some Russians insisted, had engineered the collapse of the Soviet Union to build a band of independent states that would keep Russia weak—and get its own hands on Caspian oil. For the United States and Europe these new nations were independent countries that should be permitted to develop their own identities and economies. That was what life was meant to be like in the globalized world after the Cold War. Moreover, if these countries were weak and unstable, they would fall back into Russian hands or become prey to neighboring Iran. For some of the countries, oil and gas were essential
