Russia has been making enormous efforts recently aiming to reduce its dependence on energy transit across Belarus and Ukraine. It is assumed that the aim will be achieved after commissioning of the gas mains known as the "Nord Stream" and the "South Stream", which will keep Europe, like in "tentacles", in energy dependence from Russia. READ MORE

Construction of Europe's largest-ever energy project, the Nord Stream gas pipeline, has started after years of intensive wrangling. But questions remain. Chief among them: Is the trans-Baltic pipeline really necessary? READ MORE

Three companies have been contracted to supply a million tons of steel pipes for the construction of the second pipeline of the Nord Stream project, the consortium has announced, confirming that work would begin in April this year. READ MORE

Last month, the West officially lost the new "Great Game." The 20-year competition for natural resources and influence in Central Asia between the United States (supported by the European Union), Russia and China has, for now, come to an end, with the outcome in favor of the latter two. Western defeat was already becoming clear with the slow progress of the Nabucco pipeline and the strategic reorientation of some Central Asian republics toward Russia and China. Two recent events, however, confirmed it. READ MORE