Damascus [Syria], December 16: Friends, sources in Russia and Syria, and leaked data have helped reveal the secretive life of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's family after they were helped by Russia to leave Damascus a year ago.
The Guardian reported today, December 15th, citing a source familiar with the matter, that Bashar al-Assad is studying ophthalmology in Russia.
Assad is learning Russian and preparing to return to medicine.
After relinquishing power and living in exile in Russia, the former Syrian president is reportedly returning to medicine, specifically to his ophthalmology training in London, England.
"He's learning Russian and reviewing his ophthalmology," according to a friend who remains in contact with the Assad family. "It's his passion; he clearly doesn't need the money. Even before the conflict in Syria broke out, Assad regularly practiced ophthalmology in Damascus," according to informed sources, adding that the former leader's future target clientele appears to be the wealthy elite of Moscow.
A year after leaving Syria, the Assad family is living a luxurious but isolated life in Moscow and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), according to sources.
The family likely lives in Rublyovka, an elite residential area in Moscow. There, they may live near figures such as former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, who left Kyiv in 2014.
The Assad family is reportedly not short of money. Despite living in comfortable conditions, the former leader's family has no contact with the Syrian and Russian elite circles they once associated with.
"It was a very quiet life," a family friend said, adding that Assad seemed to have no contact with the outside world.
A Kremlin source said that Assad is now largely estranged from Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Russian political establishment.
The Assad family's private life
Assad and his sons left Damascus in the early morning of December 8, 2024, as opposition forces advanced on the capital from both the north and the south. A Russian military escort met them and took them to the Khmeimim air base before they boarded a plane to leave Syria.
In the first few months after arriving in Russia, the entire family gathered in Moscow to care for Assad's wife, Asma, who had been suffering from leukemia for years and whose condition had become critical. The former Syrian first lady had already received treatment in Moscow.
According to a source familiar with the matter, Asma's health has recovered after undergoing experimental treatment under the supervision of Russian security agencies.
Once his wife's health stabilized, Assad planned to give interviews to RT and a popular right-wing podcaster in the US. However, Russian authorities apparently disagreed with Assad's public appearances.
In a rare interview with Iraqi media in November, Russian Ambassador to Iraq Elbrus Kutrashev confirmed that the former Syrian president was banned from public appearances.
"Mr. Assad may live in Russia but cannot participate in political activities. He has no right to contact any media or political activities," the Russian ambassador said, adding that Mr. Assad is still alive and safe.
The only time the Assad family, without the former president, appeared together in public since leaving Syria was at the graduation ceremony of Zein al-Assad's daughter on June 30. At that time, Zein received a bachelor's degree in international relations from MGIMO, a university that has produced many of Russia's elite.
A photo on MGIMO's official website shows Zein (22 years old) standing with other graduates. In a video from the ceremony, Asma and her two sons, Hafez (24 years old) and Karim (21 years old), are filmed sitting in the audience.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper
