@marcbennetts1
+ UNEASY EXILE: Syrians in Russia are divided between those who support Putin’s campaign in Syria and those who oppose the Assad regime.
VASILY MAXIMOV/AFP/GETTY
IT’S A MURKY afternoon in Moscow when I meet “Rafiq” at the cramped offices of a refugee assistance center. A Syrian national, Rafiq fled his homeland to escape the civil war and moved to Moscow with his Russian-born wife. Today, he’s cautious when he talks about the Kremlin’s support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad—so cautious that he doesn’t want me to use his real name.