Russia is protecting Syria's former strongman. But it's also talking to the rebels who ousted him

The three-starred flag representing Syrian rebel groups was hoisted up a pole atop the Syrian embassy in Moscow on Monday — even as Bashar Al-Assad, Syria's brutal dictator, is believed to be in exile in Russia after President Vladimir Putin granted him and his family asylum. 

"This is politics," said Ahamad Al-Gafra, a Syrian national who spoke to Reuters outside of the embassy. "I think Russia has the right to its interests."

Over the past decade, Russia has spent billions of dollars propping up Al-Assad's regime, which gave it a foothold in the Middle East and leases for two strategically important military bases. In exchange, Russia's airforce launched tens of thousands of deadly airstrikes against opposition groups and Syrian cities.

With Russia's help, Al-Assad crushed his opponents, killing hundreds of thousands of Syrians, and forced millions of others to flee. 

Now that the regime has crumbled, the Kremlin finds itself sheltering its one-time strongman and trying to manage ties with the rebel groups that quickly swept in to defeat him. 

The rebel push toward the Syrian capital, Damascus, was led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a Sunni Islamist group whose origins included links to al-Qaeda.

Russia, along with several other countries, including Canada, consider HTS a terrorist group. But the language being used in Russian media to describe them has softened nearly as quickly as the collapse of the Al-Assad regime. 

Near the beginning of his show on Sunday, Russian television host Dmitry Kiselyov referred to HTS as a terrorist group and former al-Qaeda cell. But by the end of the broadcast, he was referring to the rebels as the "armed opposition."

"Since yesterday, [the language in Russian media] has been pretty unflattering towards Assad," said Anna Matveeva, a visiting senior research fellow with Kings College London. "They are not calling him a bloodthirsty dictator — but not saying that he was a white knight in shining armour, either."

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov wouldn't elaborate on the whereabouts of Al-Assad or his wife, Asma, and their three adult children. But Russian state media have reported the family has been granted asylum in the country. 

Al-Assad and his wife, who was raised in London, are sanctioned by several governments, but have strong ties to Russia. 

According to an investigation by the Financial Times, Al-Assad's extended family previously bought at least 18 luxury apartments in a single complex in Moscow in an attempt to safeguard their money during the civil war and rounds of international sanctions.

Al-Assad's three children vacationed at a seaside resort in Crimea as teenagers, after Russia illegally annexed the peninsula in 2014. In 2023, Al-Assad's oldest son, Hafez, graduated from a masters program in mathematics at Moscow State University. His mother, the now former first lady of Syria, was part of a special delegation that travelled to Moscow for the ceremony. 

Matveeva told CBC she met Al-Assad's oldest son in 2019 at a cultural event in Damascus, and recalls speaking to him briefly in Russian.