2006年VOA标准英语-Russia's Gazprom Has Increasing Political Clout

By Anya Ardayeva
Moscow
03 October 2006
 
watch Russia Gazprom report

 
Illustration of Gazprom pipelines²
Russia's largest company, Gazprom, is now the leading supplier of natural gas to Europe. The state-run Russian conglomerate³ is also expanding into other spheres of the energy business, and adding to its already-considerable media holdings. With Gazprom's influence growing at home and overseas, some fear that Gazprom's value as a political tool is also growing. 

It takes five hours to fly from Gazprom's headquarters in Moscow to its most remote outpost. There, gas fields in Siberia have helped Gazprom become Russia's largest extractor of natural gas, accounting⁴ for more than 95 percent of the country's production.

The company supplies almost all the gas needs of Central and Eastern Europe as well as the countries of the former Soviet⁵ Union. And it owns the world's longest pipeline¹ network which extends for 150,000 kilometers.

So Gazprom is a big deal economically....and is not afraid to use its muscle.

Back in January, the company temporarily cut gas supplies to Ukraine in a pricing dispute -- a move that alarmed European countries which get their supplies of Russian gas through the Ukrainian pipeline.

 
Sergei Kupriyanov
Sergei Kupriyanov, deputy director of Gazprom's Information Policy Department says there are few alternatives. "Long-term, from the point of view of resources, there is no alternative to Gazprom for European consumers. Maybe they are only realizing it now, and that's why they're expressing nervousness, but it has been clear for a while:  there are no other sources of gas like Gazprom, and the European Union's own resources are rapidly shrinking."

As well as its importance abroad, Gazprom's influence on the domestic scene is also growing.

In 2001, it took over the once independent Russian television network NTV, forcing the network's leading journalists to quit. Recently, Gazprom expanded its media holdings by adding radio stations and newspapers.

Gazprom alone generates 8 percent of Russia's national tax revenues. That -- in addition to its media assets -- gives it growing political clout⁶.

 
Sergei Kolchin
Sergei Kolchin is an expert with Moscow's Institute of International Economic and Political Research at the Russian Academy of Sciences.  He says Gazprom can be used to solidify⁷ popular support for the Kremlin.  "Gazprom is a powerful force.  It was planned originally as an agent of both the government and the President with regard to Russia's internal issues.  That included sponsoring Russian soccer clubs, to developing gas fields in Russia's remotest regions and, of course, developing a certain political force.  If you look at the results of the previous elections, up to 80 percent of people in remote mining regions voted for the President, and that's thank to Gazprom's help".

Gazprom spokesman Sergei Kupriyanov denies the company seeks to influence Russian politics -- either directly or through its media holdings. "Gazprom does not play election games.  Yes, media participates in covering the election but if you ask any of the editors-in-chief of various Gazprom media outlets⁸, they will tell you they never receive any orders from Gazprom about how things should be done."

Aside from Gazprom, there is another player entering the scene: state-owned Rosneft. Once a minor⁹ Russian company, Rosneft acquired the core unit of what once used to be Russia's largest private oil company, Yukos.

Yukos itself was declared bankrupt following the controversial jailing of its owner and Kremlin critic, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, on charges of tax evasion¹⁰.

Analyst¹¹ Sergei Kolchin says that aside from silencing the criticism, making sure that the state controls oil revenues has also become extremely important for the Kremlin.  "While oil and energy prices were relatively¹² low, the state did not worry about owning oil industry, almost all of it was sold out. In the mid¹³ 1990s, Rosneft had almost no assets left and barely existed. When oil and gas prices grew so much, the state realized that it should keep those profitable industries in its hands."

Both Rosneft and Gazprom have become Russia's leading exporters of oil and gas, responding to the growing global demand.

The high prices that buyers are willing to pay for energy means that the companies themselves are becoming major players on Russia's economic and political scene -- much to the benefit of the Kremlin.

1 pipeline   

n.管道，管线

参考例句：

• The pipeline supplies Jordan with 15 per cent of its crude oil.该管道供给约旦15%的原油。
• A single pipeline serves all the houses with water.一条单管路给所有的房子供水。

2 pipelines   

管道( pipeline的名词复数 )； 输油管道； 在考虑（或规划、准备） 中； 在酿中

参考例句：

• The oil is carried to the oil refinery by pipelines. 石油通过输油管输送到炼油厂。
• The oil carried in pipelines. 石油用管道输送。

3 conglomerate   

n.综合商社，多元化集团公司

参考例句：

• The firm has been taken over by an American conglomerate.该公司已被美国一企业集团接管。
• An American conglomerate holds a major share in the company.一家美国的大联合企业持有该公司的大部分股份。

4 accounting   

n.会计，会计学，借贷对照表

参考例句：

• A job fell vacant in the accounting department.财会部出现了一个空缺。
• There's an accounting error in this entry.这笔账目里有差错。

5 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

6 clout   

n.用手猛击；权力，影响力

参考例句：

• The queen may have privilege but she has no real political clout.女王有特权，但无真正的政治影响力。
• He gave the little boy a clout on the head.他在那小男孩的头部打了一下。

7 solidify   

v.(使)凝固，(使)固化，(使)团结

参考例句：

• Opinion on this question began to solidify.对这个问题的意见开始具体化了。
• Water will solidify into ice if you freeze it.水冷冻会结冰。

8 outlets   

n.出口( outlet的名词复数 )；经销店；插座；廉价经销店

参考例句：

• The dumping of foreign cotton blocked outlets for locally grown cotton. 外国棉花的倾销阻滞了当地生产的棉花的销路。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They must find outlets for their products. 他们必须为自己的产品寻找出路。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

9 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

10 evasion   

n.逃避，偷漏(税)

参考例句：

• The movie star is in prison for tax evasion.那位影星因为逃税而坐牢。
• The act was passed as a safeguard against tax evasion.这项法案旨在防止逃税行为。

11 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

12 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

13 mid   

adj.中央的，中间的

参考例句：

• Our mid-term exam is pending.我们就要期中考试了。
• He switched over to teaching in mid-career.他在而立之年转入教学工作。