194 SEER, 87, I, JANUARY 200g Rosner, Kevin (ed.). Russian Foreign Energy Policy: An Analytical Compendium. Global Market Briefings. GMB Publishing, London and Philadelphia, PA, 2007. xxi + 656 pp. Figures. Tables. Maps. Notes. ?795.00: $1500.00: 1180.00. Russia possesses around one-third of the world's gas reserves and is the world's second largest exporter of crude oil, after Saudi Arabia, but ithas frequently been accused of using itsvast energy resources to gain diplomatic leverage. Questions about its reliability both as an energy supplier and international partner have emerged in recent years, as ithas cut supplies of oil and gas to its former Soviet neighbours, impacting on supply to Europe and pushing energy security to the top of the agenda. The European Union (EU) as a whole currently obtains 44 per cent of itsoil and 25 per cent of itsnatural gas from Russia and the International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that this will rise to 94 per cent and 81 per cent respectively within twenty-fiveyears, as indigenous reserves dwindle. Thus, an understanding of Russian motiva tions is vital for European countries (and others), which are set to become increasingly reliant upon imports ofRussian oil and gas. This timely volume examines Russia's international energy strategy, particularly its impact on foreignpolicy andMoscow's relations with itsneigh bours. It is a multi-authored collection of nine individual country reports, originally published as stand-alone analyses of the development of the energy sector in a range of Eurasian countries and the dynamics of their relationship with Russia. The book covers a vast geographical area, from Bulgaria in the west, to China in the east, as well as the entire energy spectrum, from hydro carbon producers such as Azerbaijan, to key transit countries such as Belarus and Ukraine, to those countries that are dependent upon Russian energy, such as the Baltic states and Georgia. Each country report contains detailed information on Russian activity in the energy sector, generally focusing on the post-Soviet era. Kevin Rosner, the book's editor, stresses the global significance ofRussia's energy strategy,describing Russian oil and gas as 'the tip of an iceberg,which has a huge glacial mass that remains subsurface and opaque, hence unknown tomost of us' (p. xv). Russia exports around 140billion cubic metres (Bern) of gas to Europe each year, but with European gas demand set to rise by 20-30 per cent, Russia could play a key role in meeting the region's growing require ments. Russian gas giant Gazprom has become increasingly active within the international arena in recent years, yet little is known about it. Rosner's chapter liftsthe lid on Russia's single largest company, outlining the nature of the relationship between Gazprom and the Russian government. He notes that the Russian government envisages the gas giant as a global industry leader, capable of reshaping themarket for its own purposes. Gazprom's involvement inGeorgia is described by Liana Jervalidze, who considers the possibility that the corporation's interest in the South Caucasus statemay be driven by a desire to link together the gas networks inArmenia, Iran and Russia, with the ultimate objective of exporting Iranian gas to the EU. It is not just Gazprom that has been seeking to strengthen its foothold abroad. Over the past decade Russian oil majors such as LUKoil have been REVIEWS 195 pursuing aggressive international expansion strategies, acquiring significant downstream assets across Eastern Europe. Adnan Vatansever examines Russian involvement in Bulgaria's petroleum industry, focusing on the priva tization of the country's largest retail outlet, Petrol AD, and LUKoil's acquisi tion of the Neftochim refinery. By contrast, the Baltic state of Lithuania successfully resisted LUKoil's attempts to gain control of its Mazeikiu Nafta oil complex, concerned about the implications such a takeoverwould have for the country's security.Although the threeBaltic states are now part of theEU, they are stilldependent upon imports ofRussian energy, particularly natural gas, which undermines theirpolitical and economic autonomy. In his chapter on Baltic independence and Russian foreign energy policy, Harold Elletson surmises that Moscow has sought to use its control of energy resources as a means of furthering foreign policy objectives in the...