Aleppo, Syria
Reading Russian newspapers and watching Russian state controlled TV can bring one to conclusion that Russia is preparing for the start of nuclear war.
On September 30, Russian government officially informed Muscovites that underground shelters had been built, which could house 12 million people, enough for the entire population of Moscow. Russian citizens were warned that a nuclear war with the West could be imminent, sparked by clashes in the Middle East.
Zvezda, a nationwide TV service run by the country’s Ministry of Defense, said last week: “Schizophrenics from America are sharpening nuclear weapons for Moscow.”
The situation is obviously created by the Russian military activity in Syria.
A year has past since Russia started its military operations in Syria.
The Russian Defense Ministry has put out no information on the costs of these operations but Vladimir Putin revealed that Russian military campaign in Syria cost Russia about $500 million. Different sources are giving different figures. According to the Russian daily RBC, one year of Syria campaign cost Russia about $892 million (58 billion rubles). An analysis prepared by Britain’s IHS Jane’s think tank for the Moscow Times estimated the cost at about $4 million daily, with a total of between $80 million and $115 million spent from Sept. 30, when airstrikes began, through Oct. 20.
Obviously it is hard burden for the Russian economy, stricken by severe crises. At the same time Putin’s actions in Syria meet strong opposition all over the world, strengthening isolation of Russia and, in the opinion of many, bringing the world to the cusp of the World War III.
Leonid Bershidsky, a Bloomberg View columnist, who was the founding editor of the Russian business daily Vedomosti and the founder of the popular Russian opinion website Slon.ru, comments on Putin’s actions:
“Putin’s message is that Russia will start acting as an equal, whether or not the U.S. wants to treat it as one. It’s a reminder to the presidential candidates that pacifying Russia will have a price tag, and that Russia’s starting position in any negotiations will be arrogantly high. Since the outgoing U.S. administration is unlikely to step up military activity in Syria, Russia is doing its best to make sure President Bashar al-Assad’s troops win a decisive victory at Aleppo before the next U.S. president is inaugurated…
“Putin is aware that his belligerent stand will be costly… Putin knows from experience that Russians will put up with more economic hardship if they feel he is standing up to the US.”
On October 7, New York Times wrote:
“The battle for eastern Aleppo, where the United Nations says some 275,000 people are besieged, has raised tensions between the United States and Russia to their highest levels in years, but the Cold War rivals do not wield clear control over their nominal proxies. The competing interests on both sides and lack of clear leadership on either one is part of why the fighting has proved so hard to stop: Mr. Assad is desperate to retain power, Moscow is seeking to increase its clout at the global geopolitical table…”
Putin seems to have no intention to stop the operations.
Last week the State Duma (the lower house of the Russian parliament) has ratified an agreement allowing the country’s Air Force to stay in Syria on an unlimited basis.
Though the Russian economy kept failing, the annexation of Crimea and attempt to seize a part of Ukraine tremendously raised Putin’s popularity in Russia. It happened because the country is experiencing a tremendous inferiority complex after disintegration of USSR and losing superpower status. By the military involvement in Syria, Putin hoped to reach several aims: To restore the Russian political role in the Middle East, to again become an important player in the world politics, and thus to get even more popularity and power in his country. Putin is not willing to accept the fact that his military activity is not bringing Russia back into the family of Western countries, but rather increases its isolation.
Also, from Putin’s point of view, the confrontation with the US is the best reason for explaining to Russians the economical hardships in their country. Loosing in this confrontation is not an option for Putin.
On September 25, the New York Times commented:
“In Syrian War, Russia Has Yet to Fulfill Superpower Ambitions.
“Vladimir V. Putin, the Russian president, has succeeded at winning Moscow a seat at any table where Syria’s future might be decided. But he has failed to leverage Syria into rapprochement with Western governments that still shun him and impose economic sanctions.”
Russian TV news and all political programs of Russian TV blame the Syrian crises on the USA, denouncing the inability of America to win the war with terrorism, and praising Putin as the only true “fighter against terrorism” and the real “peacemaker”.
Also Russian propaganda keeps blaming the USA and NATO for their “aggressive” attitude toward Russia.
Sergei Karaganov, Putin’s adviser, economist and political scientist, said in his interview with the German publication Spiegel:
“We had previously warned NATO not to approach the borders of Ukraine. Fortunately, Russia has managed to stop NATO’s progress in this direction thus the danger of war in Europe in the medium term was reduced…
“You hoped to calm such countries as Poland, Lithuania and Latvia by placing missiles in their territories. But they did not need such help, it was a provocation. If full-blown crisis will begin, these weapons will be destroyed by us in the first place. Russia will never again fight on its territory”.
