A New Energy Age in Pacific Russia: Lessons from the Sakhalin Oil and Gas Projects

A noted British specialist in Russia's economic geography and the Far East region presents a comprehensive account of the development of the onshore and offshore oil and gas deposits of Sakhalin. Following a review of early multinational activity in geological surveying and exploration during the 1970s, he charts subsequent changes in the entities formed to develop and exploit the deposits (Sakhalin-I and -II) later in the Soviet period and during the first two decades of Russian independence. These changes have responded to improved knowledge of the geology of the deposits and changing relations between the Russian central government and Sakhalin regional authorities. Also analyzed are efforts by the Russian side to overturn or otherwise modify terms of previous agreements deemed unfavorable, and maneuvering by China and Japan to secure increasing sources of supply for their markets. With Sakhalin's two core projects now entering the active production phase, the author distills a number of key issues that have shaped the development of the island's offshore hydrocarbon resources and will have a bearing on prospects for a future generation of less spectacular new projects (incremental development); he also outlines wider lessons that have been learned over the life of Sakhalin's projects. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: F210, L710, L950, P330, Q400. 4 figures, 2 tables, 45 references.     

Eurasian Natural Gas: Significance and Recent Developments

A noted American specialist on the economies of Russia and major republics of the former Soviet Union explores and discusses the natural gas resources of Central Eurasia and the political and economic issues raised by their general inaccessibility. Central to these issues are the international pipelines required to bring this increasingly important energy source to meet growing world demand, and their intimate connection to the security of all the nations involved. The author explains why they are complicated by the growing, yet still largely potential, competition from a world LNG market driven by new technologies, and hence natural gas sources, outside of Central Eurasia. Each of the major actors in this arena—from the producer states and their national energy companies to the high-income consuming states with an increasing demand for natural gas—are pursuing frequently conflicting strategies to ensure their energy supplies and income security. Addressing the major developments thoroughly, the paper focuses in particular on the strategies of Russia/Gazprom, the Central Asian producers, and the transit states, as well as on the pipelines, both actual and potential, that intertwine them.     

Bank Depositor Behavior in Russia in the Aftermath of Financial Crisis

An international team of economists examines the factors influencing the behavior of Russian depositors in the immediate aftermath of that country's 1998 financial crisis, drawing upon two largely unutilized data sources—data from the Russian state savings bank Sberbank and a November 1998 household survey. After first reviewing the evolution of the household deposit market during the 1990s, they explore regional variations in net withdrawals from Sberbank branches during the period August-October 1998 as well as identify characteristics of individual/household depositors making (or attempting to make) such withdrawals. More severe runs on Sberbank outlets are found to be associated with more affluent and entrepreneurial regions, regions of more youthful and less educated population closer to Moscow, and areas with greater media freedom. Subsequent public opinion survey analysis of the socioeconomic correlates of runs on all Russian banks during the 1998 crisis reveals some interesting differences (in the effects of education in particular) on the propensity to successfully withdraw deposits.     

Russian Revenues from Oil and Gas Exports: Flow and Taxation

A senior Japanese economist traces the flows of revenue derived from oil and gas exports through the Russian economy. The author examines the use of revenues and investigates their contribution to Russia's state and regional budgets in the form of taxes. After detailing the methodological difficulties encountered in measuring revenue streams statistically, he proceeds to approximate their magnitude through intensive use of input-output table data and budget statistics provided by the Russian Federation Ministry of Finance. His investigation of the list of destination countries for Russian oil and petroleum products exports has interesting implications for the study of capital flight from Russia to the West. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: F14, H20, Q43. 10 tables, 37 references.     

News Notes

The paper surveys the Russian aluminum industry during the turbulent transition years of the 1990s, and updates developments to the current period. The focus is on primary aluminum production, with emphasis on the key topics of ownership and governance, output and performance, costs of production (dominated by energy and transportation), investments, technology, and alumina and bauxite inputs. Considerable attention is devoted to elucidating the corporate strategies of the two dominant Russian aluminum companies emerging by the end of the period—Rusal and SUAL. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: F21, L61, L72. 1 figure, 4 tables, 79 references.     

