In May, St Petersburg’s Mariinsky Orchestra performed in the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra, which had been re-captured from the Islamic State in March. Images of Palmyra’s historic ruins beamed live on RT to a soundtrack of Shcherin, Prokofiev and Bach. Via a videoscreen, Russian President Vladimir Putin told the audience that the concert was a victory for civilisation. President Bashar al-Assad said that it was an “important achievement” in the “war on terrorism”.
The significance of Palmyra perhaps lay more in its symbolism than its strategic importance. Palmyra served as a means to counter criticisms of Russia that it had been concentrating its might on moderate rebel groups rather than extremist groups, as it had claimed, and bolstered the regime’s narrative that it was the only real alternative to IS.
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