The godfather of Russia’s military intervention in Syria is Yevgeny Primakov, a former prime minister and intelligence chief and for decades his nation’s leading Arabist. A hint of Primakov’s influence on Russian President Vladimir Putin came in the unusual eulogy that Putin delivered at his friend’s funeral in Moscow four months ago.
“Primakov had global vision and was open and bold in his thinking,” Putin told mourners. By asserting Russia’s interests and power, Primakov “got the country through a very serious crisis” after the fall of the Soviet Union. His understanding of the Middle East was “tremendous,” and his influence beyond Russia was “undeniable,” Putin said.
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https://www.washingtonpost.com/opin...23b480-7748-11e5-a958-d889faf561dc_story.html
“Primakov had global vision and was open and bold in his thinking,” Putin told mourners. By asserting Russia’s interests and power, Primakov “got the country through a very serious crisis” after the fall of the Soviet Union. His understanding of the Middle East was “tremendous,” and his influence beyond Russia was “undeniable,” Putin said.
more
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opin...23b480-7748-11e5-a958-d889faf561dc_story.html
