The 4,500-kilometer (2,800-mile) Urengoy–Pomary–Uzhgorod gas pipeline connects the second-largest gas field in the world in Urengoy, West Siberia with the Western European market. It has become one of the most vital arteries of the Russian economy, with Vladimir Putin claiming that its gas and oil revenues account for half of Russia’s disposable capital.

For 104 days renowned director Vitaly Mansky followed the course of this Trans-Siberian gas pipeline through seven different countries. He explores what it’s like for ordinary people to live in its vicinity, along a route connecting two extremities of the European continent.