The orange chickens fry on Russian gas

Excellent, concrete and sound analysis of Russian-Ukrainian gas negotiations from Peter Lavelle.
The immediate context of this development includes:
-- Recent sales of Ukrainian steel production complex Krivorozhstal to the Indians.
-- Tensions between Ukraine on one side and Russia and Turkmenia on another side. Basically, Russians and Turkmens accuse Ukrainians of pocketing their gas and late payments.

In this situation, Russian Gazprom wants to kill off old gas discounts and introduce European prices for the gas it sells to Ukraine. The problem is, Ukrainian fuel efficiency is abysmal, their consumers and heavy industry (starting from Krivorozhstal) are heavily dependent on cheap energy. As it was expected, all this does not promise Ukrainian "democratic" revolutionaries any good.

1. PETER LAVELLE. Kiev-Moscow pipeline impasse http://www.upi.com/InternationalIntelligence/view.php?StoryID=20051122-013758-4797r
2. GU. Tom Parfitt. One year on, the orange uprising leaves a bitter aftertaste http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,1646163,00.html

http://inplainview.monitor.us.tt/comm.PostSov.htm