ASSAD FAMILY’S QUIET LUXURY EXILE IN MOSCOW AND UAE

Zein al-Assad, in white dress, on graduating from university.

Mon 15 December 2025:

A year after Bashar al-Assad’s regime fell on December 8, 2024, the family lives a quiet, luxurious but reclusive life, likely in Moscow’s gated Rublyovka district—home to exiles like former Ukrainian leader Viktor Yanukovych.Financially Secure, Socially Cut Off

Wealth stashed in Russia since 2011 sanctions ensures comfort, but Bashar is shunned: abandoned allies feel betrayed by his sudden flight, and Russian minders limit his contacts to a few palace loyalists (e.g., Mansour Azzam, Yassar Ibrahim).

A source near Putin says the Russian leader has no patience for deposed rulers; Assad is no longer influential or even a desirable dinner guest.

Assad fled Damascus with his sons via Russian escort to Khmeimim airbase, without warning others. His brother Maher reportedly aided escapes while Bashar prioritized himself—rebels found his shisha coals still warm. Uncle Rifaat’s relatives were initially stranded outside the base, sleeping in cars until Russian intervention allowed escape to Oman.

Immediately after fleeing Syria in late 2024, the Assads rallied in Moscow to support Asma al-Assad, whose long-standing leukemia had worsened. She received ongoing care there (even before the regime’s collapse) and has now fully recovered through cutting-edge treatment overseen by Russian security.

With Asma stable, the ousted leader wants to tell his story, arranging potential interviews with RT and a conservative U.S. podcaster. However, Russian authorities strictly prohibit any public or political activity, as Russia’s ambassador to Iraq confirmed in November: Assad is safe but barred from media.

Bashar and Asma Assad on their wedding day Photograph: social media.

In a rare November interview with Iraqi media about Assad’s life in Moscow, Russia’s ambassador to Iraq, Elbrus Kutrashev, confirmed that the toppled dictator was barred from any public activity.

“Assad may live here but cannot engage in political activities … He has no right to engage in any media or political activity. Have you heard anything from him? You haven’t, because he is not allowed to – but he is safe and alive,” Kutrashev said.

Life for the Assad children in contrast seems to continue with relatively little disruption, as they adjust to a new life as Moscow elite.

The family friend, who met some of the children a few months ago, said: “They’re kind of dazed. I think they’re still in a bit of a shock. They’re just kind of getting used to life without being the first family.”

The Assad offspring—Hafez (24), Zein (22), and Karim (21)—appear somewhat shell-shocked but are adapting smoothly to elite life: luxury shopping, high-end gyms, and salons (per leaked data), plus regular UAE trips—a pre-war family favorite.

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The family’s only public sighting (sans Bashar) was at Zein’s discreet June 30, 2025, graduation from prestigious MGIMO university. Asma and the sons attended quietly, avoiding stage photos and departing early.

A photograph on MGIMO’s official website shows the 22-year-old Zein standing with other graduates. In a blurry separate video from the event, members of the Assad family, including Asma and her two sons Hafez, 24, and Karim, 21, can be seen in the audience.

Two of Zein’s classmates who attended the ceremony confirmed that parts of the Assad family were present, but said they kept a low profile. “The family did not stay long and did not take any pictures with Zein on stage like other families,” said one of the former classmates, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Bashar al-Assad with his wife, Asma, walking with their children in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo in 2022. Photograph: Former Syrian presidency Facebook page/AFP/Getty Images

Once eyed as heir, Hafez posted a February Telegram video blaming Russia for the evacuation and denying ally abandonment, filmed on Moscow streets. He then deleted most accounts, adopting pseudonyms from a U.S. children’s detective series.

The family initially aimed to move permanently to the more comfortable UAE (lacking Russian language skills and social ties). Now, they accept a prolonged Moscow stay, as even the UAE home to many controversial figures—hesitates to host Assad long-term.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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