Cold War Energy A Transnational History of Soviet Oil and Gas
This book examines the role of Soviet energy during the Cold War. Based on hitherto little known documents from Western and Eastern European archives, it combines the story of Soviet oil and gas with general Cold War history. This volume breaks new ground
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Jeronim Perovic
Cold War Energy
Jeronim Perovic´ Editor
Cold War Energy A Transnational History of Soviet Oil and Gas
Editor Jeronim Perovic´ Department of History University of Zurich Zurich, Switzerland
ISBN 978-3-319-49531-6 ISBN 978-3-319-49532-3 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-49532-3 Library of Congress Control Number: 2017930572 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2017 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Cover illustration: © Jeronim Perovic´ 2016 Printed on acid-free paper This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by Springer Nature The registered company is Springer International Publishing AG The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland
PREFACE BY THE EDITOR
The history of the Cold War remains incomplete without taking into consideration the role of Soviet energy, in particular in relation to oil and natural gas. The various Soviet campaigns to extract natural resources in ever-larger quantities were means to support the needs of the country’s military as well as its energy-intensive economy. However, Soviet energy exports also served as an important tool in Moscow’s project to integrate the socialist states of Eastern Europe into a single economic space. With regard to the states of the capitalist West, Soviet energy export largely served the purpose of gaining access to technology and hard currency. While the growing share of “red” oil and gas in European energy consumption was viewed with suspicion in the West, Moscow too had reservations about the prospect of the Soviet Union becoming increasingly dependent on foreigners for technology inputs and hard currency. During the period of détente in the 1970s, however, trade in energy was to become the main driver of Soviet–West European economic cooperation, eventually evolving into the kind of East–West energy int
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