President Vladimir Putin stood with Russian troops at their air base in Syria and proudly declared victory over “terrorists” in that country as part of the Kremlin’s military intervention to prop up the government of Bashar Assad amid a civil war.

Russian firepower helped keep the Syrian president in power - but in a matter of days, Moscow's Syria project unravelled.

The Kremlin confirmed on Dec. 11 that longtime Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad had fled to Moscow after rebels took the capital city of Damascus in a lightning offensive that shocked the world. Assad’s exile in Russia comes as little surprise.

Seven years after declaring victory against terrorists in Syria, Russia's support for Bashar al-Assad crumbled amidst a swift rebel offensive. Assad fled to Moscow, exposing the limits of Russian power and influence,