As they celebrate the downfall of the Assad regime, many Syrians have been too busy revelling in their present joy to worry about the future.

Few would begrudge them their moment.

Yet Viktor Chernomyrdin’s famous aphorism will be lurking in the back of many minds among those who watch the Middle East: “We wanted the best, but it turned out as always.”

Chernomyrdin, Russia’s prime minister for much of the decade after the end of the Cold War, was talking about his homeland. But his words are just as apt in the Middle East, where the optimism of the Arab Spring, which toppled the dictators of Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Yemen more than a decade ago, soured as hopes for democracy were obliterated by civil war, resurgent Islamism and renewed dictatorship.

The fall of Bashar al-Assad provides the Arab Spring with an unexpected coda, but whether Syria can buck the trend remains to be seen.

The optimists hold up the prospect of lessons learnt, arguing that Syria’s fractured opposition has already endured such bloodshed that it understands the need for compromise, tolerance and inclusivity in a land of many confessional persuasions.

The pessimists fear that Chernomyrdin will once again be proved right.