Russia and Pipeline Politics

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Why are central European countries reporting falling gas supplies from Russia? Could this be the first sign of an impending winter energy stand-off as a result of the Ukraine crisis? We get the latest on fears over the European gas supply from Otilia Dhand, an energy analyst and vice president at Teneo Intelligence. There are some experts who believe that Moscow is not all that disturbed by the recent economic sanctions that have been imposed by western powers, which have not on the whole affected its key revenues in the oil sector. It might, however, be more alarmed by the recent 15% drop in the global oil price. Russia is one of a number of powers that has come to depend overwhelmingly on oil exports for its foreign earnings. What would the effect be on Russia and other countries if the price were to fall even further, below 90 dollars in the coming weeks? We get the views of Nick Butler, a visiting professor of Public Policy at Kings College, London. Also in the programme, Lucy Kellaway asks whether gender and ethnic diversity in the boardroom are not always the great virtue they are made out to be.