"They installed the Ba'th party in Syria so that they could prevent a gas pipeline being built through the country. "
Hmm, not sure about that scowie. Maybe the Soviet Union was a help to the Arab Socialists back then, but it seems unlikely that they'd have been motivated by concerns about a gas pipeline in the early sixties.
A lot of these conspiracy theories, be they about Russia, the US, Saudi Arabia or whoever, are misguided. Generally interests are served on the hoof, and alliances formed for short term advantage over the enemy of the day. You definitely see that in Syria.
Anyway, I must dash off to tune in to RT's coverage of the Russian attack on Idlib today: 40: civilians killed. Makes you wonder what the difference is between Putin and Al-Baghdadi sometimes.