Syrian Revolution ‘Start of Russia’s Decolonialization’ Just as East European Revolutions were of USSR’s Disintegration, Lushnikov Says

 Syrian Revolution ‘Start of Russia’s Decolonialization’ Just as East European Revolutions were of USSR’s Disintegration, Lushnikov Says
Paul Goble
    Staunton, Dec. 13 – It is now common ground that the revolutions which swept through Soviet satellites in Eastern Europe in 1989 and 1990 were a major cause of the disintegration of the USSR in 1991. Its loss of this outer empire in fact created a situation in which it became almost inevitable that it would lose the inner empire as well.
    Now, according to Aleksey Lushnikov, a co-founder of the European Petersburg movement, Moscow’s inability to defend its new outer empire in Syria is a perfect analogy and marks “the beginning of the  decolonization of Russia” and the approaching end of its inner empire (region.expert/syria-decolonization/).
    No one should forget, he continues, that “nine years ago, Syria was in fact converted into one of the colonies of the Putin regime. That may seem at first glance only a metaphor, but everyone will well remember ow Putin so frequently talked about the victory of Russia in Syria” and about Russia’s special role there as a result.
    The Kremlin issued medals for those who took part and created holidays in honor of its victory in Syria, Lushnikov says; and it was because of Putin’s support that Assad was able to hold power so long and to kill “hundreds of thousands of his own citizens.” As a result, Putin views his overthrow “as a personal defeat and hit to his own regime.”
    “Although Syria may seem alien,” the activist continues, “it is for Putin much closer than for example Khabarovsk, both geographically and in terms of what it represents.” Assad’s overthrow is thus “ a direct attack on Putin’s personal power and on his understanding of sovereignty.”
    According to Lushnikov, “this is something like another Kursk Oblast but much more serious because it has taken place publicly” and thus represents a clear sign of “the weakening of Putin’s influence. The wheels of fortune are turning” and “the victory of the anti-Assad forces are the beginning of the process of the decolonization of Russia.”
    “Syria has long been a symbol of Russian geopolitical expansion,” he argues; “but today’s events show that Putin’s empire is full of cracks and that Assad’s overthrow is a signal to everyone still under the Kremlin that the power of their rulers is weak and short-lived” however much they may have thought otherwise only a few weeks earlier.”
    Again, just like in 1989.