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On Tuesday June 16, Ahmadinejad went to Moscow to attend a conference of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. Iran is not a member, but attends the meetings as an observer. Ahmadinejad did so while Iran was (and still is) in a deep crisis.
Ahmadinejad and his hardline supporters are keenly aware of Russia’s experience with “color” revolutions in countries formerly within the influence of the Soviet Union. The loss of those states has shrunk Russia’s sphere of influence and pained the Russian nationalists, particularly Vladimir Putin. So they are now trying to exploit the situation to their advantage. After all, it was Russia that warned Ahmadinehad about the possibility of a color revolution in Iran. Ahmadinejad, his supporters among the top commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and the clerics have been ranting about the possibility ever since.
Putin and the Kremlin believe that the United States has betrayed Russia. While heralding American-Russian friendship, the Bush administration moved to prevent, or at least slow down, the resurgence of Russia. The Russians believe — with good reason — that the United States and its National Endowment for Democracy were instrumental in the 2003 Rose Revolution in Georgia, and in the 2004 Orange Revolution in Ukraine, both of which brought to power pro-West regimes. These were interpreted by Russia as attempts by the United States to limit its influence abroad, and to prevent it from r... >>>