CASPIAN REGION: GEOPOLITICAL ARENA. CLASH OF INTERESTS AND ENERGY SECURITY

The Caspian region is one of the most important regions of the world with its rich hydrocarbon resources, which in turn draws attention from different countries. The purpose of this paper is to underscore the geopolitical importance of the Caspian basin and the impact of its energy resources on the energy security of non-regional countries. The realization of the “Contract of the century” has been specified in the paper. Russian hegemony has been evaluated and the characteristic features of Northern route have been introduced. The authors attempted to delineate the US’ strategy in the Caspian region and to judge the security of the Western route stretching from the Caspian Sea. The status of the Caspian Sea has been clarified based on the most recent information. Threats to the security of the transit routes have been identified and measures have been offered to prevent possible incidents. A formula was suggested for the mathematical evaluation of possible terrorist attacks on the pipelines in the foreseeable future.