Call It Kismet

"Damascus: Tens of thousands Syrians are giving Russia's president a warm welcome during his first visit after the triumphant toppling of the unwanted Baath regime. The Syrian transitional government praises his firm stand against dictator Bashar al-Assad whose attempted try to leave the country ended with his arrest facing now a trial as 'war criminal being responsible for crimes against humanity'. The Russian intervention on both diplomatic and economic ways paved the road for the fast downfall of the dynasty .."

This could have been the intro of a Russian success story in foreign policy.

Could.

The reality is unfortunately the contrary. Putin's government - or may we better say: regime - still backups the ineloquent tyrant who denied in his last interview even the existence of thousands murdered civilians his own security forces have shot or tortured to death during the nearly nine months longing crackdown.

But instead of manifesting his position as strong leader Putin's star is steadily sinking. It began a few weeks ago during a fight in a box arena. For promotional reasons he entered the ring but received massive boos - a situation all but comfortable for his vain ego. A scratch which wasn't easy to polish away after months of self-orchestration. Many might have Wladimir the diver in their minds who had discovered this early summer 'incidentally' an antique amphore - professionally placed by his PR team short before he was on his way into the deep sea.

And now the disaster with the Duma elections. A better farce which had cost a) a lot of money and b) the complete credibility of the ruling party United Russia and therefore of Putin himself. An election fraud which brought for the first time since long courageous Russians on the streets of Moscow, Sankt Peterburg and other cities. Images from the beginning of the Arab spring came into the minds of the outside spectators, even the Chinese News TV - generally known for its' reservation reporting about revolutionary events - presented unsparing images of arrested protesters.

Wladimir Putin had a lot of chances to jump on the right train of history.

He could have taken a leading role as a new ally of the Arab and Western world urging Assad to face the consequences for his brutal crackdown measures. Without the Russian backup the Syrian regime wouldn't had survived this summer.

But he missed it.

He could have presented own drafts to support opposition movements in Arab Spring uprisings surprising the rest of the world with a wise move towards democratic changes even in traditional partner nations.

But he didn't.

He could have given the proof meaning it serious by accepting the real opposition as well as independent monitors during the Duma elections risking a possible loss but otherwise strengthening the trust in him and his party on a national level.

But he hasn't.

Now a dark shadow of forgotten Soviet days lies upon his rulership. Putin's Russia is far away from modern democratic principles. And the fassade crumbles more and more. What remains are not the achievements of modernization but the fragments of an illusional advancement. Suddenly the Russian regime appears more and more similar to the Syrian regime: explaining everything runs 'fair and democratic' while regime critics are facing arrests, accusing 'foreign powers' - mainly the United States - of infiltrating the Russian sovereignity ..

The sudden awakening of the Russian citizens is a silver stream on the political horizon. Feeling no longer represented by the ruling class the protests are targeting directly the self-claimed icon whose narcistic perfectionism may become now more a burden than a useful attitude. The hopes and thoughts are with all those confessing themselves to the opposition being endangered through possible mass arrests or probably worse.