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Gasification, an issue of growing importance for the Russian state and Gazprom since 2000, entails developing the pipeline network. This project especially concerns eastern Russia, where the Irkutsk oblast is located. Although conditions there seemed favorable for implementing this project, little progress has been made. How can this failure be explained? There are many stakes involved in gasification, a project that provides an unusual point of view for studying the “power vertical” and center-periphery relations, as well as the Russian energy sector in general.