Paul Roderick Gregory: Putin’s Syria narrative must win Russian public opinion – but it’ll be a hard sell
A Syrian man holds an edition of Syrian al-Thawra (The Revolution) newspaper displaying a picture of President Bashar al-Assad with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin during the former's visit to Moscow, on Oct. 22, 2015 in Damascus.
Vladimir Putin has embarked on Russia's first military action outside the former Soviet Union, and he must now convince Russian people that his intervention in Syria is necessary and in Russia's best interests. In his three previous propaganda-driven military ventures - the second Chechen war, Georgia and Crimea/East Ukraine - Putin has gained popularity. The Russian president must be counting on Syria to maintain his current ratings, an all-time high of near 90 Ppercent.
