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By Maria Tsvetkova, Christian Lowe and Olga Dzyubenko 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. As Anisimov's story shows, even if Russia's entry into the Syrian conflict may have caught Western countries off guard, it is the continuation of a long history of involvement in the Middle East. "We moved away from supporting the Arabs," said Pogos Akopov, a retired diplomat who served as Soviet ambassador to Egypt, Libya and Kuwait.More...