Asylum in Russia

Is Assad hiding in a Moscow skyscraper?

The "City of Capitals" business district in Moscow - this is where the "Butcher of Damascus" is said to reside.(Bild: Krone KREATIV/Grispb – stock.adobe.com AFP)

On the evening of December 8, it was confirmed: The ousted Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad has been granted asylum in Russia for "humanitarian reasons". However, he and his family will not lead a miserable existence in the capital Moscow ...

After their spectacular escape to Putin's empire, the Syrian ex-ruling family will obviously not be homeless. According to the Financial Times, the extended Assad family is said to have acquired at least 19 luxury apartments in Moscow's elite City of Capitals complex in recent years.

Their value is estimated at the equivalent of 40 million euros, British media report. Speculation is now doing the rounds: is the family now living there?

This is what an Assad apartment could look like:

You have to fork out around 1.5 million euros for just under 200 square meters in the posh complex.(Bild: moscowestates.com)

(Bild: moscowestates.com)

(Bild: moscowestates.com)

Some of Russia's richest businessmen live in the imposing, two-tower skyscraper. Government ministries, multinational companies and five-star hotels can also be found there. One skyscraper in the "City of Capitals" measures a full 302 meters, making it one of the tallest buildings in Europe.

For comparison: this is the average standard of living in Moscow:

(Bild: Screenshot Google Street View)

The chic business district is the virtually unattainable dream of many Muscovites. In the city of extremes, the average citizen is only used to tiny apartments in dreary prefabricated buildings.

Son completed his doctorate in Moscow
Assad's eldest son Hafez certainly seems to be a fan of the metropolis: he studied at Moscow State University. The conditions must have been much more comfortable for him thanks to the numerous properties owned by the family - because there are plenty of cockroaches crawling around the run-down student residence. He completed his doctorate in June last year. Afterwards, there was a huge celebration, for which his mother Asma also traveled all the way.