Exiled Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad He is said to spend his days playing video games and perfecting his ophthalmology skills in his luxurious surroundings. Moscow apartment and country villa after Vladimir granted asylum Putin.
The deposed ruler, nicknamed “The Butcher” for killing his own people, found new life in a luxurious 1,000-foot tower after fleeing. Syria when he was overthrown in December, ending 24 years of brutal dictatorship.
The 60-year-old is believed to live in three apartments in a luxury high-rise building with a shopping center on the ground floor in the Moscow City district, a glitzy business center in the heart of the Russian capital.
The skyscraper penthouse is “lavishly decorated with cream cabinets with gold trim, crystal chandeliers and wide sofas reminiscent of Middle Eastern palaces.”
The luxury three-storey complex, in which his family owns around 20 apartments worth more than £30 million, is adjacent to a shopping center he sometimes visits.
The brutal dictator fled to Russia following a lightning offensive by Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham in December, ended 13 years of civil war and six decades of autocratic rule by the Assad family.
Since then he has resumed his he was training to become an ophthalmologist to treat the elite of Moscow, the city he now calls home after his ouster, a source close to the family said.
A friend of his family told the Guardian: “He is studying Russian and improving his ophthalmology again.
Bashar al-Assad (pictured) was known as the “Butcher” of his people for his brutal treatment of his people.
Assad now lives with his cancer-stricken British wife Asma Al-Assad, sons Hafez and Karim, 24 and 21, and daughter Zain, 22.
Exiled Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad reportedly spends his days playing video games in his luxury Moscow apartment.
“This is his passion, he clearly doesn’t need money. Even before the start of the war in Syria, he regularly practiced ophthalmology in Damascus.
He trained in ophthalmology in London in the early 1990s, but was called back to his home country after the unexpected death of his brother in a car accident in 1994.
Soon after, he entered the military academy and became heir to the regime.
He now spends most of his time playing online video games, despite being allowed to move freely around Moscow and his country villa outside the Russian capital.
He was provided with bodyguards from a private security firm paid for by the Russian government.
The friend said he now lives a “very quiet life”, adding: “He has very little contact, if any, with the outside world.” He only communicates with a couple of people who were in his palace, such as Mansoor Azzam. [former Syrian minister of presidency affairs] and Yassar Ibrahim [Assad’s top economic crony].'
This is partly due to Putin's apparent dismissal of al-Assad after the fall of the regime in Syria.
A source close to the Kremlin told the newspaper: “Putin has little patience for leaders who lose their grip on power, and Assad is no longer seen as an influential figure or even an interesting guest to invite to dinner.”
Images of Assad in speedometers sparked ridicule on social media following the fall of his regime
One photograph found after the fall of the regime shows Assad wearing only white pants and a vest, clearly posing for the camera.
A photo believed to show Syrian President Bashar al-Assad wearing nothing but a speedo was taken by rebels after they seized his palace in Aleppo.
The photographs of the apartments in the complex show luxurious finishes and luxury furnishings, as well as panoramic views of Moscow (the illustration shows an apartment in a building)
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Assad now lives with his cancer-stricken British wife Asma Al-Assad, sons Hafez and Karim, 24 and 21, and daughter Zain, 22.
Asma, who was born in London and married into a brutal autocratic dynasty in 2000, is described as being in a “serious” condition with leukemia.
She is already accustomed to a luxurious life. She reportedly spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on household furniture and clothing during her husband's reign of terror.
Their chic Moscow apartment provides similar opulence, with a 20-meter-high lobby flooded with light and decorated with contemporary art. Visitors are provided with sofas, partitions and a welcome drink.
They have a huge heated bathtub in front of a 13-foot window in a 990-foot skyscraper with one of the best views in Moscow.
The bathroom is entirely made of Carrara marble.
“On Victory Day, May 9, you can watch the fireworks from the bathtub with a glass of champagne,” said Natasha, who sells penthouses in the same tower in the Moscow City area. Time.
The Assads “are in a good position and enjoying the stolen money.” The Syrian people mean nothing to them,” the German newspaper reported, citing Syrian sources.
Assad's younger brother Maher is reported to be staying at the Four Seasons Hotel in Moscow and spending time drinking and smoking hookah.
Revelations of the family's luxurious life in Moscow came after Putin's regime was forced to deny that Assad was poisoned in an assassination attempt.
One image shows him in a khaki hunter's suit with a gun and fur accessories, standing next to friends who are also in suits.
These photos show the 59-year-old as a young man in the 80s and 90s.
The fall of the Assad regime in Syria was widely considered a serious disgrace for Putin, who offered him asylum.
General view: Hundreds of people gather in Al-Assi Square during celebrations of the anniversary of the liberation of the city in Hama, Syria, December 5, 2025.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the former despot of Damascus “has no problems with life in our capital.”
Rumors of food poisoning, for which Assad was hospitalized, spread in late September.
But the following month Lavrov said: “There were no poisonings, and if such rumors appear, I leave them on the conscience of those who spread them.”
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, citing a “private source,” said Assad was hospitalized on the outskirts of Moscow.
The source stated that Assad “was poisoned” and that the motive for the operation to kill him was to “embarrass the Russian government and accuse it of complicity” in his death.
The report said Assad's condition was “stable” after being hospitalized.
Lavrov also tried to justify the fact that Putin saved Assad from the revolution engulfing Syria and provided him with asylum.
“Bashar al-Assad is here for humanitarian reasons. He and his family faced physical destruction,” he said.
“We all remember fate [Libyan leader] Muammar Gaddafi, which so delighted Hillary Clinton, who watched his physical destruction live on television and applauded.
“And we, for purely humanitarian reasons, provided asylum to Bashar al-Assad and his family. He has no problems living in our capital.
In 2018, his wife was diagnosed with breast cancer, which was considered cured until the cancer returned as leukemia in 2024.
She was already undergoing treatment in Moscow when her husband's regime was overthrown.
Their 23-year-old son Hafez, who was studying in Moscow, told of the family's escape from Damascus after being dragged out by Putin's military shortly before revolution engulfed them.
He admitted that the fall of the regime was a shock.
“There was never a plan – not even a backup plan – to leave Damascus, let alone Syria,” he admitted in a now-deleted video.
A Syrian rebel fires into the air to celebrate the rebels' takeover of Damascus, in Homs, Syria, early on December 8, 2024.
Smoke rises after Syrian rebels capture Damascus, Syria, December 8, 2024.
“After consultation with Moscow, the base command informed us that our transfer to Russia had been requested.
“Some time later, we boarded a Russian military plane bound for Moscow, where we landed that night.”
Assad remains wanted by the new Syrian government, which has issued an arrest warrant on charges of premeditated murder, torture and incitement to civil war.
The warrant gave an accurate description of him: 1.89 meters tall, oval face, prominent forehead, long nose. Eye color: Blue. Hair color: Brown.
