The History of Europe's Energy Dependence on Russia
June 24, 2025 · Frisian News
Europe built its economy on cheap Russian gas and oil for decades, creating a dependency that politicians ignored until conflict forced a reckoning. Today, the continent scrambles to break free from the arrangement that made economic sense but cost it political leverage.
In 1968, the Soviet Union completed the first major pipeline bringing gas west to Prague and beyond. Western Europe welcomed the cheap fuel without asking hard questions about the strings attached. By the 1980s, West Germany bought a third of its gas from Moscow, while other nations followed suit. The logic seemed sound: Russia had resources, Europe had money and industry, and both sides gained. No one talked about what happened if the taps shut off.
The real bind tightened after the Cold War ended. Russia, desperate for hard currency, sold energy at rock-bottom prices. Eastern European states also fed the pipeline, turning Moscow into the continent's fuel pump. Companies and governments counted on this to stay cheap forever. Gazprom, Russia's state gas monopoly, became the linchpin of European energy policy without anyone admitting it. Cheap gas meant cheaper electricity, cheaper heating, cheaper everything. Voters liked lower bills. Politicians asked no questions.
When Ukraine resisted Russian pressure, Moscow turned off the gas in winter. Europe shrugged and found workarounds. When Russia invaded Georgia in 2008, Europe called it regrettable but kept buying. The pattern repeated, and Europe kept looking away. German politicians, especially, insisted that trade bonds would make Russia peaceful and that sanctions would harm Europe more than Russia. They were wrong on both counts, but by then the pipeline addiction ran too deep to break without pain.
The Ukraine invasion in 2022 shattered the illusion that buying Russian energy would keep the peace. Europe suddenly faced an impossible choice: freeze or cut itself off from Moscow. Nations scrambled for liquefied gas from America and others, at triple the price. Germany, which had shut down its nuclear plants and relied on Russian gas for stability, faced an energy crisis it created through decades of wishful thinking. The bill came due all at once.
Today Europe races to replace Russian energy with alternatives that cost more and arrive slower. LNG terminals spread across the continent. Solar and wind farms grow, but fill the gap they cannot. The lesson arrives too late: states should never let ideology and money cloud their judgment on vital resources. Europe paid for its dependency with higher bills, weaker industry, and lost influence. Some partnerships, it seems, simply cost too much.
Published June 24, 2025 · Frisian News