In the heart of Moscow’s glitzy business district, a former dictator now lives in a world far removed from the turmoil he left behind. Bashar al-Assad, once the iron-fisted ruler of Syria and branded by many Western outlets as the "Butcher" for his brutal crackdown on his own people, has traded the palaces of Damascus for the opulent skyscrapers of Moscow City. After a lightning offensive led by the Islamist militant group Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham toppled his 24-year regime in December 2025, Assad and his family were whisked away to Russia, where they have since settled into a life of luxury and seclusion, according to reports from The Guardian, Daily Mail, and other Western media.
Assad’s new home is a far cry from the war-ravaged streets of Syria. The family reportedly owns around 20 luxury apartments spread across three floors of a 1000-foot tower, with a total value exceeding £30 million. These apartments are described as the epitome of extravagance: cream-colored wardrobes with gold trim, crystal chandeliers, wide sofas reminiscent of Middle Eastern palaces, and bathrooms adorned with Carrara marble. The penthouse, with its panoramic windows, offers a front-row seat to Moscow's skyline and, as realtors boast, a heated bathtub from which one can watch the fireworks on Victory Day, May 9, with a glass of champagne in hand.
Despite his notorious past, Assad appears to have embraced a quieter existence. Sources close to the family told The Guardian that he spends much of his time playing online video games, learning Russian, and, perhaps most surprisingly, reviving his skills as an ophthalmologist—a specialty he once studied in London in the early 1990s. “He’s studying Russian and brushing up on his ophthalmology again. It’s a passion of his, he obviously doesn’t need the money. Even before the war in Syria began, he used to regularly practice his ophthalmology in Damascus,” a family friend told the newspaper.
The family’s day-to-day life is heavily guarded. Russian authorities have provided Assad with a private security detail, allowing him to move freely between his Moscow residence and a country villa, yet his contact with the outside world is limited. His circle reportedly includes only a handful of former associates, such as Mansour Azzam, the former Syrian minister of presidential affairs, and Yassar Ibrahim, Assad’s top economic adviser. According to Daily Mail, this isolation is partly due to the Kremlin’s chilly reception; Russian President Vladimir Putin is said to have “little patience for leaders who lose their grip on power,” and Assad is no longer viewed as a figure of influence or even “an interesting guest to invite to dinner.”
Assad’s wife, Asma, herself a London native, is also a visible presence in Moscow. She has been battling leukemia, a condition that returned in 2024 after an earlier bout with breast cancer in 2018. Asma had already been receiving treatment in Moscow before the regime’s fall, and now continues her care in the Russian capital. Their three children—sons Hafez and Karim, aged 24 and 21, and daughter Zein, 22—live with them. Hafez, who studied in Moscow, recounted in a now-deleted video how the family’s escape from Damascus came as a shock: “There was never a plan—not even a backup—to leave Damascus, let alone Syria,” he admitted, describing how they were flown to Russia on a military plane after Putin’s intervention.
The Assad family’s lifestyle in Moscow has not gone unnoticed—or uncriticized. Images of the former president lounging in speedos or posing in lavish settings have circulated widely on social media, drawing both ridicule and outrage. The contrast between their comfort and the suffering of ordinary Syrians is stark. During Assad’s rule, millions endured war, repression, and humanitarian crisis. As De Zeit cited from Syrian sources, “The Assads are in a good place and are enjoying the money they stole. The Syrian people mean nothing to them.”
Meanwhile, the Russian government has repeatedly denied rumors of an assassination attempt against Assad, specifically allegations that he had been poisoned. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was unequivocal: “There have been no poisonings, and if such rumors appear, I leave them on the conscience of those who spread them.” Lavrov further justified Russia’s decision to grant Assad asylum, stating, “Bashar Assad is here for humanitarian reasons. He and his family were facing physical destruction.” Drawing a parallel to the fate of Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi, Lavrov emphasized, “We, for purely humanitarian reasons, have granted asylum to Bashar Assad and his family. He has no problems living in our capital.”
Despite the outward trappings of wealth, the Assad family’s existence in Moscow is marked by increasing isolation. With Putin’s apparent disinterest and the loss of political clout, Assad is no longer the influential player he once was on the international stage. He remains a wanted man in Syria, where the new government has issued an arrest warrant on charges of premeditated murder, torture, and incitement to civil war. The warrant describes him in detail: “1.89 metres tall, oval face, prominent forehead, long nose. Eye color: Blue. Hair color: Brown.”
For many Syrians, the spectacle of their former ruler living in luxury while the country struggles to rebuild is a bitter pill to swallow. The story of Assad’s fall and subsequent exile serves as a stark reminder of the deep divides between the nation’s elite and its people. As the world watches, the once-mighty leader now spends his days in gilded isolation—his legacy, for better or worse, forever entwined with the fate of Syria.
