No Gas for U.

It’s that time of year again. No – not to lose those extra few holiday pounds, or to rationalize away a perfectly good (but overly optimistic) New Year’s resolution. Not at least, if you’re Russian, and unable to suppress your annual desire to use your oil and natural gas supplies to blackmail foreign nations.

Few, it seems, remember that a few winters ago (“The”) Ukraine held an historic election where freedom and representative government triumphed over the ideas and tyranny and oppression. Not being able to tolerate the situation, Russia promptly raised energy rates 400% in a single day – just in case you weren’t sure where they stood after the “good guy” was mysteriously poisoned.

Last winter, it should come as no surprise that the Georgians were the ones left out in the cold. The sad tale of the small republic being baited by Russia into appearing to be the aggressor, was a brilliant public relations coup for Moscow. But make no mistake about it – the Russians were using their old “turn off the heat” trick to try to wear down the resolve of the Georgians the winter before the invasion. When the Georgians cried foul, the Russians responded with feigned confusion and called the idea that anyone would use natural resources as a political weapon “hysterical” delusions.

So what are the Russians up to this winter? Despite the fact that vast quantities of Russia’s natural gas flow through pipelines in Ukraine to dependent Europeans, the people of Ukraine will not have any access to it. You see, although Russia has been able to destabilize Ukraine’s government since it’s “Orange Revolution”, it still isn’t happy with the upstart republic.

How do you justify cutting off the heat during the dead of winter to 46 million people? Apparently fairly easily. Something about a contract dispute, and $1.5 billion dollars that Ukraine transferred to pay off its debt “hasn’t been received yet.” Astonishingly, Russia has claimed they are the ones being blackmailed by the Ukrainians – as if they aren’t the ones trying to freeze Ukraine into submission – after accusing the Ukrainian government of stealing natural gas flowing through their country. Remember boys and girls, when blackmailing someone, always claim they are blackmailing you.

So, as we warm ourselves by the fire, or turn up the thermostat, let us all raise a toast to the huddled masses in the former Soviet Republics. We may not be able to help them, or, say… find their countries on a map, but at least we have some vague notion that they more than any of us, appreciate their bitterly cold freedom.

So here’s to you Uzbekistan – wherever you are!