Valdai Club

Yulia Sokolshchik

Irina Strelnikova

Mohammad Reza Sheibani

Alexander Sagomonyan

Yegor Sergeev

Julian Schuster

Alexander Sergunin

Farid Shafiev

Sergey Sebekin

Alexei Sarabyev

Russian Federation

Leading Research Fellow, Center for Arab and Islamic Studies, Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences; Editor-in-Chief, Religion and Society in the East; Professor, Acting Head of the Department of Modern and Contemporary History of Asian and African Countries, Moscow Pedagogical State University.

Materials

August in Lebanon – The Fatal Inattention of Politicians to the Opinions of Citizens

The Hezbollah-Amal alliance, which with its enormous material resources (land, real estate, money, social institutions, weapons) is quite interested in preserving the existing system and, it seems, has no plans to listen to the demands of the demonstrators, writes Valdai Club expert Alexei Sarabyev.

Gap Between Lebanese People and Lebanese Politicians: A New Round of Protests

Lebanese society has found itself deeply socially stratified, and this poses a genuine threat to the Lebanese public consciousness, which faces a new turn to the left. One way or another, social protests have persisted, and politicians’ attempts to introduce real reforms to the Lebanese confessional system and replace it with new regroupings haven’t been successful.

Protests in Lebanon: An Ocean of Social Issues

The wave of popular indignation that arose on October 17 does not look like an act of civil disobedience organised by any particular political force. It has embraced the most diverse strata of the Lebanese population – transcending the level of confessional communities and even parties. And this is the first, main feature of the present events.

Russia and Syria Compare Notes in Sochi

It was probably very important for Assad to hear Vladimir Putin’s words that “foreign armed forces will withdraw from the territory of the Syrian Arab Republic.” This is essential for restoring the country and will happen at one point or another, especially since it seems that the Russian president was referring to forces that operate in Syria without any legal basis.

Tripartite Summit in Ankara and Possible Change of the US Middle East Policy

The meeting of presidents of Russia, Turkey and Iran on April 4 in Ankara promises to bring extremely important agreements on the fate of Syria. Apparently, there will be also a discussion on the achievements in all their complexities and interests.

New War Moratoria in Syria and Conflicting Visions of the Country’s Future

After seven years of the civil war, “the Syrian knot” reveals new, deeply hidden loops, which time and again complicate its unraveling. Paradoxically, there are uncovered by some of the positive developments in the solution of the Syrian conflict.

The Syrian Crisis: To Be Continued

The situation in Syria remains very far from ideal. A large number of combat-ready groups with the capacity to resist the Syrian army still remain in various parts of the country. External forces also remain, obviously counting on a revance, on a power-based reinforcement of their intentions, to direct the transfer of power in a suitable direction for themselves.

What Does the Lebanese Prime Minister’s Visit to Russia Mean?

The visit to Russia by Saad Al-Hariri can be regarded as a natural consequence of the current state of affairs in Lebanon itself as well as that of Russia’s changed role in the region, particularly after Russia’s military success in Syria.