Russia in Conflict

Vladimir Putin’s regional roulette has many fronts but just two primary stakes: oil and pride. Russia is nursing border disputes with Norway and Japan, but the real emotional outbursts come with the former Soviet states, many of whom are sidling up to NATO or the E.U. Among the weapons wielded: troop deployments, trade embargoes and immigration quotas. Late last year Russia hiked gas and oil prices to Belarus, Georgia and Ukraine, all countries resisting the Kremlin’s political embrace. With former satellites like Azerbaijan planning oil pipelines that bypass Russia, expect more hurt feelings–and more rough play.

[This article consists of a complex diagram. Please see hardcopy of magazine.] NORWAY A boundary dispute muddies mutual claims to a gas field in the Barents Sea

BELARUS In early ’07, Russia shuts off crude oil supplies, alleging siphoning of oil meant for other nations

GEORGIA A serious geopolitical fight gets weird, with a Russian ban on Georgian wine and mineral water

JAPAN Fishermen and Russia’s navy clash in a long conflict over control of Kurile Islands

UKRAINE A major gas standoff; unrest over Russia’s Ukraine-based Crimea fleet

MOLDOVA Long fight over Moscow-backed breakaway territory Transdniestria

AZERBAIJAN Halts oil shipments to Russian Black Sea port after sharp gas-price hikes

CHINA Russian nationalists worry about Chinese migrants taking over borderlands