Exiled in Moscow, toppled Syrian dictator said to make quiet return to ophthalmology

Report says Bashar al-Assad and his family are living a luxurious life in Russia and UAE, though cut off from political power and considered ‘irrelevant’ by Putin

By Nava Freiberg

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16 December 2025, 4:16 am

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Nava Freiberg is The Times of Israel's deputy diplomatic correspondent.

Illustrative: Syria's then-president Bashar al-Assad visits the Flying Eye Hospital of the international ORBIS Charity at Aleppo international airport, on June 25, 2008. (AFP PHOTO/HO/SANA)

Over a year since he fled to Moscow after his regime was toppled by rebel forces, former Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad is taking ophthalmology lessons and enjoying a luxurious lifestyle with his family in Russia, according to a Monday report by The Guardian, citing sources familiar with his situation.

Assad, a London-trained ophthalmologist, is currently “studying Russian and brushing up on his ophthalmology again,” a friend of the Assad family said in the report, adding that the ex-ruler is potentially aiming to practice medicine among Moscow’s elite.

“It’s a passion of his, he obviously doesn’t need the money. Even before the war in Syria began, he used to regularly practice his ophthalmology in Damascus.”

The report added that the former dictator’s wife, Asma al-Assad, who had been battling leukemia, received experimental treatment in Moscow and has since recovered. With his wife’s health stabilized, Assad is said to be seeking media appearances to share “his side of the story” on the fall of his regime, and has lined up interviews with Russian and American media, but is awaiting approval from Russian authorities to speak publicly.

Assad was deposed in November 2024 after 14 years of civil war in Syria that killed some 600,000 people and displaced close to 14 million. The report said Assad’s last-minute flight to Russia caused his Syrian associates to feel abandoned, and that Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russia elites view him as “irrelevant.”

“Putin has little patience for leaders who lose their grip on power, and Assad is no longer seen as a figure of influence or even an interesting guest to invite to dinner,” a source close to the Kremlin told the Guardian.

In this photo released on the official Facebook page of Syrian Presidency, Syrian President Bashar Assad, second left, and his wife Asma, center, and their children Zein, left, Karim, right, and Hafez walk outside the Great Mosque of Aleppo, also known as the Umayyad Mosque, in the Old City of Aleppo, Syria, July 8, 2022. (Syrian Presidency Facebook page via AP)

Largely cut off from political power or influence, the Assad family is now living a quiet, private life in Moscow and the United Arab Emirates, the latter of which the Assad children frequently visit, according to the report.

“He has very little, if any, contact with the outside world. He’s only in touch with a couple of people who were in his palace,” said the family friend quoted in the report.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.