While natural gas is the next big thing in Israel, that energy source has helped fuel the economy of another country -- Russia -- since the early 1800s. But it wasn't until after World War II that homes in the capital city of Moscow got full access to natural gas. Take a look at this energyTHEN from 1949.

[Film projector running]

[ANNOUNCER] More and more apartments are getting natural gas in the Soviet capital. The lucky housewives in house number 8 on Dubrovsky Street are using gas as of today. The Moscow Gas Trust sends in a man to turn on the gas. Over 200,000 Moscow housewives will get gas by 1950, the last year of the current Five-Year Plan.

[SUITERS] Today, Russia doesn't supply just its own residents; it's the largest natural gas exporter in the world. According to the Energy Information Administration, about 95% of Russia's gas is produced in Siberia and then sent to markets in Europe and Asia.