Energy policy of Russia rate at which Russia’s gas is sold to Germany. Russia's energy superpower status became a hot topic in the European Union in 2006. Russia's large reserves of natural gas have helped give it the title without much debate. Russia has identified natural gas as a key strategic asset, and since 20 July 2006 Gazprom has had the exclusive right to export natural gas. The Russian government is the largest shareholder of Gazprom, and has been accused of manipulating prices for political reasons, particularly in CIS nations. After Russia's annexation of Crimea and involvement in the War in Eastern Ukraine in
Gazprom is Gazprom Export LLC, founded in 1973 and before November 1, 2006 known as Gazexport, which has a monopoly on gas exports to countries outside of the former Soviet Union. The majority of Russian gas in Europe is sold on 25 year contracts. In late 2004, Gazprom was the sole gas supplier to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Estonia, Finland, Macedonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Serbia and Slovakia. It provided 97 percent of Bulgaria's gas, 89 percent of Hungary's gas, 86 percent of Poland's gas, nearly 75 percent of the Czech Republic's, 67 percent of Turkey's, 65 percent of Austria's, about 40 percent