LONDON: More than a year after fleeing Syria, ousted former president Bashar Assad is living a secluded life of luxury in Moscow, with reports suggesting he has returned to studying ophthalmology while remaining cut off from political life.

Assad, who trained in London as an eye doctor before assuming power in 2000, was deposed in December 2024 as rebel forces advanced on Damascus, ending decades of his family’s rule. He fled the country overnight, with Russian assistance, after 14 years of civil war that left more than 600,000 people dead and nearly 14 million displaced.

According to sources cited by The Guardian newspaper in a report published on Monday, Assad is now living in or near Rublyovka, an exclusive gated community west of Moscow favored by Russia’s political and financial elite.

Despite his wealth and the security surrounding his exile, the former leader is said to be living a largely isolated life and is regarded as politically irrelevant in Moscow’s ruling circles.

A family friend told the newspaper that Assad has been studying Russian and revisiting his medical training, describing ophthalmology as a long-held passion. Russian authorities have reportedly barred him from engaging in any form of political or media activity.

Russia’s ambassador to Iraq confirmed in November that Assad was prohibited from making public appearances, despite being safe and under protection.

Sources told The Guardian that Assad left Syria without warning senior regime allies or members of his extended family, many of whom were forced to scramble to escape as the government collapsed. His brother Maher Assad, a senior military figure, was said to have remained in Damascus until the final moments, helping others flee.

In the months since the family’s escape from Syria, attention has reportedly focused on the health of Assad’s wife, Asma, who had been undergoing treatment in Moscow for leukaemia. According to sources familiar with the situation, her condition stabilized following experimental therapy.

While Assad himself remains largely invisible to the Russian public, his children have gradually adapted to life in the country. His daughter, Zein, graduated in June from Moscow’s prestigious MGIMO University, one of the few public sightings of Assad family members since their regime’s fall from power. His sons, Hafez and Karim, have withdrawn from social media and keep a low profile.

Despite prior hopes of relocating to the UAE, sources said the family now accepts that a permanent move out of Russia is unlikely in the near future, even as they continue to travel between Moscow and the Gulf.