It has been reported that former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has been living in Moscow for the past year and has returned to the medical field. The Guardian, citing sources in Russia and Syria, reports that Assad is currently attending ophthalmology classes, pursuing this work not out of financial need but out of personal interest.
A person close to the Assad family stated that even before the war, Bashar Assad had regularly worked in the field of eye diseases in Damascus. "This is his true devotion. He never completely left medicine," the interviewee said. At the same time, it is noted that the former president is seriously studying the Russian language.
According to the publication, the Assad family is financially well-off, but Bashar Assad himself is almost completely isolated. He was not allowed to freely communicate with representatives of either the Syrian or Russian elite. "He has almost completely severed contact with the outside world and only speaks to a handful of people," a source close to the family said. In this context, former Minister of Presidential Affairs Mansur Azzam and former economic advisor Yassar Ibrahim are mentioned.
One of the sources close to the Kremlin told The Guardian that Russian President Vladimir Putin no longer sees Assad as a politically significant figure. In Moscow, he is perceived neither as an influential figure nor as an influential guest. Even as an "officially invited person to dinner," he is not of interest.
In recent months, the Asad family has rarely appeared in public. The only noteworthy event this summer was the graduation of her 22-year-old daughter Zeyn from the Moscow State Institute of International Relations. Asma Asad and her two sons - Hafiz and Karim - attended the graduation ceremony, but the family quickly withdrew from the event, avoiding being in the spotlight.
Asad's children frequently travel to the United Arab Emirates. Initially, the family planned to move permanently to the UAE, but they had to abandon this idea. The publication notes that even for the UAE, receiving the former Syrian leader would be politically inconvenient.
It is reported that in the first months after arriving in Russia, Assad focused mainly on the health of his wife Asma, who was diagnosed with leukemia. She began to feel better after undergoing experimental therapy in Moscow.
According to The Guardian, Bashar al-Assad intends to express his views on the events in Syria through the media. He agreed to conduct interviews with the Russian channel RT and some American podcasters, but these interviews are pending with the permission of the Russian government.
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