Impact of the Covid-19 crisis on the Russian energy sector: impact on Russian-European relations 2019-2021.

Abstract

Covid-19 emergence on the world scene wreaked havoc on the world economy and the Russian economy was no exception. The price war, which began in 2020, between Russia and Saudi Arabia has amplified the impact of the rapid collapse in demand for oil and gas. The abrupt drop in crude oil prices shook the sector prices and the risk premiums of the producing countries, especially in the Russian Federation. Although the new pandemic has severely affected economic dynamics, the impact of this phenomenon on international political relations has been no less serious. Some countries have taken advantage of the continuous fluctuations in hydrocarbons prices to guarantee their geopolitical interests, and in this sense, Russia has been the main target. Hence, this research aims to assess the impact of the Covid-19 crisis on the Russian energy sector and it proposes to assess how it affected the relations of the Russian Federation with European states from 2019 to 2021.