According to today's report by the German magazine Der Spiegel, former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his family live in a residential area of Moscow, owning about 20 apartments. They had already started purchasing property there as early as 2013.
A source close to the former Syrian leader said that Assad mostly lives in three connected luxury apartments, occasionally going to a villa in the suburbs of Moscow.
It is reported that he spends his spare time playing online games.
It is said that Assad's brother, Maher al-Assad, lives in the Four Seasons Hotel in Moscow, where he "drinks and smokes hookah." Assad's wife, Asma, suffers from leukemia and her condition is severe.
This family is protected by a private security team funded by the Russian Federal Security Service and the Russian authorities.
A source told Der Spiegel: "The cost of this protection is complete invisibility." Assad does not appear in public and never gives interviews.
Comment: This kind of information only comes from "sources," lacking official sources or public evidence, and its authenticity is questionable. Moreover, the daily life descriptions such as "playing online games" and "drinking and smoking hookah" seem to be intended to enhance the story, possibly reflecting the media's tendency to portray him as "detached from the situation in his country." The specific truth needs to be verified with more sources.
More值得关注 is the geopolitical metaphor behind the report: the living conditions and security of the Assad family in Moscow depend on Russia, which actually reflects the special relationship between Russia and Syria over the years. Even if the authenticity of the report is questionable, the signal of "Russia's protection of the Assad family" will still be interpreted as an indirect manifestation of Russia's influence in the Middle East, becoming a side note for observing the Russia-Syria relationship and regional power struggles.
Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1845675388597379/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author.