The difficult international situation is forcing Russia to strengthen the facilities of the Armed Forces located outside the territory of our country. The location of military installations on the territory of other countries is regulated by international law. Thus, the Russian base in Syria is located there on the basis of an intergovernmental agreement.
How big is the first Russian base?
In fact, this is not a base, but a logistics point with serial number 720. That is, this is an ordinary technical point created according to a single model. Information concerning the total number of such points in Russia belongs to the section of military secrets, only the highest military leaders are aware of this. From open sources, it is only known that many of these points are in a dilapidated state.
Today, the world-famous 720 PMTO - the Russian naval base in Syria (Tartus) - consists of three small warehouses, a dry dock, parking forcars, two pontoon bridges, a wide concrete pier, a mooring pier, three harbors for civilian ships, one railway track and a strong protective wall.
The structure, location and size of the military facility is perfectly visible from the satellites of all interested countries.
How long have Russians been in Syria?
The beginning of official cooperation between Syria and Russia (then still the USSR) dates back to the 50s of the last century. Negotiations about the need for the presence of Soviet troops in Syria were conducted at that time between Nikita Khrushchev and Shukri Al-Kuatli, the then President of Syria.
In practice, it took more than 20 years for the first Russian base in Syria to open. It happened in Syrian Tartus in 1971 under Hafez al-Assad, the father of the current president.
It should be remembered that 1971 was the height of the Cold War. The logistic support point was needed to service the 5th Mediterranean squadron of ships of the USSR Navy. The enemy of this brigade at that time was considered the 6th Fleet of the US Navy.
Soviet ships came to this point for repairs and refueling, as well as to replenish food, fresh water and equipment.
A bit of history
The confrontation during the Cold War between the USSR and the USA was serious. The Mediterranean Sea after the Second World War was completely controlled by the United States, Great Britain, and from about 1950 by NATO forces. Even then, the United States considered it vital for itself to weaken the influence of the USSR in every possible way, creating for it a nuclearthreat.
For this, the 6th American fleet was armed with nuclear weapons carriers, which hit the entire south-west of the USSR, this is almost all of present-day Ukraine.
In the 60s, the USSR managed to build submarines with ballistic missiles, which allowed our country to survive.
The creation of the 5th squadron was supposed to be a retaliatory threat to the United States, so that the opposing side would be balanced in their decisions. The "flexing of muscles" and an adequate response to the constant aggression of the United States and NATO made it possible for several generations of Soviet people to live in peace and security. A huge contribution to the creation of the squadron was made by Admirals Gorshkov and Kasatonov, who more clearly saw a real threat to the existence of the USSR.
The Russian base in Syria arose exclusively as a response to international aggression. A simple analysis of the sequence of events reveals causal relationships.
Events after the collapse of the USSR
In the 90s, the squadron fell apart, like everything else then. Until 2007, the PMTO barely “breathed”, serving Russian ships that occasionally entered the Mediterranean Sea. The staff of the point at that time was … as many as 4 military personnel.
Since 2010, the Russian base in Syria was subject to modernization in order to be able to serve aircraft carriers and cruisers there, which appeared in service with the Russian Navy. It was also planned that ships carrying combat duty to protect civilian ships from Somali pirates would be served here.
However, these plans were not destined to come true, since Syria beganCivil War. Only civilians remained to serve the PMTO. The military was withdrawn to avoid possible provocations and unfavorable international outcry.
In March last year, the Syrian government asked Russia to expand its military presence. However, the creation of a full-fledged Syrian military base was refused so as not to provoke an increase in the international conflict.
But the PTMO was modernized, cleared and deepened the fairway, updated infrastructure, installed protective equipment, brought the staff to 1,700 people. Tartus has both military and civilian personnel.
Russian aviation base in Syria
Tartus is not the only location of the Russian military in Syria, there is also an air base in Latakia. The history of its creation is completely different.
Beginning of work - September 30, 2015, on this day the Order of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief is dated. The base was created after the current Syrian President Bashar al-Assad requested help in the war against ISIS.
Previously, Russian bases in Syria did not have such representation, being limited to the presence of a limited group of military specialists, namely the teachers of the Academy in Damascus, translators and military personnel of other speci alties.
The Russian base in Syria (Latakia) was established on the basis of Khmeimim International Airport.
This base was created literally out of the blue in the desert from Russianaccessories. Everything you need was delivered to Latakia by air: containers, air conditioners, window units, showers, catering equipment, beds and tables, soft furnishings and dishes.
Excellent living conditions have been created for our military, which are strikingly different from stationary barracks. Delivery of hot food, repair and refueling of aircraft are carried out around the clock. The journalists who gained access to the Russian bases in Syria are, for the most part, shocked by the speed and quality of the work, as well as the intensity of the sorties.
The shelling of the Russian base in Syria
According to various sources, Khmeimim was shelled on November 26, 2015. It is reported that several shots were fired from the self-propelled guns. There are no official data on the victims in the public domain.
This shelling of a Russian base in Syria, as well as the destruction of a Russian aircraft in the sky over Turkey, has led to the fact that now our military personnel are protected not only by standard air defense systems, but also by the latest Russian development of the S-400 Triumph. The telling name is justified: the latest anti-aircraft missile system destroys absolutely all means of air and space attack in the reach zone, which is 600 kilometers.
Why do we need all this?
Even those who have nothing to do with international politics, just look at the map. After that, it is advisable to familiarize yourself with the list of natural resources of this region, as well as the clash of interests of all the countries located here.
It becomes obvious that if the situation is allowed to take its course, then a big war looms on the horizon with the inevitable involvement of Russia in it. Russian military bases in Syria are a real shield for our relatively peaceful life, hope for a just world order.
Dark sides of world history
Sometimes, in order to understand the motives of a country's actions, it is enough to familiarize yourself with its history.
From the school course, we remember that America was discovered by Columbus. But who "ruled the show" there?
Aboriginals of America - Indians - lived quietly on the continent until settlers from the Old World arrived there in the 17th century. People who did not find a worthy place to live in their countries fled there. They were landless peasants with no professions. Criminals were also sent there, not wanting to spend money on their maintenance.
Local residents welcomed visitors with an open mind. They taught them how to hunt and fish, work the forest, look for edible plants, and generally helped them survive. But a person who does not have a moral core cannot be changed by anything.
Settlers took full advantage of the naivete and purity of the indigenous population. For cheap rum and shiny rubbish, they bought furs, lands, gold, and in the end drove the Indians from their ancestral lands, leaving them one opportunity - to be slaves. So, the central part of New York stands on land that was bought from the natives for $ 24 - that's how much a set of beads and knives cost, that was the price of a "fair exchange".
From the 17th century andnothing has fundamentally changed to this day, except perhaps the scale of the scams. Nowadays, it becomes incredibly ashamed of what nonsense and false promises our society was “bought” just a few years ago. We are also perceived from across the ocean as naive natives who need to be "beneficial" in their own way.
Will other Russian military bases be built in Syria
Auxiliary airfields Shayrat in Homs and Al-Tayas in Palmyra are now in use. It is in Shayrat that it is planned to create another base: there is an excellent runway and as many as 45 hangars.
There is also indirect information that the next base may appear in El Qamishli, this is a joint-based airport.
