Seminar: Prospects for the Russian Energy Production and Exports

On 28 August 2025, the ICDS hosted a presentation by Dr Veli-Pekka Tynkkynen, a professor in Russian Environmental Studies at the Aleksanteri Institute, Finnish Centre for Russian and Eastern European Studies (at the University of Helsinki) and a non-resident research fellow at the ICDS.

Dr Veli-Pekka Tynkkynen presented the results of his long-term research project on the “Prospects for the Russian Energy Production and Exports” that will soon produce an ICDS report, commissioned by the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Dr Tynkkynen laid the stage by speaking about the Russian fossil empire, where the hydrocarbons form the basis for its military power and foreign policy, used as a lever against Europe. He talked about the Russian climate obstructionism—against technological modernisation and energy transition. Dr Tynkkynen provided an overview of the Russian fossil exports, revenues, the main buyers, as well as the impact that western energy and technology sanctions. He further touched upon the scenarios in which those sanctions are kept in place, tightened, or lifted—and what they would mean for our security in Europe.

The presentation was followed by a roundtable discussion between the ICDS researchers, the MFA representatives, independent experts, and the private sector, who shared their ideas on crafting and implementing effective energy, trade, and sanctions policies to tackle the economic, environmental, and security threats associated with Russia’s ability to export its fossil fuels and thus sustain its war economy.