Some Russian official sources are trying to explain Russian involvement in Syria not only by the need to fight terrorists, but also by the economical necessity.
A Russian general Ivashov, speaking in one of the popular programs of the official Russia TV, stated that Moscow’s decision to support the Syrian regime was determined by the need to stop building Qatar’s gas pipeline across Syria. According to Ivashov Russian planes bombed the planned route of the pipeline, so that it would not create competition for “Gazprom” in the European market.
Ivashov said:
“If not for our operation in Syria, we would already have had problems with our national budget. Qatar would already pull off its gas pipeline to Western Europe.”
The TV anchor asked the general:
“So, we are fighting in Syria, to ensure the sales of ‘Gazprom’ “?
Ivashov answered:
“Yes, for this reason too.”
Russian opposition press and Internet mostly connect Russian involvement in Syria with Putin’s ambitions.
Stanislav Belkovsky, one of the best Russian political journalists, explained in his interview to radio Eco of Moscow that Putin escalates the war in Syria “…to show once again that Russia has the most radical plans and if needed it is ready to go to war with America.”
Belkovsky said:
“It seems to me that the psychological state of our leader is the one where he is ready for the war… A person sometimes comes to a psychological condition when he definitely needs to fight with someone, otherwise he does not feel his life to the full. And here, it seems to me, our leader has reached such a state”.
Alexander Podrabinek, a known Russian journalist, human rights activist, editor-in-chief of Prima information agency and Ekspress-Khronika newspaper, said to Radio Liberty:
“It seems that Putin’s nuclear blackmail is not a bluff any more, it’s not a clever game with a geopolitical calculations. This is a serious bid for a confrontation with the world, a manifestation of the internal readiness for World War III. Nationwide civil defense exercises, imposing on governors responsibility for the mobilization, patriotic hysteria in the press and on television, all this and more like it, that had started once as a political game and frivolous bluff, is gradually moving into the sphere of military decisions.
“To peace-loving people a coming war always seems improbable. But looking at the situation soberly, one inevitably comes to the conclusion: the sooner the madman will be stopped, the less victims the world will have. Otherwise, when it will be already really late and the war will flare up around the world, in the last moment of the atomic apocalypse, we just will think: “why had we sat idly by, when it was still possible to do something?’ ”
Putin’s War? You mean US neo-cons and whatever Israel & Saudis want wars…
Maybe Putin is buddy buddy with the North Korean fat boy? I want our Chicago Bulls basketball player Dennis Rodman heading back to North Korea on a peace mission. I don’t want that North Korean Fat Boy leader to nuke us plain and simple. Go Dennis. Go Dennis.
“RealReporting” BUAHAAHAHAHAH =D what a load ! just be realistic and change your page name to what is actually is, Real USA Favorist Reporting!
The hold up in Syria: the U.S. wants Assad out. Russia wants him in.
Syria is their ally. After all, we’d do the same if Russians were in say England.
If they are allies, why did he give a green light to Erdogan to go with full power to destroy more and kill more and take territories and land and oil fields from Syria. Especially Aleppo and around.
You are all missing the truth….this is not just Obama’s war game, it is the game of the sick evil illuminati involving the US, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the devil worshiping family that lives in London and this all started with the Bush’s. It’s called the NEW WORLD ORDER. These people are the real terrorists. Follow the money. Who finances ISIS? Do your research investigate everyone, and most importantly STOP watching the major news networks. They are the programmers of people; they are nothing more than treasonous traitors of the United States of America
EDITOR: We certainly don’t agree. But we do not want to censure reader input unless it is abusive in style and / or content.
Access to the warm water port of Tartus in Syria is of probable significance, too. I hope we Americans have learned to take a more careful look at our own interests on the world stage before letting the drumbeat of the media push us into another war. Judging from the current Presidential campaign, I fear the American public may indeed be too dumb to draw any lessons from our recent history…
I’ve been saying this for a year. Cyber attacks on soft targets, bombing attacks on cities full of civilians, troop maneuvers on the Ukraine border. This is Putin practicing for major activity. And explains why he wants Trump in charge over here.
Dictators work with each other for a while. Hitler and Stalin got along at the beginning until Hitler overstepped his part of the agreement, then all hell broke loose.
The US wants Assad out so the Saudi’s can run their pipeline through Syria. The Russians want him in so that they and Iran can run their pipeline through Syria. Either way, Syria loses.
When have the Russians NOT sought to extend their influence. Foreign bases ARE a standard technique.