That semi-colonialist attitude comes out of Mark Jones' story and is still very common today.

His attitude was consistent with his own economic agenda, not unsurprisingly, as were the attitudes of the officials at GlavTyumengeologiya (GTG,) who were trying to find a way to make money off of the impending collapse of the USSR.  For them, if Gazprom is fully capable of developing the Yamal field, there is no need for them, except as, they fear, petroleum geologists for hire as needed by Gazprom.  Bye bye exulted status, special resorts, etc.

But peak Soviet oil was only one of the factors cited by Mark Jones as pointing towards Soviet collapse.   Another was the relative energy inefficiency of the Soviet oil industry, which both he and the officials at GTG saw as critical factors.  I do recall lots of chatter about the devastating ecological impact of the Soviet oil industry and nuclear industry, but am in no position to evaluate the merits of these claims.  What about that and about Mark Jones's background?

"It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."