MOSCOW/BISHKEK (Reuters) - Valery Anisimov and his fellow Russian servicemen were smuggled out of the Black Sea hiding below the decks of their ship, they grew their hair long so they could pass as tourists, then landed at a Syrian port to join up with government military units.
Their trip took place in January 1983, 32 years before Russia's military again joined a Syrian conflict with its launch last month of air strikes on militant groups opposed to the Damascus government.
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