A Syrian court sentenced former President Bashar Assad to death, testing the new government’s relationship with Russia. Assad secretly fled Syria the night before rebels seized Damascus, taking refuge in Moscow with his family. AdvertisementSyria’s relationship with Russia extends back to Soviet times, when it forged a close relationship with Moscow to counter U.S. and Israeli influence. The new Syrian military inherited much of this Soviet and Russian equipment, along with decades of administrative and technical cooperation with Moscow. While Rybar argued that the Russian military presence in the country is likely to continue to decline, it argued that a shift toward soft power could preserve Russian influence in the country.