Grigory Pasko on the Nord Stream

Over the past several weeks, our special correspondent from Russia, Grigory Pasko, has posted a series of 12 original articles with photos from his travels along the proposed route for the North European Gas Pipeline (Nord Stream). This controversial Gazprom project, which involved the outrageous appointment to the board of former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, continues to exemplify Moscow’s strategy to use energy as a political lever, and showcases their success in shattering the common EU energy policy.

For easier navigation and review, below I index Pasko’s articles: Part I: Russia’s Natural Gas Wealth Inaccessible to its Citizens – an introduction to the series. Part II: Media Relations, Gazprom Style – Grigory gets obstructed at every turn by Gazprom’s public relations representatives. Part III: Kilometer Zero: Gryazovets – interview with Alexander Konovalov, chief engineer at KC-17. Part IV: What the NEGP gas pipeline might bump up against – Who opposes the pipeline? Part V: 40% Satisfaction, Babayevo Style – Grigory visits Babayevo and interviews Oleg Tishin, head of Rayon. Part VI: Whatever They Demand of Us, We Do – Grigory interviews three top engineers at a critical compression station (KC) about the construction of the pipeline. Part VII: Portovaya Bay – a piece of nature still unspoiled – Grigory speaks with local residents in Bolshoi Bor who look forward to jobs but lament the coming environmental destruction of the project. Part VIII: Two Worlds, Two Houses – Grigory attends environmental hearings and interviews city councilmen in Greifswald, Germany. Part IX: Two Bürgermeisters – Two Views – Interviews with Greifswald Oberbürgermeister Arthur König and Lubmin Bürgermeister Klaus Kühnemann. Part X: The Coordinators from EWN – interview with Dieter Rittscher, commercial director of utility EWN. Part XI: Land at 50 Euros a Hectare – The environmental aspects of the Nord Stream gas pipeline. Part XII: The Pipeline in a “Communal Apartment” – Grigory travels over the water portion of the pipeline on a ferry from from Travemünde to Helsinki. Part XIII: Into the Pipe or Down the Drain? – Grigory takes a look at Gazprom’s promises of transparency on the Nord Stream, and finds that the numbers don’t add up.