Russian base in Syria: description, shelling and threat. Russian military bases in Syria

The complex international situation forces Russia to strengthen the facilities of the Armed Forces that are outside the territory of our country. The location of military facilities 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 center with a serial number of 720. That is, it is an ordinary technical point created according to a single model. The information concerning the total number of such points in Russia pertains to the section of military secrecy, only senior military leaders are aware of this. From open sources it is known only that many similar points are in a dilapidated state.

To date, the world-famous 720 PMTO, the Russian maritime base in Syria (Tartus), consists of three small warehouses, a dry dock, a car park, two pontoon bridges, a wide berth of concrete, a mooring berth, three harbors for civilian vessels, one railway Rut and strong protective wall.

The device, location and size of the military facility can be clearly seen from the satellites of all interested countries.

How long have Russians been in Syria?

The beginning of official cooperation between Syria and Russia (then the USSR) dates back to the 50s of the last century. Negotiations on the necessity of the presence of Soviet servicemen 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 Assad, the father of the current president.

It should be recalled that 1971 is the time of the height of the Cold War. The logistics center was needed to service the 5th Mediterranean Naval Squadron of the USSR Navy. The enemy of this brigade at that time was considered the 6th Navy of the US Navy.

Soviet ships went to this point for repairs and refueling, as well as for replenishing food, fresh water and equipment.

A bit of history

Confrontation during the Cold War between the USSR and the US was serious. The Mediterranean Sea after the Second World War was completely controlled by the United States, Great Britain, and approximately since 1950 - by NATO forces. Even then, the US considered it vitally important for itself to weaken the influence of the USSR in every possible way, creating a nuclear threat for it.

To do this, the 6th US Navy was armed with nuclear weapons, which hit the entire south-west of the USSR, which is almost the whole of present-day Ukraine.

In the 60s, the USSR managed to build submarines with ballistic missiles, which allowed us to survive in our country.

The creation of the 5th squadron was to be a reciprocal threat to the United States, so that the opposing party would be weighed against its decisions. "Muscle play" and an adequate response to the constant aggression of the US and NATO enabled several generations of Soviet people to live in peace and security. A huge contribution to the creation of the squadron was made by Admiral Gorshkov and Kasatonov, who more clearly saw the real threat to the existence of the USSR.

The Russian base in Syria arose solely as a response to international aggression. A simple sequence analysis of events elucidates cause-effect relationships.

Events after the collapse of the USSR

In the 90s the squadron collapsed, like everything else then. Until 2007, the PWC barely "breathed", servicing Russian ships, occasionally dropping into the Mediterranean. The staff of the point at that time was ... as many as 4 servicemen.

Since 2010, the Russian base in Syria has been subject to modernization, in order to be able to service aircraft carriers and cruisers that appeared in service with the Russian Navy. It was also planned that ships carrying combat duty to protect civil vessels from Somali pirates will be serviced here.

However, these plans did not come true, since civil war broke out in Syria. Only civilians remained to serve the PERM. The military was withdrawn to avoid possible provocations and unfavorable international resonance.

In March last year, the Syrian government appealed to Russia with a request to expand its military presence. However, the creation of a full-fledged military base of Syria was refused, so as not to provoke the intensification of the international conflict.

But PTMO was modernized, cleared and deepened the channel, updated the infrastructure, installed protective equipment, brought the number of staff to 1,700 people. In Tartus, there are both military personnel and civilian personnel.

The base of Russian aviation in Syria

Tartus is not the only location of the Russian military in Syria, there is also an aviation base in Latakia. The history of its creation is completely different.

The beginning of work is September 30, 2015, this day is the date of the Order of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief. A base has been created after the appeal of the current Syrian President Bashar Assad with a request for help in the war with IGIL.

Previously, Russian bases in Syria did not have such representation, 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 specialties.

The Russian base in Syria (Latakia) was established on the material base of the international airport Khmeimim.

This base is created literally on an equal place in the desert of Russian components. In Latakia, everything was delivered by air: containers, air conditioners, window blocks, shower cabins, equipment for the kitchen, beds and tables, soft equipment and utensils.

For our military created excellent living conditions, strikingly different from the stationary barracks. The delivery of hot food, repair and refueling of airplanes are carried out around the clock. Journalists who received access to Russian bases in Syria are largely shocked by the speed and quality of work, as well as the intensity of combat sorties.

The shelling of the Russian base in Syria

According to various sources, the shelling of Khmeimima occurred on November 26, 2015. It is reported that several shots were fired from the automatic control system. There are no official data on victims in open access.

This shelling of the Russian base in Syria, as well as the destruction of the Russian airplane in the sky over Turkey, led to the fact that now our servicemen are protected not only by standard air defense systems, but also by the latest Russian development of the S-400 Triumph. The talking title is justified: the newest anti-aircraft missile system destroys absolutely all means of air and space attack within reach, which is 600 kilometers.

Why do we need all this?

Even to someone who has nothing to do with international politics, it's enough just to look at the geographical map. After that, it is advisable to get acquainted with the list of natural resources of this region, as well as the clash of interests of all countries located here.

It becomes obvious that if the situation is allowed to run amok, a big war looms on the horizon with the inevitable involvement of Russia in it. Russian military bases in Syria are a real shield of our relatively peaceful life, a hope for a just world order.

The Dark Side of World History

Sometimes, in order to understand the motives of the actions of a country, it is enough to get acquainted with its history.

From the school course, we remember that Columbus discovered America. But who is "ruled the ball"?

The aborigines of America-the Indians-lived peacefully on the continent, until the settlers from the Old World arrived there in the 17th century. There fled people who did not find a decent place to live in their countries. They were landless peasants who did not have professions. There they sent criminals, not wishing to spend money on their maintenance.

Local residents greeted visitors with an open mind. They taught them to hunt and fish, to work the forest, to look for edible plants and generally helped to survive. But a person who does not have a moral core can not be changed by anything.

The settlers took full advantage of the naivete and purity of the indigenous population. For cheap rum and shiny rubbish they bought up furs, lands, gold and eventually drove the Indians from their ancestral lands, leaving them one opportunity - to be slaves. Thus, the central part of New York stands on the ground, which was bought from the Aborigines for $ 24 - so much was the cost of a set of beads and knives, such was the price of "fair exchange."

From the 17th century to the present day, nothing has changed fundamentally, except that the scale of the aforesaid. Nowadays it becomes incredibly embarrassing to what nonsense and false promises "just bought" our society a few years ago. We are also perceived from behind the ocean as naive aborigines, who need to be "benefited" in their own way.

Will other Russian military bases be built in Syria

The auxiliary airfields of Shayrat in Homs and Al-Tayas in Palmyra are now being used. It is in Shayrat that another base is planned to be created: there is an excellent strip and as many as 45 hangars.

There is also indirect information that another base may appear in El-Kamishly, this is a joint-based airport.