Foreign Affairs Article

Print Print Email Email Share Share Cite Cite
Style: MLA APA Chicago Close

loading...

Putin's Petroleum Problem

How Oil Is Holding Russia Back—and How It Could Save It

Author: Thane Gustafson
November/December 2012
Foreign Affairs

Last winter, a wave of mass demonstrations suddenly broke the surface calm of Russian politics. A new middle class, born of the oil-based prosperity of the last decade, took to the streets to voice its opposition to the perceived corruption of the political elite, especially United Russia, the ruling party of then Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. For a time, as the protest movement gained momentum, the very foundations of the regime appeared to shake.

Request permission to republish or photocopy this Foreign Affairs article.

Read full article at ForeignAffairs.com.

More on This Topic

Backgrounder

Russia's Energy Disputes

Author: Lionel Beehner

Buoyed by high oil prices, Russia finds itself embroiled in a number of disputes with foreign firms looking to tap its underdeveloped oil...

Analysis Brief

Russia’s Nuclear Power

Author: Toni Johnson

Russia doesn’t have abundant stores of natural uranium but its considerable enrichment capacity and nuclear know-how is increasingly up for...