December 13:
The Kremlin's strategic goal of preventing the collapse of Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime is proving to be more difficult than anticipated. Defense News reports that, despite assertions by Russian officials that their country's involvement in Syria would only last a few months, the Defense Ministry is now intensifying its military presence there. Russia has doubled the size of its air group in Syria and the number of naval forces off the country's coast, as well as increased the number of ground forces deployed in theater - all moves signifying that Moscow is settling in for a protracted conflict.
December 14:
Russia's economy may be languishing as a result of Western sanctions and low world oil prices, but the country's armaments industry is surviving. In fact, it appears to be thriving. The Agence France-Presse, citing a new survey by the Stockholm International Peach Research Institute (SIPRI), reports that overall Russian arms sales increased by almost 50 percent between 2013 and 2014,even as Western European and U.S. companies saw a decrease in business. Most of Russia's weapons production is delivered to its own armed forces, and "Russian companies are riding the wave of increasing national military spending and exports," according to SIPRI’s Siemon Wezeman. Nevertheless, the country also exports a large amount to India and China, the study notes.
December 15:
According to Iran's state-owned Press TV, Russia has reaffirmed its intention to honor all of its obligations to Iran with regard to the delivery of the S-300. Shipments of the advanced air defense systems began on December 3rd and will continue through 2016, according to Vladimir Kozhin, Russian President Vladimir Putin's aide on military-technical cooperation.
Russia's government is once again expanding its official estimate of the number of Russian nationals fighting in Syria. According to Current Time, the FSB has projected that nearly 3,000 Russian-origin Islamists have traveled to the Middle East to take up arms in the Syrian conflict to date - up from an estimate of some 2,400 just this Fall.
Reuters reports that Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a law giving Russian courts primacy over international law and legal institutions. The measure, initiated in recent weeks by the State Duma, allows the country's federal courts to disregard the rulings of international human rights tribunals and other bodies. The law appears, at least in part, as a counterweight to institutions like the European Court of Human Rights, which has received numerous complaints of human rights violations in Russia. According to watchdog groups, it "is designed to thwart the ability of victims of human rights violations in Russia to find justice through international bodies."
December 16:
Russia's already extensive strategic ties with Iran could soon become a bit bigger. According to a top Iranian military commander, Tehran and Moscow have held negotiations for the Iranian purchase of Russia's advanced T-90 tanks. Reza Pourdastan, the commander of Iran's Army Ground Force, has told the country's Tasnim news agency that his government is interested in the Russian-made armor because it is "more advanced" than the regime's existing arsenal of T-72 tanks, which are also of Russian origin.
[EDITORS' NOTE: Russia has emerged as a major beneficiary of Iran's military modernization effort, which has been kicked into high gear in the wake of this summer's nuclear deal with the West - and which is predicated, in large part, on the massive (albeit still pending) financial windfall contained in the agreement. In recent months, Russia has concluded multiple agreements with Iran for the sale of cutting edge defense equipment, expanding its stake in the Islamic Republic in the process.]
While international attention has been focused on Russia's relations with the West, as well as its recent moves in the Middle East, the Kremlin has been quietly expanding its presence in - and contacts with - Africa. Yahoo News reports that, over the past several years, "Russian investments across Africa have grown at an astounding rate," while trade "has increased more than tenfold over the past decade or so, with exports jumping from under $950 million to $4 billion, and imports from Africa rising from $350 million to $1.6 billion." The deepening economic contacts reflect, at least in part, Russia's efforts to reassert itself as a global power, according to observers.
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