TODAY: Putin’s Middle East tour kicks off amid rising tensions on Syria; Lavro defends arms contracts; helicopter-carrying ship will make a second attempt to reach the conflict-ridden state. Orthodox Church shores up its defenses; Alexeyeva leaves rights committee; Oleg Shein faces $600 fine; Berlin takes on Russian homophobia. US concerned over Russia reprisals for Magnitsky; Russian history -interpreting and forgetting

President Putin will arrive in Israel today on the start of a Middle East tour. ‘Russia finds itself in a very unpleasant situation: It has essentially put itself in opposition to the entire Arab world’, says one analyst here of the Kremlin’s stance on Syria.  Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has defended the export of air defense systems and disassembled helicopters that were being carried on Russian ship the MV Alaed on its abortive trip to Syria.  The Alaed will return to Syria, but this time with an escort.  It was noted by Reuters that Russian-bought air defense systems were instrumental in the shooting down of a Turkish warplane on Friday.