Looking Outside
Russia’s largest naval group, with an aircraft carrier, nuclear missile cruiser and other cruise missile ships, which traveled along the European shores to the Eastern Mediterranean, can hardly make a difference in the Syrian conflict from a military standpoint. Although powerful and somewhat capable, neither missiles nor the aircraft squadrons based on the carrier would be the weapons of choice to achieve significant results. The show of strength is aimed at testing the weapons systems, impressing the West and winning a greater share of the defense budget for the nation’s Navy.
President Putin chose a trusted professional statesman and top manager, Sergei Kirienko, to be the First Deputy Head of his administration, responsible for domestic politics. However, unlike his predecessor, Kirienko is expected to focus on regional-level politics and the quality of governance, while Volodin, as the new speaker of the parliament, will remain influential in national public politics.
The annual Valdai Club meeting of international relations experts was used by the presidential administration to channel a message to the next president of the United States: no matter who takes the post, even if it’s not possible to start from scratch, Moscow wants to step back and ease tensions.
Russians continue to watch the situation in Syria closely, but the level of optimism has declined significantly. While in March 2016 almost half of Russians saw some positive changes there, only 15% remain optimistic now, and two thirds see no change or a worsening of the situation.
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