The Moscow neighbourhood ready to welcome Assads. DISPATCH. After being granted asylum by Russia the deposed Syrian leader is likely to move into the Moscow City district, where his extended family own luxury apartments. Bashar al-Assad, his wife Asma and their children Zein (far left), Hafez (second right) and Karim could live in the City of Capitals complex. Wednesday December 11 2024, 9.30am, The Times. When Marina, a successful businesswoman, arrived in Moscow’s glittering business district to view an apartment, she was surprised to learn that one of her new neighbours might be Syria’s deposed dictator.. Bashar al-Assad, 59, his British-born wife, Asma, 49, and their adult children have not been seen since Damascus was seized by rebels at the weekend. The Kremlin said on Monday that they had been granted asylum in Russia by President Putin on “humanitarian grounds”.. Assad visited the Kremlin in July. VALERY SHARIFULIN/POOL/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES. Their exact plans are unclear, but it is likely that the Assads will be spending at least some of their time among the glittering towers of Moscow City, a business district in the west of the Russian capital, where the dictator’s extended family owns up to 20 apartments.. “Of course, I didn’t think that I might be living in the same building as a president,” said Marina, as she waited to meet an estate agent. “But that’s good for me, as the security will probably be better. Especially if he himself lives here, or someone from his family.”. She was scathing about both Assad, whose regime was propped up for years by the Russian army, and the rebels who had deposed him. “In general, I am against people who solve problems through military actions,” she said.. Advertisement. Assad’s relatives, including cousins, purchased properties in the prestigious Moscow City district between 2013 and 2019 at a total cost of over £30 million, according to Global Witness, an anti-corruption group. The money is said to have been funnelled out of Syria by a powerful family headed by Assad’s uncle, Mohammed Makhlouf.. • The Times view on Putin and Assad: Russia’s Rebuff. The majority of the apartments are in the City of Capitals complex, a twin-towered skyscraper that was once the tallest in Europe until it was overtaken by the Shard in 2012. The others are in the nearby Federation Tower, Moscow’s tallest building. Advertisements show expensively furnished apartments with panoramic views of the city.. The City of Capitals complex. ALAMY. The Assads will be familiar with the luxury of the apartments having been regular visitors since the start of the civil war in 2011. “Of course, I heard that the Assads have received political asylum in Russia,” said Svetlana, who was advertising visits to the viewing platform at the top of the 384m Federation Tower.. “I guess it’s good that we gave him refuge. Maybe he has sinned. But I believe that you should treat everyone well, in the way that you would want to be treated yourself.”. Advertisement. Assad, who studied in London to become an ophthalmologist in the 1990s, oversaw one of the most brutal regimes in modern history. His opponents were tortured and murdered in bloodstained prisons, while his forces used sarin gas against an opposition-held area in 2013, killing up to 1,400 people, according to Washington.. Assad has been a regular visitor to Russia since the start of Syria’s civil war in 2011. His eldest son, Hafez, 24, defended his doctoral dissertation in mathematics at Moscow State University last month. The dissertation, written in Russian, concluded with praise for the “the martyrs” who had helped defend his father’s regime.. • The rise and fall of the Assads — from a palace to a dacha. Asma, who was diagnosed with leukaemia in May after surviving breast cancer, is believed to have arrived in Russia with the other two Assad children, Karim, 21, and Zein, 22, two days before her husband fled Syria.. Asma al-Assad met dancers from the Russian National Academy of Ballet on a visit to Moscow in 2005. AMMAR ABD RABBO/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES. Moscow City, which is home to about 10,000 people, was mostly constructed during Russia’s oil and gas boom in the 2000s and was widely seen as a testament to Putin’s ambitions to transform his country into a global power. Its futuristic glass and steel towers are visible from almost anywhere in the centre of the city.. Advertisement. It is home to Russian banks and financial institutions, as well as the offices of IT and telecommunications companies. Before the start of the war in Ukraine in 2022, every fifth office was occupied by a western company. Young Russians flock to the district in all weathers to pose for TikTok and Instagram photos to the backdrop of its skyscrapers.. • House of Assad: how family put sadism at centre of their regime. Not everyone in Moscow City is a member of the elite, however. Just a short walk away from the district is a cluster of five-floor buildings that date from the Soviet era. Many of its residents are being evicted to make way for more grandiose construction projects.. “My home being demolished so they can build another skyscraper in its place,” said Dmitry. “We have to move because of this.”. The dilapidated Presnensky district is overlooked by skyscrapers. NOT KNOWN, CLEAR WITH PICTURE DESK. Security issues mean the Assads might be unwilling to set up home permanently in Moscow City. The area has been targeted several times by Ukrainian drones, causing damage and injuring a security guard. The majority of the Russian elite live in Rublyovka district in the suburbs of Moscow or in gated communities near the city.. Advertisement. Assad is the second major Kremlin ally after Viktor Yanukovych, the ex-Ukrainian leader, to have been given refuge by Putin since 2014. Yanukovych, who was toppled by pro-western protesters in Kyiv after backing out of a deal to take Ukraine closer to the European Union, is now believed to live near Moscow.. Yanukovych with Putin, who granted him sanctuary. SASHA MORDOVETS/GETTY IMAGES. A satirical online cartoon this week depicted a gloomy Assad and Yanukovych drinking beer and vodka and eating dried fish, a common Russian snack that goes with alcohol. “Putin helped us out just great!” complains Assad.. Video Icon. DISPATCH. Syria rises from ashes as the world nervously watches. December 10 2024, 5.00pm. Samer al-Atrush, Damascus |. Richard Spencer. , Damascus. IN DEPTH. Why Assad’s fall is a blow to Putin — and exposes Russia’s weakness. December 09 2024, 9.20pm. Marc Bennetts. PROMOTED CONTENT. Previous article. Watch the moment terraced house explodes in east London. Previous article. Next article. Syrian Bafta winner: End of cowardly Assad is our happy ending. Next article
