2003年，普京在庆祝国家天然气公司Gazprom建立十周年的讲话中明确了他的立场，称该公司是继苏���解体之后保留下来的为数不多的强有力的地缘政治杠杆之一。
In a speech marking the state gas monopoly Gazprom’s tenth anniversary in 2003, Putin stated his position explicitly, speaking of the company as one of the few strong geopolitical levers left to Russia after the Soviet collapse.