Gazprom, one of Europe's most important energy companies, and the sole exporter of Russian gas to Europe, is often viewed simply as an agent of the Russian state, being used by the Russian state to exert political pressure on Russia's neighbours and more widely. This book presents a thorough examination of the Russian gas sector and Gazprom's place within it. It considers how the Russian gas sector has been modernized over recent decades, examines Russia's gas exports to different parts of the world, and explores how the international situation has changed, and continues to change, over time. The author concludes that the picture is complex; that Gazprom is both a commercially-oriented actor that lobbies strongly for its own interests and is at the same time subject to varying degrees of influence from the Russian government, the degree of influence depending on the policy area.