Russian state media has turned on Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad as they blame him for the capitulation of his regime and attempt to shift any responsibility from Moscow.
Vladimir Putin’s news outlets are also clinging to the idea that Russia remains a major global player despite the country’s failures in both Syria and Ukraine.
The BBC’s Russia Editor, Steve Rosenberg, has shared numerous reports from the nation’s newspapers today.
They seem to admit that the events that have unfolded in Syria in recent days are bad for Moscow.
Moskovsky Komsomolets tells its readers that Russia cannot afford to engage in “handwringing.”
They add: “The whole system of Russia’s presence in the Middle East, constructed over the last ten years and into which very considerable resources have been invested has, in the blink of an eye, turned into a bygone political age.
“This is a lamentable, upsetting, agonizing fact that cannot be denied or understated.”
Mr Rosenberg explains that the Russian media is saying that the country needs to focus on Ukraine, not Syria, in an attempt to minimise the embarrassment for Moscow.
The other message that Russian news outlets are trying to convey is that the situation in Syria is the fault of Assad, and that despot Putin should not be blamed.
Moskovsky Komsomolets reported: “Russia, not out of political altruism of course but in its own interest had given Assad’s regime a second life.”
It continued: “But instead of learning the lessons the first time his power imploded, Syria’s former leader appears to have decided such gifts would go on forever.
“The last few days show Assad’s regime had turned into an empty shell.”
However, the same report still maintains that Russia has “global ambitions” and that Moscow has “serious intentions as a great power and global player.”
Russia has confirmed that Assad has been given asylum in Moscow after he fled from Syria on Sunday.
The dictator was removed from power after Syrian rebels launched a surprise offensive, taking numerous cities before finally reaching the capital Damascus on Sunday.
Assad was on the verge of being ousted during the civil war until Russian airstrikes in 2015 helped push back anti-government forces.
Paul Salem of the Middle East Institute, told Al Jazeera that the downfall of Assad is “definitely a blow to Putin’s general prestige” but ” “it doesn’t tremendously change his situation in the Middle East in general.”
