CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
- SOURCES OF MESSIANISM AND PRAGMATISM
- THE RISE AND FALL OF NIKITA S. KHRUSHCHEV
- UP THE DOWN STAIRCASE: THE ERA OF LEONID BREZHNEV
A. THE DEFEAT THAT TURNED INTO SUCCESS
B. THE MIDDLE EAST IN SOVIET MILITARY STRATEGY
C. A SEMI-VICTORY TURNED INTO DEFEAT
D. SLIDING DOWNHILL
E. LOST OPPORTUNITIES
F. THE HUMAN DIMENSION
A. THE DEFEAT THAT TURNED INTO SUCCESS
B. THE MIDDLE EAST IN SOVIET MILITARY STRATEGY
C. A SEMI-VICTORY TURNED INTO DEFEAT
D. SLIDING DOWNHILL
E. LOST OPPORTUNITIES
F. THE HUMAN DIMENSION
4. "ARDENT REVOLUTIONARIES, LOYAL FRIENDS": THE USSR AND THE COMMUNIST MOVEMENT
- AN EXOTIC FLOWER OF ARABIA
- THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS, OR THE DECISION-MAKING PROCESS
A. QUADRANGLE: MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS – INTERNATIONAL DEPARTMENT OF THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE – STATE SECURITY COMMITTEE – MINISTRY OF DEFENCE
B. PERSONALITIES IN BIG POLITICS
C. DIPLOMATS. THEIR PLUSES, MINUSES, CAPABILITIES
- THE PAIN OF AFGHANISTAN
- MESSIANISM IN DECLINE: THE TIME OF MIKHAIL GORBACHEV
- FOREIGN POLICY AND DOMESTIC POLICY: THE USSR, ISRAEL AND THE PALESTINIANS
- STORMS IN ALIEN DESERTS
A."CANNOT LOSE AFGHANISTAN"
B. "HISTORY GIVES NO ANSWER"
C. THE LOGIC OF THE FATEFUL DECISION
D. SEEKING A SOLUTION
11. CURSED NINETIES
A. IGNORE NOT INTERFERE…
B. THE MADRID PROCESS AND THE FATE OF THE "MOTHER OF ALL CONFLICTS"
C. RUSSIA-ISRAEL. "FRIENDSHIP WITH RESERVATIONS"
D. THE MINEFIELDS OF IRAQ
E. TURKEY – A PRIVILEGED TRADE PARTNER
F. DIFFICULT MOVEMENT TOWARDS EACH OTHER
G. A DESIRABLE PARTNER
12 TO RETURN, BUT HOW?
A. THE ATTEMPTS TO KEEP IRAQ AS A PARTNER
B. THE YEARS AND THE FRUIT OF REAL PRAGMATISM: RUSSIAN-TURKISH RELATIONS
C. "A GOOD NEIGHBOUR, BUT NEIGHBOURS ARE NOT CHOSEN": THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION AND IRAN
D. AFGHANISTAN: FAR, BUT IN SOME WAYS CLOSE
E. RUSSIA AND THE COUNTRIES OF THE ARABIAN PENINSULA: CERTAIN PROGRESS
F. A PARTNERSHIP BUT NOT AN ALLIANCE (RUSSIA AND EGYPT IN THE 2000S)
G. RUSSIA'S MAIN TRUMP CARD IN THE MIDDLE EAST
13. THE CHILDREN DEVOUR THEIR REVOLUTIONS
A. REVOLUTIONS WITH THE FACE OF FACEBOOK OR SIMPLY A "FITNA" ?
B. CAUSES. DRIVING FORCES. EFFECTS
C. COUNTRY SPECIFICS
D. THE ROLE OF PERSONALITIES
E. WHAT DID THE "WASHINGTON PROVINCE PARTY COMMITTEE" DO?
F. WHAT ABOUT RUSSIA?
G. THE SPECIAL RELATION WITH EGYPT
14. THE SYRIAN TRAGEDY. THE BIRTH OF THE MONSTERS (2011-2015)
A. THE VICIOUS CIRCLE OF VIOLENCE
B. SMALL AND BIG MONSTERS
C. REGIONAL AND GLOBAL ACTORS
D. WHAT WAS THERE FOR RUSSIA TO DO?
E. ATTEMPTS TO ORGANIZE THE PROCESS OF POLITICAL SETTLEMENT
F. POISON GASES
G. AN ATTEMPT OF INTRA-SYRIAN DIALOGUE. GENEVA II
H. THE UN SECURITY COUNCIL: FOUR VETOES AND A FEW JO
Biography
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.
