Take a look at the map and see how little of Syria is actually in the government's hands. Aljazerra posted this map today and almost all of Syria looks like it is in someone else's' hands, and all of that is under Assad's control is in the western part of the country. The article is one of the first to blame the Russians for civilian casualities who are collateral damage in the fight against ISIS.
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/11/20-killed-russian-air-strike-syrian-market-151129082103978.html
So, if you thought about why Russia has decided to help Assad stay in power, this would give us reason to see why it was so important. Syria is not in Assad's control and the situation was clearly getting worse. Territorially, Assad was not in power. More important, if you go directly west from Homs, you come to Tartus, where the Russians have their naval base. https://www.google.com/maps/place/Tartus+Port,+Tartus%E2%80%8E,+Syria/@34.9070499,35.9100339,15z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x15217c34ee5576c5:0x6c526abef67faf1c?hl=en-US
If they waited too much longer, their port would have been at risk of falling into the hands of somebody less favorable than Assad. Further north, the Russian airfields are at Latakia, also on the coast. According to the Moscow Times, the Russians are planning on building a larger air capability in Syria and unifying the forces there [http://www.themoscowtimes.com/business/article/russia-to-build-unified-military-base-in-syria-general-says/539407.html ] The Russians were certainly interested in maintaining those bases which are the only ones they have in the Middle East. What they are having to do to maintain them is put more boots on the ground and more planes in the air. They must need those places badly to risk that kind of exposure.
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