Once the Assad regime in Syria collapsed in a matter of days, Moscow and Russian propaganda found themselves unable to deny the events, leading them to seek explanations for the geopolitical catastrophe.
The Kremlin’s rhetoric and Russian propaganda terminology have undergone a metamorphosis that we highlight in this article.
Russian propaganda blames others for Assad’s collapse
Russian propaganda argues that Assad’s fall is not the fault or defeat of Moscow, which for many years supported Assad with weapons and troops. Putin’s chief TV propaganda host, Vladimir Solovyov, blamed the Syrians and other Assad’s allies.
Solovyov claimed that the Syrians did not want freedom and that the Iranians, Iraqis, and Lebanese had not helped Assad.
Moscow claims it fulfilled its obligations to Assad
Russian propaganda has begun to justify the fall of Bashar Assad’s regime. According to their version, Moscow “fulfilled all its obligations to Syria.” Kremlin propagandists even recalled a 2015 quote by Russian ruler Putin, in which he said that if the Syrian authorities (of Bashar Assad) decide to cease fire and start negotiating, the Kremlin will agree with this decision: “And the sooner it happens, the better,” Putin emphasized at the time.
Therefore, the Kremlin has devised a strategy to present the victory of the Syrian rebels as Russia’s success. One of Russia’s propaganda mouthpieces, Vladimir Solovyov, initially declared that “everything is going according to plan” (a common claim on all topics).
On his evening program, Vladimir Solovyov recalled a quote from Putin nine years ago, in which he stated that he “foresaw what is happening in Syria” in 2024. He also noted Assad’s flight as another achievement: “Russia has fulfilled its obligations to Syria by ensuring Assad’s earlier victory” and now by giving him and his family asylum in Moscow.
Assad’s assets in Moscow
The Financial Times reported that the family of Bashar Assad owns at least 19 luxury apartments in Moscow. The total cost of real estate is approximately 40 million dollars. Assad and his family have been buying up real estate for more than 10 years: from 2013 to June 2024.
Russia seeks talks with Syrian rebels to secure its military bases
Simultaneously, official Moscow, previously labeling the Syrian rebels as “terrorists,” was compelled to alter its stance and initiate negotiations with the new government to preserve its military bases in Syria. However, it appears that Assad’s defeat was primarily due to the loss of Russian military support.
On another front, Russia is attempting to ensure the future of its important military bases in Syria while making inroads with the country’s new opposition leadership, following the spectacular collapse of the Assad regime, which challenged Russia’s dominance in the Middle East.
Russia has maintained a key airbase in northwestern Syria, as well as a naval base in the Mediterranean town of Tartus, since Moscow’s military intervention assisted president Bashar Assad in reclaiming most of the country following widespread uprisings in 2011.
Kremlin to negotiate with rebels it had labeled as “terrorists”
Following the fall of Assad, the Kremlin’s staunchest ally in the Middle East, Putin’s government looks to be turning to diplomacy to maintain its influence in Syria, interacting in a rush of activity with the rebels it had labeled as “terrorists” only days before.
Dmitry Peskov, a Kremlin spokesperson, told reporters that Russian authorities were taking all “necessary steps to establish contact in Syria with those capable of ensuring the security of military bases.”.
Earlier, a Kremlin source informed Russian state media that Syrian opposition leaders had promised to ensure the security of Russian military outposts and diplomatic institutions in Syria.
The two sites are vital to Russia: the Tartus complex provides Vladimir Putin with access to a warm seaport, and the Khmeimim airfield has served as a staging point for Moscow’s military contractors flying in and out of Africa.
The crucial question today, observers say, is whether Russia can achieve an arrangement with Syria’s new government to keep its outposts.
Assad regime collapse and international reactions
Syria’s armed opposition recently declared that “the dark times in their country have come to an end and a new, bright era has begun.” This came out after 50 years of rule by the Assad clan. Bashar Assad himself has fled the country. The Russian troops also swiftly left Syria.
Newly elected US President Donald Trump said that forcing the Russians and Assad himself out of Syria could be the best thing that could have happened to them. He said Russia, because of its heavy involvement in Ukraine and the loss of more than 600,000 soldiers in this war, is unable to stop this “literal march” out from behind Syria, a country it has spent years fighting.
Later, Trump stated that Russia abandoned the Syrian dictator Bashar Assad, which led to his collapse. He said that Russia never should have protected Assad and then “lost interest because of its war in Ukraine that never should have started.”
Political leaders of the EU and EU countries reacted to the fall of the Assad regime in Syria, which was supported by Russia and Iran. The leaders of European countries reacted to the fall of the Assad regime in Syria, calling it “the end of a barbaric regime” and “a sign of Russia’s weakness.”
In this article we covered what Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron, Olaf Scholz, Annalena Baerbock, Kaja Kallas, and Petr Fiala said.
