In the second part of the interview with Nikolai Sukhov, leading research fellow at the Primakov National Research Institute of World Economy and International Relations of the Russian Academy of Sciences, New Eastern Outlook inquired about the Russian House in Damascus and the state of Russian business in Syria.

– You headed the Russian House in Damascus for 7 years. Did staying in Damascus change your understanding of Syria and your views on certain things?

– I should clarify that I worked for the UN for two years and headed the Russian House in Damascus for four and a half years. In total, I was there for almost seven years. From October 2017, to August 2019, I worked in the office of the UN Special Representative as a Senior Political Officer in Damascus. Then I left, and in March 2020, just before the borders were closed because of COVID-19, I came to reopen the Russian Centre for Science and Culture in Damascus. The centre was called the Russian Cultural Centre. The name ‘Russian House’ is a Primakov-era innovation.

Since the 60s, ‘al-markaz al-thaqafi al-rusi’ [‘Russian Cultural Centre’ in Arabic] has been a well-established phrase throughout the Arab world.

Generations of people have passed through these centres. One can meet grandfathers, grandmothers, children who visit to these centres in all countries where they are present.

I cannot say that my stay in Syria has radically changed my view of the country. Firstly, I visited the country several times previously. Secondly, I studied the country, as well as other Arab countries, within the framework of my professional training.

Syria is very diverse. Its regions differ significantly from........

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