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Alexei Miller – Putin’s gas general wants to bring Europe to its knees

Alexei Miller – Putin’s gas general wants to bring Europe to its knees

Rising fuel prices, the gas crisis and companies without energy – Alexei Miller wants to use this strategy to bring the West to its knees. The Gazprom boss is one hundred percent behind Putin.

After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, a trade war rages between the West and Moscow. The West has forced Russia out of the international payment system, frozen large deposits and tried to bring the Russian economy to its knees with further sanctions.

Economically, Russia is not a giant. But in some sectors the country can cause great difficulties for the West and the world economy. The most important is the market with fossil fuels. One man in particular is waging the energy war for Putin: the head of Gazprom PJSC, Alexei Miller.

The energy crisis is to become an economic crisis

Western Europe is now continuously turning off the gas tap. The whole thing is accompanied by a PR campaign. It aims to blame European governments for the energy crisis and rising prices. Miller’s aim in this war is broad. It’s not just about producing dissatisfied faces at petrol pumps. “He threatens to plunge Europe into darkness this winter, shutting down factories and testing governments’ resolve to fund and arm Ukraine for its war with Russia,” writes the Wall Street Journal. .

The Gazprom boss accepts that the pipelines to Western Europe, which cost billions, will become worthless. His actions are not as irresponsible as Western experts think. Western Europe had already announced that it would completely get rid of Russian gas. Miller preempts them by turning off the faucet just about a year before EU states do. From Gazprom’s point of view, the investments in the expensive tubes are lost one way or the other.

Miller wants to replace Europe with China as a customer, and Gazprom will have to rebuild a number of pipelines in the east. He can’t count on technology and funding from the West, but that shouldn’t hinder these projects. Too many other states are willing to fill in the gaps, including Turkey. On the other hand, Russia is also becoming increasingly dependent on China in the energy sector. Before invading Ukraine, Moscow was intent on claiming a separate role alongside China and the US. Due to open opposition to the West, this option is gone anyway (dragon and bear – how Moscow and Beijing are forcing the West into a two-front confrontation).

The war presented him with his most difficult challenge to date. Gas exports need to be rebalanced to balance sales to Europe. Gazprom’s main problem today is that the company has focused on pipelines and hardly invests in LNG plants. LPG can be brought to almost any country by tanker, pipelines have to be laid first. To prepare for the future, Gazprom isn’t paying a dividend, leaving its war chest about $20 billion more.

A man by Putin’s grace

Miller was made by Putin. The established the unknown doctoral student in 2001 as CEO of the most important company in Russia. A typical Putin decision. While Miller had no experience in the gas business, Putin knew him from his days in St. Petersburg when they both worked for the city. “He wasn’t a gas professional. He had no background in the industry – and that’s exactly why he was appointed,” Thane Gustafson, a Georgetown University professor and historian of oil and gas in Russia, told WSJ. Through the henchman, Putin controls the gas industry.

An important side effect: the clan around Putin benefits directly from the company’s funds. The case of Kirill Shamalov became known. By marrying Putin’s daughter, Putin’s ex-son-in-law received a loan of more than $1 billion from Gazprombank. This enabled him to enter the gas business on a grand scale. After the split, he had to return the shares (Putin’s daughter’s love made him a billionaire – the split took (almost) everything from him).

Alexei Miller is now considered one of the most loyal Putin loyalists. “Miller is someone who enjoys Putin’s trust, someone with unconditional loyalty,” Alexander Gabuev, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, told WSJ. Miller had to be aware that the war in Ukraine would make Gazprom’s business more difficult in the long term. But never a word of criticism came out of his mouth. On the contrary: Shortly after the invasion of Ukraine, Miller swore all 500,000 Gazprom employees to Putin. He wrote to them: “Our huge company has a special task. Today it is more important than ever that we continue to work together for a common cause and rally around our President.”

And like all vassals, Miller was well endowed by Putin. According to the Navalny organization, Miller and his girlfriend Marina Yentaltseva own real estate worth about $710 million. Miller was only put on the US sanctions list in 2018. At the time, he said he was proud of it, although he wonders why it wasn’t listed earlier. “I had some doubts – maybe something is wrong?” he said on Russian television. “But now I’ve finally been accepted. That means we’re doing everything right.”

Also read:

Putin’s daughter’s love made him a billionaire – the breakup took (almost) everything from him).

Dragon and Bear – how Moscow and Beijing are forcing the West into a two-front confrontation

What sanctions? Beijing supplies everything that Putin’s war machine needs

Source: Stern

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