Energy & Conflict: Russia, Former USSR, Eastern and Western Europe
History
Western Europe's Energy
* Historically, Western European countries have controlled vast energy resources, much of which were taken from their overseas colonies.
* As many of these colonies were lost, Western European countries faced having to produce power from their own energy reserves.
* Around 1900, the major energy producing areas were the Northern border between France and Germany, which produced oil and coal, and the UK's coal mines which had fuelled its Industrial Revolution and were still producing significant quantities of coal. However, these reserves are now virtually exploited or are no longer economically viable.
* The discovery of North Sea oil and gas in the 1960s solved many of the energy problems that Western Europe and the UK in particular were facing.
* However, now 40 years on, these reserves are also running out and Western Europe must find alternative energy sources.
Eastern Europe's Energy
* At the start of the 20th century, Eastern Europe mainly used traditional fuel, such as wood and coal, although Czechoslovakia had some oil production in the Sudetenland.
* After WW2, many Eastern European countries such as Poland, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Hungary and Romania were controlled by the USSR as satellite states. Under Soviet control, Eastern European resources were used to power Russia. Polish and Ukrainian coal was exploited massively by the USSR. Eastern Europe was also used to house part of the USSR nuclear energy programme, with reactors in Ukraine, Lithuania, Bulgaria and Czechoslovakia.
Russia and Former USSR's Energy
* In 1848, the first modern oil well was drilled by a Russian engineer in what is now Azerbaijan. By 1900, Imperial Russia's oil output accounted for 50% of global production. The oilfields in Baku were set on fire during the Russian Revolution in 1905.
History
Western Europe's Energy
* Historically, Western European countries have controlled vast energy resources, much of which were taken from their overseas colonies.
* As many of these colonies were lost, Western European countries faced having to produce power from their own energy reserves.
* Around 1900, the major energy producing areas were the Northern border between France and Germany, which produced oil and coal, and the UK's coal mines which had fuelled its Industrial Revolution and were still producing significant quantities of coal. However, these reserves are now virtually exploited or are no longer economically viable.
* The discovery of North Sea oil and gas in the 1960s solved many of the energy problems that Western Europe and the UK in particular were facing.
* However, now 40 years on, these reserves are also running out and Western Europe must find alternative energy sources.
Eastern Europe's Energy
* At the start of the 20th century, Eastern Europe mainly used traditional fuel, such as wood and coal, although Czechoslovakia had some oil production in the Sudetenland.
* After WW2, many Eastern European countries such as Poland, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Hungary and Romania were controlled by the USSR as satellite states. Under Soviet control, Eastern European resources were used to power Russia. Polish and Ukrainian coal was exploited massively by the USSR. Eastern Europe was also used to house part of the USSR nuclear energy programme, with reactors in Ukraine, Lithuania, Bulgaria and Czechoslovakia.
Russia and Former USSR's Energy
* In 1848, the first modern oil well was drilled by a Russian engineer in what is now Azerbaijan. By 1900, Imperial Russia's oil output accounted for 50% of global production. The oilfields in Baku were set on fire during the Russian Revolution in 1905.
