Reference no: EM132402051

Eastern European countries dependency on Russia's natural gas would be notable since the turn of century making Russia a 31% exporter of oil to the world. After World War II, and the burning of the Baku oil fields in the early 1900s due to protests, Russia realized by the 1950s that their mass production of oil, and low price strategies they could be a dominant force in the suppliers of these resources. During uproar in the Middle East during the 70s and 80s gas prices began to rise, however, Russia maintained gas prices at a cost of 50% less than that of it's Middle East counterpart(Goodrich, 2014). Most of central Europe began to depend on Russia due to the accessibility, contracts with Russia that allowed for loans on oil exports, and the need for Russia to hold off western pressures due to sanctions.