What was Vladimir Putin doing hosting Hamas' representatives two weeks after the terrorist group massacred Israeli civilians? What are Russia's interests in a region that was so important during the Cold War? Its interests may come down to Moscow's great power ambitions in a part of the globe where it has a long history and once exercised considerable influence. In this episode, historians Sergey Radchenko and Vladislav Zubok identify continuities between the Cold War and today concerning Russian influence in the Middle East as a terrible new Arab-Israeli war recalls the region's violent past.