Russia’s Middle East Policy: From Lenin to Putin

554 Pages·2018·2 MB·English

by  Alexei Vassiliev

I have known Vasiliev for decades and have had the pleasure of interacting with
him on matters of concern to him and the wider world throughout that time. He
remains Russia’s foremost intellectual authority on the Middle East and has
combined this with sage insights on policy choices and in an advisory capac-
ity. Vasiliev’s tremendous linguistic skills, his deep knowledge and his extensive
network in the region has given him an unparalleled vantage point for scrutinis-
ing the process of change in the region, and the impact of external actors. This
extraordinary book is the record of a lifetime of achievement and we are privi-
leged to have him share his deep knowledge with the world through this Series.
– Anoush Ehteshami, Professor of International Relations
and Director of the Institute for Middle Eastern and
Islamic Studies at the University of Durham

Russia’s Middle East Policy
This extraordinary book charts the development of Russia’s relations with the
Middle East from the Russian Revolution of 1917 to the present. It covers both
high and low points – the closeness to Nasser’s Egypt, followed by reversal;
the successful invasion of Afghanistan which later turned into a disaster; the
changing relationship with Israel which was at some time surprisingly close; the
relationship with Syria, which continues to be of huge significance; and much
more. Written by one of Russia’s leading Arabists who was himself involved
in the formation and implementation of policy, the book is engagingly written,
extremely insightful, telling us things which only the author is in a position to
tell us, and remarkably frank, not sparing senior Soviet and Russian figures from
criticism. The book includes material based on the author’s conversations with
other leading participants.
Alexey Vasiliev is a full member of the Russian Academy of Sciences and
Honorary President of the Academy’s Institute for African Studies. He has been
a close observer of and active participant in the Soviet Union’s and Russia’s
relations with the Middle East for several decades.
Durham Modern Middle East and Islamic World Series
Series Editor: Anoushiravan Ehteshami
University of Durham
39 Moroccan Foreign Policy under Mohammed VI, 1999–2014
Irene Fernández Molina
40 Lebanon and the Arab Uprisings
In the Eye of the Hurricane
Edited by Maximilian Felsch and Martin Wählisch
41 The Erasure of Arab Political Identity
Colonialism and Violence
Salam Hawa
42 China’s Presence in the Middle East
The Implications of the One Belt, One Road Initiative
Edited by Anoushiravan Ehteshami and Niv Horesh
43 Afghanistan – Challenges and Prospects
Edited by Srinjoy Bose, Nishank Motwani and William Maley
44 Nuclear Politics in Asia
Edited by Marzieh Kouhi Esfahani and Ariabarzan Mohammadi
45 Transition in Afghanistan
Hope, Despair and the Limits of Statebuilding
William Maley
46 Russia’s Middle East Policy
From Lenin to Putin
Alexey Vasiliev
For a full list of available titles please visit: www.routledge.com/Durham-Modern-
Middle-East-and-Islamic-World-Series/book-series/SE0526
Russia’s Middle East Policy
From Lenin to Putin
Alexey Vasiliev
First published 2018
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2018 Alexey Vasiliev
The right of Alexey Vasiliev to be identified as author of this work
has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in
any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing
from the publishers.
Trademark notice : Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation
without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Vasiliev, A. M. (Alekseæi Mikhaæilovich), author.
Title: Russia’s Middle East policy: from Lenin to Putin/Alexey Vasiliev.
Other titles: Durham modern Middle East and Islamic world series; 46.
Description: Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon; New York, NY: Routledge,
2018. | Series: Durham modern Middle East and Islamic world series;
46 | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017051812 | ISBN 9781138563605 (hbk) | ISBN
9781315121826 (ebk) | ISBN 9781351348850 (mobipocket)
Subjects: LCSH: Soviet Union—Foreign relations—Middle East. | Middle
East—Foreign relations—Soviet Union. | Russia (Federation)—
Foreign relations—Middle East. | Middle East—Foreign relations—
Russia (Federation)
Classification: LCC DS63.2.S65 V368 2018 | DDC 327.47056—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017051812
ISBN: 978-1-138-56360-5 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-12182-6 (ebk)
Typeset in Times New Roman
by Apex CoVantage, LLC
Contents
Introduction 1
1 Sources of Messianism and pragmatism 11
2 The rise and fall of Nikita S. Khrushchev 29
3 Up the down staircase: the era of Leonid Brezhnev 61
The defeat that turned into success 63
The Middle East in Soviet military strategy 75
A semi-victory turned into defeat 87
Sliding downhill 95
Lost opportunities 107
The human dimension 120
4 “Ardent revolutionaries, loyal friends”; the USSR and
the Communist movement 130
5 An exotic flower of Arabia 160
6 Through the looking glass, or the decision-making process 171
Quadrangle: Ministry of Foreign Affairs – International
Department of the Central Committee – State Security
Committee – Ministry of Defence 175
Personalities in big politics 183
Diplomats: Their pluses, minuses, capabilities 197
7 Afghanistan: Russia’s unhealed wound 208
“Cannot lose Afghanistan” 212
“History gives no answer” 217
viii Contents
The logic of the fateful decision 221
Seeking a solution 232
8 Messianism in decline: the time of Mikhail Gorbachev 239
9 Foreign policy and domestic policy: the USSR, Israel
and the Palestinians 253
10 Storms in alien deserts 276
11 Cursed Nineties 303
Ignore not interfere . . . 312
The Madrid process and the fate of the “mother of all
conflicts” 315
Russia–Israel: “Friendship” with reservations 322
The minefields of Iraq 328
Turkey: a privileged trade partner 331
Difficult movement towards each other 334
A desirable partner 337
12 To return, but how? 344
The attempts to keep Iraq as a partner 346
The years and the fruit of real pragmatism: Russian-Turkish
relations 354
“A good neighbour, but neighbours are not chosen”: the
Russian Federation and Iran 359
Afghanistan: far, but in some ways close 368
Russia and the countries of the Arabian Peninsula: certain
progress 373
A partnership but not an alliance (Russia and Egypt in the
2000s) 379
“Russia’s main trump card in the Middle East” 384
13 The children devour their revolutions 394
Revolutions with the face of Facebook or simply a “fitna”? 394
Causes, driving forces, effects 403
Country specifics 407
The role of personalities 418
What did the “Washington Province Party Committee” do? 422
What about Russia? 430
The special relation with Egypt 435
Contents ix
14 The Syrian tragedy: the birth of the monsters 442
The vicious circle of violence 444
Small and big monsters 450
Regional and global actors 454
What was there for Russia to do? 463
Attempts to organize the process of political settlement 465
Poison gases 466
An attempt of intra-Syrian dialogue: Geneva II 470
The UN Security Council: four vetoes and a few joint
resolutions 472
Demonization of Bashar Asad: OHCHR and Western
media 475
Terrorism: “Extremists” and “moderates” 478
The cancerous tumour and its metastases 479
15 The argument of the Aerospace Forces 488
Two sides of the same coin 490
At war as at war 493
Victory? No. Negotiations 497
Russia – Turkey – Kurds 502
Aleppo 505
Conclusion 515
Index 527