The American New York Times said that the simultaneous crises in Belarus, Central Asia and the Caucasus region stunned the Kremlin, which made it rush to save Russian interests in the former Soviet republics, and undermined the image of Russian President Vladimir Putin as a brilliant leader on the world stage.
In a report by the journalist Anton Troyanovsky entitled "Putin, who has always planted the seeds of instability, became trapped in it," the newspaper pointed out that the Russian president spent many years building Russia as a global power, and had a hand in hot spots from Latin America to the Middle East. He interfered in the US presidential election, but after years of working to destabilize the West, he suddenly found himself surrounded by instability.
The writer believes that the protest actions in Belarus and Kyrgyzstan, which contributed to fueling the outbreak of the Corona epidemic, in addition to the raging war in the Caucasus between Armenia and Azerbaijan, are events that undermine Russian influence in the region.
The prominent Russian parliamentarian Konstantin Zatulin, who is close to Putin and an expert in relations with neighboring countries, also saw that these conflicts do not serve Moscow's interests.
Artillery of the Azerbaijani army bombed sites of the Armenian army in Nagorny Karabakh (Anadolu Agency)
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The writer criticized Putin's handling of the simultaneous crises that erupted in his country's sphere of influence. In Belarus, Putin responded to the street uprising that broke out last August by supporting the unpopular dictator Alexander Lukashenko, which sparked public opinion against Moscow after it was Belarus. Formerly the most friendly country in Europe with Russia.
In Kyrgyzstan, Central Asia, it appeared this week that the demonstrators were about to topple President Soronbai Jinbekov, less than two weeks after Putin pledged to him in a rare personal meeting that Moscow would do its best to support him as president.
In the Caucasus, the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the Nagorno Karabakh region and the war that broke out between the two neighbors last week threaten to cancel the balancing act that has allowed Russia to establish various ties in the region.
According to parliamentarian Zatulin, Russia has done everything in its power to preserve its relations with both Azerbaijan and Armenia, and that "every day of the conflict in Karabakh helps eliminate Russia's authority (in the two countries)."
The writer pointed out that the new wave of challenges represented by the simultaneous crises facing Russian influence in the region undermines the efforts of Putin, who worked for many years to present himself to the Russian people and the world as the leader who restored Russia's position as a great power after it lost it with the collapse of the Soviet Union.