The global energy landscape is changing, known patterns are shifting, and hydrocarbons have been under growing pressure for their impact on the climate. The Energy of Russia: Hydrocarbon Culture and Climate Change by Veli-Pekka Tynkkynen thus comes at the right time given the topic of climate change and in terms of its focus on one of the world's major hydrocarbon producers—Russia. Given current trends, Russia is faced with the challenge of a potential gas demand drop in the future and a need to reinvent its economic base. The book sets to take a look at how these trends affect Russia and what changes can be expected in the future.

The author rightly presumes that the way the main stakeholders deal with challenges can tell us a lot about the regime in question. The author posits that energy is a basis for political power, by which he clearly leans towards realism (as a school of thought) and a state-guided approach to energy policy. Although Tynkkynen understands the nature of European Union-Russia relations well, he tends to downplay the power of the market and the consumer side in trade relations. Also, it seems that he leans towards the assumption that energy suppliers have a naturally stronger position than consumers. Such an assumption is, however, case-specific. Given the frequent over-reliance of producers on revenues from energy exports, Russia included, it would be fitting if the author focused on this aspect a little more.

As for the choice of topics dealt with by the book, it seems a bit selective. On the one hand, the book focuses on complex topics like energy transition; on the other, it deals with topics on a much more granular level, like the case study of bilateral relations between Russia and Finland, Gazprom's communication strategy, or the impact of Russian energy policies in the Arctic. Some other topics discussed, including climate-related discourse and climate change denialism in Russia also do not fit in seamlessly. The text's nature is also unclear in some places, especially when it mixes up pieces of analytical work on Russian policy-making with the description of the Russian resource base.

For a book of a relatively modest length (130 pages), it covers an impressive portfolio of topics—from the Russian resource base and “hydrocarbon culture” to energy transition, public discourse, communication strategies of the government, energy transition, and bilateral relations with neighbors. The text seems a bit too ambitious, however, as it aims to deal with too many things at once. Narrowing the focus and dedicating more room to elaborate on just some of these topics would benefit the publication. As it stands now, while some of the included topics are not given enough space, others feel redundant.

The focus, given the author's background, is understandable. However, the author's track record of works focused on a particular topic, albeit very rich, does not seem sufficient as a purpose statement for a book. Thus, the reasoning behind the text is expressed rather tacitly, as it stems out of the Russian role in energy supplies. Generally speaking, the book would benefit from a more explicitly stated focus.

Although the book provides well-informed insights into the Russian energy sector, the author arrives at conclusions a bit too quickly. For example, it took just two pages to postulate that the Russian resource base poses the key predisposition to authoritarianism (6–7). Some other strong statements (the claim that we cannot talk about Russian civil society, 14) would also need a better explanation or richer referencing.

On the plus side, the book provides a good overview of leading Russian state-owned energy companies. What is also beneficial and highly relevant for the contemporary expert discussion is the examination of the hydrocarbon-related culture in Russia. This is a relatively untapped topic, and the author deserves comendment for paying attention to it. The same can be said about the chapter on Russian policies’ impact on the Arctic, even though the reasoning behind this chapter's inclusion could be improved. The author should also be praised for discussing Russian environmental policy, which is a topic that has been largely overshadowed by other energy-related areas, mostly foreign policy. As such, the book can be an important factor in drawing attention to the intertwining of fossil-fuel export dependency and the factual inability to procure climate change-mitigating policies in Russia and other similarly structured economies.

In conclusion, Tynkynen clearly used his extensive knowledge and more than twenty years of experience in the field. He showcased a deep understanding of Russian energy-related culture and how it translates into external energy relations. The underlying influence of historical experience and political culture on energy policy, which is often misinterpreted as a technical topic, is undoubtedly crucial, and the author deserves credit for making this apparent. Despite its imperfections, the book can indeed be recommended to scholars who want to take a closer look at culturally determined factors influencing Russian energy policy-making and its ramifications. A future reedition with a greater focus on these factors and streamlined structure will definitely be a must-read.