, of course.