I am curious about the history of how Russia became the second largest oil producer in the world. Did its oil industry begin in the Czarist times or the Soviet era? How much did oil effect Soviet history? when did they start exporting?
If you don't get a good response, check out The Prize by Yergin. It has some good detail on this. I will say that the oil industry in Russia started in the czarist era, thanks to Alfred Nobel.