Germany shut down the Nord Stream 1 Pipeline today for a pre-scheduled 10-day maintenance period. Whether or not Russian natural gas will resume westward flows to Germany after repairs are made is anybody's guess. The 55 bcm/yr pipeline is a key component of the energy détente forged between Germany--the economic and manufacturing heart of Europe--and post-Cold War Russia. It has also inculcated a German dependency on Russian gas that has shaped German economic and security policy (and, by extension, Europe's) since the project first entered the planning phase over 20 years ago.