The correct answer is      (C.)  Gazprom

Far and away Russia's largest company, Gazprom owns more than 60% of Russia's known natural gas reserves, equivalent to nearly one-fifth of global reserves.

Gazprom is in an enviable position because its main competitive advantage--strong government support (and the Russian state owns a large stake)--means it's treated almost like a national champion. As such, Gazprom has preferential access to major new gas projects in Russia. This is icing on the cake considering that it is also a major gas supplier to Europe, where some countries depend on Russian gas for as much as 90% of their supplies. And increasingly, Gazprom is selling gas to energy-hungry markets in Asia.

Gazprom is smack-dab in the middle of the exploding Russian energy market. In addition to its natural gas reserves, Russia also has nearly twice the oil reserves of Qatar and Iran, the countries with the second and third-largest gas reserves, respectively. The country also has the fifth-largest oil reserves in the world, and was the world's second-largest oil producer in 2007, second only to Saudi Arabia.

Gazprom is clearly an excellent play on Russia's energy market; but it's also an excellent play on the Russian economy in general. After all, Russia's transition from communism to free-market capitalism and democracy wasn't easy or painless (especially in 1998, when the Russian government defaulted on its domestic debts and allowed the nation's currency, the ruble, to float freely), but today Russia is enjoying a financial boom. The most obvious reflection is its stock market's meteoric rise since 2000, a lower inflation and tax rates, and strong GDP growth. And despite having tax rates that are among the lowest in the world, the Russian government's tax collection on oil and gas sales make Gazprom a major contributor to the health of the Russian economy.

Gazprom notwithstanding, the Russian economy looks far more sustainable today than it did a decade ago, and Paul Tracy, Chief Investment Strategist for StreetAuthority.com and editor of the Market Advisor newsletter, believes Russia's economic growth will power strong returns for investors in coming years. Most American investors have two primary ways to profit from the surging Russian economy: closed-end funds with exposure to Russia and American Depository Receipts (ADRs) of Russian companies trading on the major U.S. exchanges. In the latest issue of Market Advisor, Paul offers a rundown of some of the most promising ADRs and closed-end funds with meaningful exposure to the Russian market, including several that boast long-term growth rates well over 20%! To learn the names of these stocks and funds, and to learn more about the Market Advisor newsletter, please visit this link.