Orlov.

This is coolbert:

Current [2021] Russian military ground/naval/air activity in the Levant is decidedly not unique. 

"The Levant . . . is an approximate historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia."

All thanks to the Russian Internet web site "Russia Beyond" and BORIS EGOROV.

All this an previously unknown to me. A demonstration of Imperial Russian naval prowess. The Russian-Turkish war of 1768-1774 and a foray of the Russian into foreign waters successful, Admiral Orlov in command.

1. "The GREATEST victory in the history of the Russian Navy"

"The Destruction of the Turkish Fleet in the Bay of Chesme"

“'The water, mixed with blood and ash, had a foul appearance. Burned corpses floated on the waves, so many that it was difficult to sail through the port,'” 

2. "When the Russians conquered Beirut"

"The first Russian military bases in the Middle East could have been built as far back as the 18th century."

"On September 29, 1773, Russian forces first entered Beirut. For the first time in many centuries, one of the oldest cities of the Levant (once used to describe a large area of the Eastern Mediterranean) saw European boots marching through it. But what took Russian soldiers so far from home?"

GREATEST NAVAL VICTORY? RUSSSIAN NAVAL STRENGTH USUALLY PERCEIVED AS PROBLEMATIC, GEOGRAPHIC AND CLIMATIC CONDITIONS NORMALLY CONSTRICTING AND CONFINING OPERATIONS.

War water ports too and the desire for same always cited by Russian/Soviet experts as a possible cause for Russian/Soviet territorial expansion at all times in history since Peter the Great.

coolbert.