The ability to move warships from the Caspian region, which includes Central Asia, to the Black Sea (and vice-versa) allows Russia to project power in an important area of the world while giving Russian policymakers flexibility and options when a crisis arises in the region.
The sea contains large volumes of oil and natural gas reserves both in offshore deposits and in onshore fields in the immediate region. It is estimated that the Caspian contains 48 billion barrels of oil and 8.7 trillion cubic meters of gas in proven or probable reserves
