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With Russia’s ongoing air strikes in Syria, including land-attack cruise missiles fired from Russian naval vessels in the Caspian Sea, Kyle Wilson has written a three-part series on Putin’s strategy and motivations:
Putin has shown a gift for improvisation, especially as regards extracting advantage from setbacks. In 2004 he used the hideously botched attempt to rescue the hostages at School Number One in Beslan in the Caucasus (which left 385 dead, 186 of them children) to justify strengthening the presidency, gathering even more power into his hands. His response to that setback included another tactical hallmark: deflecting the blame for all …read more