If you think of it from a Russian religious perspective (I am not Russian Orthodox - so just speculating) the USA, since the end of the Cold War has gotten involved in wars in the east that has cost Orthodox Christians (who share the same faith as Russians) heavily.
Serbs who are Orthodox are bombed by NATO on behalf of Sunni Muslims, Cyprus Christians are occupied by Turkey, Iraqi Christians once having influence and power became hunted after the Iraq occupation and Saddam's overthrow. Syrian Christians are very much like they were in Iraq under Saddam. Iraqi and Syrian Christians are for the most part either Orthodox or Greek Catholics.
So from Russia's perspective, the USA's policies - either by design or by accident have hurt their co-religionists and the alliance the European west made with Islam to wage war in Russia may remind some of Afghanistan, etc.
Christian zeal my .... Russia is only in this for expansionism and to throw sand in the eyes of the US. Same for the Chinese.
An alliance against the Soviets made sense. An alliance against the Caliphate makes even more sense.
There’s nothign Christian about it. It’s a naked attempt by Communists, both Russian and Chinese, to establish dominance in the Middle East while America is weak.
Russia’s religion, from Ivan onwards, has been its quest for universal empire under Russian tutelage. As it stands, Russia’s territory is almost as large as the next two largest countries *combined*. Orthodox Christianity is its state religion - proto-nationalism in religious guise - the way the priests of Baal went into battle in support of the Philistines who worshiped this god.
Crusaders! The Crusaders are coming! Olly Olly Akbak!
RE: the Russian Orthodox Church praised the Russian war effort, describing the mission to fight the jihadists of the Islamic State as a “holy battle.”
So why aren’t the Russians bombing ISIS?
Victor Sheymov in his book Tower of Secrets says those who were marginally successful in their KGB training were assigned to the Russian Orthodox Church. Personally I don’t imagined things have changed much.
Victor Sheymov
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victor_Sheymov
I agree with you. Since Bosnia, the United States has been pursuing a foreign policy that has been virtually genocidal towards eastern Christians from Serbia to Iraq. The U.S. has steadily broken down bulwarks against Islamic jihad (Hussein, Assad, the “Arab Spring” uprisings), and then forked over massive amounts of military equipment, one way or another, to jihadists throughout the region. Jihadists who had continued the de facto American policy of extinction and annihilation against Christians.
No wonder Russian Christians are pissed. For that matter so am I. I know Russia’s motives are mixed, but that doesn’t nullify the authenticity of Russian Christian motives here. The real question is why so many American Christians continue to support Washington and whitewash its actions.
Oh like thats a bad thing!
Your analysis is correct, with the exception of “by accident”, but the article is an admission of the degenerate Western mainstream media’s hatred of uncorrupted Christianity to the point that the Media will accept and cover for Islamic mass murder, rape and torture of those uncorrupted Christians.
The Russian Orthodox Church has been the only support Syrian Christians have had and this is a primary interest of the church - protecting Syrian Christians. Christians from Western countries, including the American churches, have turned their back on them