ABSTRACT
The energy and raw materials industries of the CIS countries have been going through momentous changes ever since the demise of the Soviet Union. Attempts to optimize the production of energy and raw materials within the Soviet Union as a whole had resulted in its various republics specializing in the production of particular resources. Now that these republics have become independent states, each one faces the challenge of transforming the profile of its energy and raw materials industries, in order to utilize its own resources to the full. Some countries have found themselves reassuringly rich in many of the most important resources, such as oil, natural gas or uranium, and they enjoy the full attention of the major international companies, which are anxious to find their way to the treasures hidden under their territories. Odier newly independent states must come to terms with the new reality of being poor in natural resources, and must pay the full price, of buying energy and raw materials in world markets.
