Aleksey Kiva

The article gives a general picture of anti-government protests, coups, revolutions in many Arab countries, called “Arab spring”. The riots led either to the shift of governments (regimes), or were suppressed, simply died out when the authorities partially met the demands of the protesters. Only in Syrian anti-government protest which began in March 2011, grew into a protracted bloody and ruinous war. It took away the life of more than 300 thousand people and led to migration of about half of the population. The author considers, that the roots of the Syrian tragedy lie in a complex ethno-religious composition of the population, in the contradictions of a political nature and in the deterioration of social situation.

The power in the country belonged primarily to an ethnic minority – Alawite Shia, constituting 10–12% of the population. Nevertheless there happened coup attempts by Sunnis radicals “Muslim Brothers”, but they were strongly suppressed.

Syria and our country have long-standing friendly relations. From here and Russian-Syrian agreement to establish Russian military bases in Tartus and Latakia. In the article much attention is paid to the negotiation process to achieve peace in Syria.