The eyes of the world are on the Middle East Today more than ever this deeply-troubled region is the focus of power games between major global players vying for international influence Absent from this scene for the past quarter century Russia is now back with gusto Yet its motivations decision-making processes & strategic objectives remain hard to pin down So just what is Russia up to in the Middle East? In this hard-hitting essay leading analyst of Russian affairs Dmitri Trenin cuts through the hyperbole to offer a clear & nuanced analysis of Russia's involvement in the Middle East & its regional & global ramifications Russia he argues cannot & will not supplant the US as the leading external power in the region but its actions are accelerating changes which will fundamentally remake the international system in the next two decades