While gas
prices rise across Russia and stations report shortages, massive shipments of
oil products continue flowing into Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Armenia, and others
— free of export duties.
Russia plays the generous sponsor. The neighbors fill their tanks. Moscow
empties its budget.
🇷🇺 Fuel diplomacy, post-Soviet style
Russia
supplies:
📌 Kyrgyzstan —
1.2M tons yearly, duty-free
📌 Tajikistan —
full imports, no export tax
📌 Armenia —
subsidized gas through EAEU agreements
Meanwhile,
domestic fuel prices rise.
Citizens pay more, while neighbors stabilize — on Russian energy.
💸 Debt forgiveness with no return
Moscow has
erased:
— Kyrgyzstan's debts
— $300M owed by Tajikistan
— Armenia's gas subsidies
In return? Vague promises of friendship and political neutrality.
🌐 And what does Russia get?
— Armenia
shifts West
— Kazakhstan balances Russia, China, Turkey
— Kyrgyzstan & Tajikistan vote neutral at the UN
While Russian fuel powers foreign economies, others expand their
influence.
📉 Economic logic fails
Duty-free
exports = lost revenue
Demurrage paid to oil companies = holes in the budget
Russian taxpayers foot the bill for foreign subsidies
🧭 No vision = no loyalty
Subsidies
without ideology turn into waste.
Russia supports governments that avoid alignment, while Moscow lacks a clear
mission.
🟦 Conclusion:
Russia must
stop paying for loyalty it doesn't get.
Fuel, resources, and forgiveness must be strategic,
not emotional.
Generosity without direction turns into leakage.
