<blockquote>'The continent’s sovereignty, such as it is, depends on containing Russian ambitions .. The Russian rulers are not strategists, he says; they settle their accounts day by day, attend to their own interests, and plan their gangsters’ business month by month and year by year..'
- André Glucksmann,
A Call to Arms in Europe on Georgia, July 30, 2009</blockquote>
'..Russia’s foreign policy: support for strong, authoritarian leaders, a desire to reassert control over the post-Soviet space and beyond, and a counterterrorism policy that so far has not been fully coherent..'<blockquote>'Thus, the case of Tajikistan brings together key elements of Russia’s foreign policy: support for strong, authoritarian leaders, a desire to reassert control over the post-Soviet space and beyond, and a counterterrorism policy that so far has not been fully coherent. This formula suggests that Russia’s presence in Central Asia will continue to grow in the following years, as Vladimir Putin pursues his goal of re-establishing Russia as a global superpower.
- Andrei Cazacu,
Enter Tajikistan, October 8, 2015</blockquote>
'..Russia is among the top-ten countries worldwide in which there is the highest number of terrorist attacks..'<blockquote>'According to several specialist studies, Russia is among the top-ten countries worldwide in which there is the highest number of terrorist attacks and is among the top-three in terms of the number of victims of terror (data as of 1990-2010)*. This list is headed by Iraq – 72,519 people were killed by terrorists there – followed by Pakistan (14,150) and Russia – 13,601 people. In Afghanistan, which occupies fourth place on the list, the number of casualties of terrorism is half that of Russia..'
- Emil Pain,
New jihadist awakening in Russia, October 20, 2015</blockquote>
'Russia is more than willing to tolerate instability and economic weakness in the neighboring countries, assuming they are accompanied by an increase in Russian influence. In fact, Russia consciously contributes to the rising instability and deterioration of the economic situation in some, if not all, of these countries.'<blockquote>'Similarly, the existence of internal or external tensions inside or around a state suits Russia perfectly because these tensions help generate a pro-Russian party within that country or incline it toward Russia if it confronts US pressure. As Susan Stewart of the Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik recently wrote about the CIS:
<blockquote>Russia is more than willing to tolerate instability and economic weakness in the neighboring countries, assuming they are accompanied by an increase in Russian influence. In fact, Russia consciously contributes to the rising instability and deterioration of the economic situation in some, if not all, of these countries.</blockquote>
But the same is true, as we have seen, in Iraq, Cyprus, and now Syria. Even before Syria’s civil war, it was clear that, as the British historian Niall Ferguson has observed, “Russia, thanks to its own extensive energy reserves, is the only power that has no vested interest in stability in the Middle East.”
Indeed, even with regard to Israel, with which Moscow maintains a thriving economic relationship, we can demonstrate Moscow’s belief that Israel’s security and sovereignty are disposable, contingent realities. Despite its valuable trade relations with Russia, the Israeli government openly views Russia’s support for Hamas and Hizbullah, to which Russian arms are flowing (surely with Moscow’s knowledge and complicity), as a classic example of a double standard: Moscow denounces terrorism but supports its proxies, claiming that they are something other than terrorists. (page 16)
..
Progress in pacifying the Middle East is dependent on a firm grasp of Russia’s thinking and modus operandi so that the region will not be at the mercy of this eternally negative force. (page 20)'
- Stephen J. Blan,
Russian Strategy and Policy in the Middle East, 2014</blockquote>
<blockquote>'However, politicians who are able to become social psychotherapists, formulate a positive vision of the future and put it across to people with different ideological orientations via a comprehensible language will stand a chance of success. And it is only through these steps that the notion of freedom will make a full return to the Russian political agenda.'
- Pavel Luzin,
Will Russia revert to the idea of freedom?, October 13, 2015</blockquote>
Context<blockquote>
(Syria) - '..Putin may yet come to rue the gamble.'(Russia) 'GDP .. now $1.2 trillion .. back to the level of 1998 when it was $700bn.'</blockquote>