The image is a far cry from the grand presidential palace in Damascus. Today, Bashar al-Assad, his wife Asma and their three children live under protection, watched closely by their Russian hosts, while the former first lady battles life-threatening cancer. How did this powerful family end up in a Moscow suburb, and how fragile is their future there?
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From Damascus to Moscow: a fallen regime in exile
For years, Bashar al-Assad symbolised absolute power in Syria. That era is over. After the fall of his regime, brought down by the Organisation of the Liberation of the Levant, an ultra-radical Islamist rebel group, he and his family were forced to flee their country. With no possibility of returning home and wanted by the new authorities in Damascus, they accepted a humanitarian visa granted by Russia, one of the few states still ready to host them.
The couple did not leave alone. Their three children followed them into exile: Hafez Bachar, born in 2001, Zain, born in 2003, and their youngest, Karim, born in 2004. The entire family now lives in the Russian capital, well away from the Syrian streets that once carried their father’s portraits.
According to information relayed by Paris Match, the family does not live in an ordinary flat. They are said to have been housed in a private compound made up of luxurious dachas and high-end shops, cut off from the outside world by tall metal fences. The location of this enclave is described as the Odintsovo district, in the suburbs of Moscow, an area known for its wealth and tight security.
In this same part of the region, other fallen leaders or their relatives would also have found refuge. Among them, the family of former Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic and former Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych, removed from office in 2014. Ex-leaders from Kyrgyzstan and Georgia are also believed to live there, forming a sort of discreet community of former heads of state who have lost both office and homeland.
A discreet guest: Russia wants him to “keep a low profile”
This comfortable set-up does not mean that Bashar al-Assad is free to do as he wishes. The Kremlin reportedly set very clear rules for its Syrian guest. According to reports, Russian authorities have asked him to “keep a low profile” for the entire duration of his stay. No question of public displays or political manoeuvres that could irritate either Moscow’s partners or its new interlocutors in Damascus.
Russia has major strategic interests in Syria. It operates several military bases there and intends to keep a foothold in the region. With the new rulers in Damascus now in charge, Vladimir Putin is said to be working on building cordial relations with them. These leaders have, however, made one key demand: the extradition of Bashar al-Assad, whom they still want to see held to account.
In this context, the former Syrian president finds himself in a very delicate position. He is dependent on his Russian protectors for his personal safety and that of his family, while being a potential bargaining chip in the larger diplomatic game between Moscow and Damascus. His room for manoeuvre appears extremely limited, and his public visibility has shrunk accordingly.
Asma al-Assad: a brutal fight against aggressive leukaemia
The former first lady’s medical situation has become extremely worrying in recent weeks. Asma al-Assad is reportedly suffering from an aggressive cancer affecting both her bone marrow and her blood. According to information reported by The Telegraph, doctors estimate she has only around a fifty per cent chance of recovering. The diagnosis is acute myeloid leukaemia, a serious and fast-progressing blood cancer.
Sources quoted by British media describe her as “dying”, a chilling word that says a lot about the gravity of the situation. Her fragile immune system means she has to be kept under strict isolation. She is being treated in a Moscow facility where every contact is tightly controlled to prevent infection. One source explains that she “cannot be in the same room”, underlining how vulnerable she now is to the slightest germ.
Her chances of survival have been put at “50/50” in recent weeks, illustrating the enormous uncertainty surrounding her condition. This is not her first battle with cancer. Back in 2018, Asma al-Assad was already treated for breast cancer, which she had appeared to overcome. But this time, the diagnosis is far more severe and involves intensive, long-term care.
For the couple’s three children, this means living not only in political exile, but also with an absent mother, confined to a medical unit and cut off from physical contact. For Bashar al-Assad himself, it adds personal anguish to his already precarious political status. With his wife gravely ill and hospitalised, any idea of leaving Russia seems more unrealistic than ever.
A family trapped between illness and politics
The current situation of the al-Assad family is therefore one of forced immobility. On one side, there is a man whose former allies in Syria now demand his extradition, and whose Kremlin hosts only tolerate him on condition that he stays out of sight. On the other, there is a woman undergoing heavy treatment for acute leukaemia, with survival odds no better than a coin toss, isolated to protect her from infection.
In Moscow, behind high fences and guarded entrances, the couple’s three children are growing up far from their birthplace, surrounded by the ghosts of other fallen regimes. While Russia maintains an interest in preserving this fragile balance, the family’s dependence on their host country has never been greater. Their story is no longer written in the corridors of power in Damascus, but in a closed compound on the edge of Moscow and in the quiet rooms of a Russian hospital. Can this strange, suspended life really last forever?
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Bachar el-Assad et sa femme Asma : où vivent-ils aujourd’hui avec leurs 3 enfants ?
