This paper discusses Russia’s vast energy resources as it’s a mainstay for foreign policy and an essential source of its current political power projection and international prestige. These resources can act as a source of economic attraction for neighbours and partners and are a significant factor in bilateral relations with neighbours that can be traded for political and economic benefit. Russia also uses its energy relations as a means of achieving economic and political influence through non-traditional and non-transparent mechanisms. The paper also notes that, at times, Russia employs energy in coercive ways and to build patterns of dependence.