Bashar al-Assad’s Life in Exile: Gaming and Seclusion in Moscow
Former Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad reportedly spends his days playing online video games from his residence in a Moscow high-rise. According to a former military officer with ties to the Assad family, who spoke to the German newspaper Die Zeit, the ousted dictator fled to Russia on December 8, 2024, following the capture of Damascus by rebel forces.
Living under strict conditions imposed by the Kremlin, Assad is barred from engaging in political activities or making public appearances. He occupies three luxury apartments in Moscow City, a prominent skyscraper complex where his family is said to own around 20 units. The former Syrian president occasionally ventures to the shopping mall located on the ground floor, while also splitting his time between the tower and a secluded villa outside the capital.
Since the onset of the Syrian civil war in 2011, the Assad family has secured their properties in Russia. Reports from the Financial Times in 2019 noted that they purchased these luxury accommodations through shell companies, indicating a calculated effort to maintain wealth and security in exile.
Life in Exile
Assad’s younger brother, Maher al-Assad, is believed to reside at the Four Seasons Hotel in Moscow, where he reportedly spends his time drinking and smoking hookah. Meanwhile, Assad’s wife, Asma al-Assad, faces a challenging health battle; her breast cancer returned last spring, and she is now contending with leukemia.
The former dictator remains under the watch of Russia’s FSB intelligence service. He is wanted under an international arrest warrant issued in September, with Syrian authorities charging him with serious offenses, including premeditated murder, torture, and incitement to civil war. The collapse of his regime has led approximately 1,200 Syrian military officers to seek refuge in Russia, with less affluent officers being relocated to Siberia while wealthier individuals settled in Moscow.
Despite the attention surrounding his situation, details about the video games that the former dictator engages with remain unclear. The shift from ruling a country to living a life of seclusion in a foreign land marks a stark contrast for Assad, whose legacy is marred by violence and controversy.
As the situation continues to develop, questions arise about how long Russia will maintain its protection of Assad and the implications this has for Syrian politics and international relations. The ongoing turmoil in Syria serves as a backdrop to the personal struggles faced by the Assad family as they navigate their new reality in exile.