Geophysical signatures associated with fluid flow and gas hydrate occurrence in a tectonically quiescent sequence,Qiongdongnan Basin,South China Sea

Interpretation of high‐resolution two‐dimensional (2D) and three‐dimensional (3D) seismic data collected in the Qiongdongnan Basin, South China Sea reveals the presence of polygonal faults, pockmarks, gas chimneys and slope failure in strata of Pliocene and younger age. The gas chimneys are characterized by low‐amplitude reflections, acoustic turbidity and low P‐wave velocity indicating fluid expulsion pathways. Coherence time slices show that the polygonal faults are restricted to sediments with moderate‐amplitude, continuous reflections. Gas hydrates are identified in seismic data by the presence of bottom simulating reflectors (BSRs), which have high amplitude, reverse polarity and are subparallel to seafloor. Mud diapirism and mounded structures have variable geometry and a great diversity regarding the origin of the fluid and the parent beds. The gas chimneys, mud diapirism, polygonal faults and a seismic facies‐change facilitate the upward migration of thermogenic fluids from underlying sediments. Fluids can be temporarily trapped below the gas hydrate stability zone, but fluid advection may cause gas hydrate dissociation and affect the thickness of gas hydrate zone. The fluid accumulation leads to the generation of excess pore fluids that release along faults, forming pockmarks and mud volcanoes on the seafloor. These features are indicators of fluid flow in a tectonically‐quiescent sequence, Qiongdongnan Basin. Geofluids (2010) 10 , 351–368     

HMQS Mosquito: the rediscovery and identification of Queensland's first warship

In 2009, the remnants of Her Majesty's Queensland Ship Mosquito, a 2nd‐class torpedo‐boat built in 1883, were relocated. Purchased by the colonial government of Australia in response to heightened tensions between Great Britain and Imperial Russia, Mosquito was assigned to Queensland's capital, Brisbane, where it had a largely uneventful career. Following removal from active duty it was stripped and abandoned on the foreshore of a tributary of the Brisbane River. This paper discusses Mosquito's historical background, and chronicles the rediscovery of the vessel, and the archaeological investigation and identification of its remains. © 2010 The Author     

Variety and Adventure in the Life of Carl Linden

Abstract

In his long life Carl Linden lived variously and wonderfully. For more than half a century he was a teacher and promoter of Great Books in the classroom and in the neighborhood. Great Books in his hands and mind transformed him into a kind of latter-day Socrates, always questioning, always smiling, sometimes teasingly. As a naturalist he was a hiker/biker on the C&O Canal towpath and promoter of it, as well. His scholarly pursuits took him to Eastern Europe, especially to Russia and Ukraine, about which he wrote and taught for four decades. Finally, he was a bon vivant whose Socratic ways won him laurels in the classroom and friends in the places where good fellows meet.     

Decadent pioneers: Land,space and gender in Zionist revisionist thought

Soviet Russia in the 1920s was the scene of intensified Zionist activity, fed by an economic and existential crisis among large segments of the Jewish population and tolerated to a surprising degree by the Soviet authorities. The article explores these factors and the “Soviet context” of Zionism, and documents the powerful influences they exerted on the young membership of the Zionist organizations. The author's interest goes beyond articulated ideological positions to include learned habits of work, political and cultural practices, and perceptions of the social and the personal. She analyzes the transplantation of these elements of political culture into Palestine by the 3,000-odd young Zionist immigrants who arrived between 1924 and 1931, cautioning that ideas and practices were borrowed selectively and modified by the reality of the Jewish settlement in Palestine.     

Regional Distribution of the Muslim Population of Russia

Drawing on the results of the 2002 population census in Russia, an American geographer examines the size and spatial distribution of ethnic groups classified as Muslim. Methods of classification and issues with enumerating the Muslim population and changes since the 1989 census are described and analyzed. Considerable attention is paid to the implications of such a large and territorially concentrated Muslim population under conditions in the post- Soviet era. Demographic, social, and economic differences between Muslims and the rest of the population of Russia are examined. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: I00, J10, O18. 2 figures, 6 tables, 53 references.