Russia is not a newcomer to the region. It has a rich history of involvement there. Traditionally, Russia was mostly looking at the region from a geopolitical perspective. Security factors played a salient role in the Russian calculus. Often, the Middle East was a playground where Russia competed against rival great powers. In the globalized, interconnected environment of the twenty-first century, the Middle East as the heart of the turbulent Muslim world has a direct bearing on developments within Russia’s own sizable and growing indigenous Muslim community. Thus, Russia’s global standing as
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