“Deposed Syrian dictator Bashar Assad and his family, after fleeing from Syria in December 2024, settled in Moscow, where they lead a luxurious lifestyle under the protection of Russian special services. Assad and his entourage visit elite restaurants and live in the most expensive apartments of the Russian capital, enjoying complete impunity.”, — write: www.pravda.com.ua
Bashar Assad and Vladimir Putin. Photo: Getty Images Source: The New York Times citing family friends, sources in Russian and Syrian diplomatic circles, and the Assad family’s social networks
Details: According to the publication, the Assad family, after the emergency evacuation to Russia, first stayed at the Four Seasons hotel, where the cost of living in luxury apartments reaches 13 thousand dollars per week. Later, Bashar Assad moved to a two-story penthouse in the Federation Tower skyscraper.
Advertising:
Later, according to sources among diplomats and former Syrian officials, Assad was moved to a private villa in the elite district of Rublyovka. Russian special services continue to guard the family around the clock and strictly control their information space. In particular, when the 24-year-old son of the ex-president Hafez posted a video of his walk through Moscow on social networks, the Russian authorities immediately forced him to delete the content and stop public activity.
Bashar al-Assad’s brother, Maher, who commanded the elite Fourth Division and is accused of numerous war crimes and drug trafficking, also lives in Moscow. He was seen several times in the Capital Towers skyscraper area and in the fashionable Myata Platinum hookah bar in the Afimoll shopping center. Eyewitnesses note that he is trying to disguise himself by hiding his face under a cap.
It is interesting that the brothers treat their former subordinates differently. According to sources, Maher is helping his officers settle in Russia with money, while Bashar left his inner circle to fend for himself.
Journalists tell the story of Bashar’s personal assistant, who carried suitcases for him for years. During his escape in December 2024, he was taken to Moscow without belongings and documents. At the Four Seasons Hotel, he was put in a room with other servants, but later they were billed for accommodation “unaffordable”. Asad ignored his assistant’s calls. In the end, Russian officials intervened in the situation and relocated the personnel to the old Soviet military base. With no money to live in Moscow, the assistant returned to Syria, where he is now hiding in a mountain village, hoping to avoid responsibility.
“Bashar is living a full life as if nothing happened. He humiliated us when he was here and betrayed us when he left,” said one of the former colleagues of Assad’s aide.
The dictator’s children also continue the usual life of the “golden youth”. Zein Asad received a diploma from the Moscow State Institute of International Relations in June. Her brothers and mother were present at the ceremony.
Prehistory:
- The Assad regime fell in December 2024 under the pressure of the rebels. Assad has ruled Syria for more than two decades, a reign characterized by a brutal crackdown on the opposition, the use of chemical weapons against his own population and a civil war that has left hundreds of thousands dead and millions of refugees.
- Russia has been a key ally of the Assad regime, providing it with military and political support.
- Formerly the British edition of The Guardian wrotethat Bashar al-Assad’s children and wife spend most of their time shopping, filling their new Russian home with luxury goods.
- Bashar’s daughter – Zane – regularly buys expensive clothes, registered in an elite pedicure salon and is a member of an elite sports club in Moscow. Assad’s children are also frequent visitors to the UAE, and their mother, Asma, has joined them on at least one trip.