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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 by framing Soviet energy in a multi-national context, taking into account not only the view from Moscow, but also the perspectives of communist Eastern Europe, the US, NATO, as well as several Western European countries - namely Italy, France, and West Germany. This book challenges some of the long-standing assumptions of East-West bloc relations, as well as shedding new light on relations within the blocs regarding the issue of energy. By bringing together a range of junior and senior historians and specialists from Europe, Russia and the US, this book represents a pioneering endeavour to approach the role of Soviet energy during the Cold War in transnational perspective.
List of contents
Introduction.- Chapter 1: The Soviet Union's Rise as an International Energy Power: A Short History; Jeronim Perovic.- Part I: From World War to Cold War: Soviet Oil and Western Reactions.- Chapter 2: From Crisis to Plenty: The Soviet "Oil Campaign" under Stalin; Felix Rehschuh.- Chapter 3: Stalin's Oil Policy and the Iranian Crisis of 1945-1946; Nataliia Egorova.- Chapter 4: "Red Oil" and Western Reactions: The Case of Britain; Niklas Jensen-Eriksen.- Chapter 5: Debates at NATO and the EEC in Response to the Soviet "Oil Offensive" in the Early 1960s; Roberto Cantoni.- Part II: From Cold War to Détente: Soviet Energy and the Expansion of East-West Trade.- Chapter 6.- Decision-Making in the Soviet Energy Sector in post-Stalinist Times: The Failure of Khrushchev's Economic Modernization Strategy; Viacheslav Nekrasov.- Chapter 7: A Challenge to American Cold War Energy Politics? The US and Italy's Relations with the Soviet Union, 1958-1969; Elisabetta Bini.- Chapter 8: Gaz de France and Soviet Natural Gas: Balancing Technological Constraints with Political Considerations, 1950s to 1980s; Alain Beltran and Jean-Pierre Williot.- Chapter 9: Rise of Western Siberia and the Soviet-West German Energy Relationship during the 1970s; Dunja Krempin.- Chapter 10: From Linkage to Economic Warfare: Energy, Soviet-American Relations, and the End of the Cold War; David S. Painter.- Part III: From Crisis to Collapse: Soviet Energy and the Burden of Empire.- Chapter 11: Creating a Common Energy Space: The Building of the Druzhba Oil Pipeline; Falk Flade.- Chapter 12: Calculating the Burden of Empire: Soviet Oil, East-West Trade, and the End of the Socialist Bloc; Suvi Kansikas.- Chapter 13: Drifting Apart: Soviet Energy and the Cohesion of the Communist Bloc in the 1970s and 1980s; Lorenz Lüthi.- Chapter 14: The Fall of the Soviet Union and the Legacies of Energy Dependencies in Eastern Europe; Margarita M. Balmaceda.
About the author
Jeronim Perovi¿ is Professor of Eastern European History at the Department of History of the University of Zurich, Switzerland. He specializes in the history of Russia and the Soviet Union, as well as the history of the Balkans.
Summary
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 by framing Soviet energy in a multi-national context, taking into account not only the view from Moscow, but also the perspectives of communist Eastern Europe, the US, NATO, as well as several Western European countries – namely Italy, France, and West Germany. This book challenges some of the long-standing assumptions of East-West bloc relations, as well as shedding new light on relations within the blocs regarding the issue of energy. By bringing together a range of junior and senior historians and specialists from Europe, Russia and the US, this book represents a pioneering endeavour to approach the role of Soviet energy during the Cold War in transnational perspective.
Additional text
“The book is a welcome, rigorous, and much needed in-depth exploration of energy politics during the Cold War in Europe. Its geographical shortcomings are an invitation to continue and expand the study of the energy/Cold War nexus and its history and legacies, across and beyond its European core.” (Maurizio G. Totaro, Europe-Asia Studies, Vol. 70 (8), 2018)
“This volume is quite impressive. It covers much new territory, effectively utilizes previously inaccessible materials, and offers nuanced insights into Soviet and CMEA energy policies during the Cold War. … this book comes at an eminently fitting time.” (Nicholas Ostrum, EuropeNow, europenowjournal.org, December, 2017)
Report
"The book is a welcome, rigorous, and much needed in-depth exploration of energy politics during the Cold War in Europe. Its geographical shortcomings are an invitation to continue and expand the study of the energy/Cold War nexus and its history and legacies, across and beyond its European core." (Maurizio G. Totaro, Europe-Asia Studies, Vol. 70 (8), 2018)
"This volume is quite impressive. It covers much new territory, effectively utilizes previously inaccessible materials, and offers nuanced insights into Soviet and CMEA energy policies during the Cold War. ... this book comes at an eminently fitting time." (Nicholas Ostrum, EuropeNow, europenowjournal.org, December, 2017)
