Russia could have 4,000 military staff in Syria

Data showing how many Russian citizens in Syria took part in a weekend election for a new Russian parliament suggests the Kremlin may have around 4,000 military personnel based there backing Syrian President Bashar Al Assad.

The Russian Defence Ministry has declined to divulge the size of its contingent in Syria, which is largely deployed at the Hmeymim airbase in Latakia province, but also based at a naval facility, in Damascus and in other locations in government-controlled territory helping Al Assad fight rebels.

But figures from Russia’s Central Election Commission published on its site after parliamentary elections on Sunday, which were won by the ruling United Russia party, offer a clue. They show that 4,378 Russian citizens cast their votes using mobile ballot boxes outside Damascus, where 193 people voted.

In the 2011 Russian parliamentary election, RIA Novosti reported that only 35 Russian military personnel had voted.

The Conflict Intelligence Team (CIT), a group of investigative bloggers who specialise in analysing the Russian military, said the election commission data “offered a rare glimpse of the actual size of Russian forces in Syria”. A CIT note said: “[The figure of 4,378] should reflect Russian numbers in Syria pretty closely, as turnouts at Russian military base polling stations tend to be 100 per cent.”