Lucian Kim
  • Archives
  • Blogs
  • About
  • Contact

Energy

Putin Backs Maduro, As Kremlin Critics Cheer U.S. Support For Venezuela’s Opposition

Published January 25, 2019 in NPR Leave a comment

If Cuba was the Kremlin’s closest ally in Latin America during the Cold War, now it’s Venezuela, whose vast oil wealth gives Russia direct influence over an OPEC member.

Read More

Russia’s Nuclear Industry Tries To Dispel Fears Over Mysterious Radioactive Cloud

Published December 8, 2017 in NPR Leave a comment

“What’s happening with the ruthenium cloud reminds me a lot of what went on with Chernobyl. The pattern of behavior is exactly the same.”

Read More

The Cracks in Kremlin Inc.

Published June 3, 2007 in Bloomberg Leave a comment

“Gazprom is not a state company; it’s the president’s personal company,” says Vladimir Milov. “It’s a bunch of people from St. Petersburg enjoying the windfall.”

Read More

Putin’s China Visit Helps Russia Become Global Energy Supplier

Published October 14, 2009 in Bloomberg Leave a comment

Russia agreed to supply China with oil for 20 years in return for a $25 billion credit. The total value of oil deals signed with Chinese companies this year is about $100 billion.

Read More

Putin Uses Railway to Expand Russian Influence in North Korea

Published October 25, 2006 in Bloomberg Leave a comment

Russian Railways, the state-run monopoly led by Putin confidant Vladimir Yakunin, is planning to complete a rail line crossing the North Korean-Russian border.

Read More

Iran, Venezuela Form Oil Venture to Rival Shell, Eni

Published October 18, 2007 in Bloomberg Leave a comment

Iran and Venezuela, the producers of about 9 percent of the world’s oil, will form a $1 billion global venture for projects in countries where western companies are facing tougher business conditions.

Read More

Iran Seeks to Undermine U.S. Energy Plan for Europe

Published June 7, 2007 in Bloomberg Leave a comment

Iran plans to import more oil and gas from Central Asia as it seeks to undermine a U.S.-backed project to build pipelines from the Caspian Sea to Europe.

Read More

German Village Refuses to Let Its Future Turn to Coal Dust

Published September 29, 1997 in The Christian Science Monitor Leave a comment

Bernd Siegert is leading a last-ditch fight to save his 650-year-old village from destruction by a mining company.

Read More

Unlocking Turkmenistan

Published January 31, 2008 in Bloomberg Leave a comment

President-for-Life Saparmurat Niyazov harangued ministers, asking them why it took a foreigner to run a successful chicken farm.

Read More

Oil-and-Gas Rich Country Swallows Money, Still Needing More

Published September 28, 1998 in The Christian Science Monitor Leave a comment

“You have to swim somewhere,” says one girl who emerges from the murky water. “We live here, so what choice do we have? Our hair and teeth haven’t fallen out yet.”

Read More

Putin’s War on Young People

If Russia is ever to become a country that seeks peace with its neighbors and respects the rights of its own citizens, then such a future depends on Russia’s young people.

Read more

Popular Posts

Fables of the ReconstructionFables of the Reconstruction
The Baddest Town in RussiaThe Baddest Town in Russia
Face Without a ManFace Without a Man

About Lucian

Based in Berlin and Moscow, I reported from the former Soviet empire for 25 years for NPR, Reuters, Slate, Bloomberg, and others. My first book, Putin’s Revenge: Why Russia Invaded Ukraine, is now available from Columbia University Press.

Read more

© Lucian Kim, 2011-2025. All Rights Reserved.