Unholy Alliance
Russian Support for the Assad Regime
Deutsche Fassung
Abstract
Russia has managed to become the key protective power of the Assad regime in Syria. Why is Moscow taking such an enormous diplomatic risk? Historical bonds and a longing for past greatness do not suffice as explanations. Russia’s economic and strategic interests in Syria are also not that great. A certain role is played by the fear of radical Islamists, who could destabilize the northern Caucasus after a victory in the Syrian civil war. But the decisive motivation for Moscow’s Syria policy is anotherone. After the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in Libya and the rise of a protest movement in Russia itself, President Vladimir Putin and his entourage want to prevent at all costs regime change supported from the outside.
(Osteuropa 9/2013, pp. 17–44)