The effect of the Russian Federation's Syria policy on regional and global power balance

Russia started a military operation in Syria on September 30 2015. The main political outcome since the beginning of the operation has undoubtedly been the fact that the Bashar al-Assad regime remains in power. As a result of Russia's military operation in Syria, Moscow has become a country that has a serious and fundamental impact on developments in the Middle East. With direct participation in the Syrian crisis, Russia began to act as an active player in the Middle East region; developed relations with Iran, established naval and air bases in Syria, which it could not obtain even in the Soviet times. At the same time Moscow has included Turkey in the Astana process and persuaded it to buy russian S-400. Now the great powers that can challenge the US influence in the region and in the world are only Russia and China. The annexation of Russia by Crimea in 2014 raised concerns about a new Russian expansionism. Russia's direct military intervention in the Syrian crisis is indicative of its intention to become a decisive force not only in the Middle East but also in global politics. The behavior of Russia is not surprising in an anarchic world and can not be accounted for only by the personal characteristics of Russian leaders. In this context, in 2000s tolerant in some areas against Russia, the United States, having problems with it's global hegemony, began to oppose the russian quest for a multi-polar order by reacting strongly to the demands of Russia for equal partnership.