VLADIMIR Putin has thrown a ring of steel around exiled dictator pal Bashar al-Assad as the tyrant marks his first anniversary hiding in Russia. 

“Butcher” Assad, notorious for torturing his enemies, flew out of Syria a year ago on a Russian military plane at the eleventh hour – as he faced arrest and execution at home. 

Putin personally approved Assad’s last-minute rescue, which could have used body doubles and decoy helicopters.

Now, speculation is swirling over where exactly the dictator and his family are hiding in Russia, after Putin gave asylum to the toppled tyrant, his extended family, and key henchmen on December 8 last year.

The Syrian dictator’s family are known to own dozens of skyscraper complexes in the elite Moscow City business and residential district, bought with cash siphoned out of Syria before his fall.

Assad lives “in luxury” in a Moscow “warlord retirement village”, according to one intelligence source. 

The source suspects the Syrian dictator could be holed-up in one of several heavily-guarded Russian government compounds in the capital, protected by pal Putin.

One such compound, Vorobyovy Gory, is in the Sparrow Hills, close to Russia’s Hollywood.

The source said: “This is the kind of place where Assad could be held entirely safely guarded by the FSO [Federal Protection Service] and in luxury.

“There are others outside Moscow, but this one only houses people personally approved by Putin and they live here or get kicked out based on his patronage.”

The Butcher now kills time playing endless video games in the penthouse of a 99ft tower, reports say. 

Dachas were built here for the Soviet elite and used by friendly foreign dictators like Cuban ruler Fidel Castro and likely Assad’s own father Hefez on his visits.

Assad’s desperate final plea to Putin & panic-stricken wait to be bundled to Russia are REVEALED a month on from ousting

Tyrant's last days

Video Player is loading.

Current Time 0:00

Duration 3:08

Loaded: 1.01%

Remaining Time 3:08

1x

• 2x
• 1.75x
• 1.5x
• 1.25x
• 1x, selected
• 0.75x
• 0.5x

Up Next

-

Drivers slapped with $50 fines after parking next to home - they were threatened with losing licenses

The Russian secret services have been tasked with guarding the 60-year-old from threats to his life – including from the new regime in Damascus, which has demanded his extradition.

Even though Moscow district is packed with facial recognition cameras, a former KGB officer said it was “too public” to properly guard the dictator even if he also used a rumoured country estate. 

News outlet Agentsvo recently revealed tenants of the “secret village” include General Valery Gerasimov, Russia’s chief of the armed forces general staff.

Gerasimov moved here just before the start of Russia’s war with Ukraine, for which he is the Kremlin’s top commander. 

Former defence minister Sergei Shoigu, now secretary of the powerful security council and under threat of Ukrainian assassination, was installed here at the same time. 

Oligarch and former Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich also has a home in the area. 

In October, Assad – who is married to London-born wife Asma al-Assad – was reportedly admitted to hospital in Moscow after being poisoned.

A security source in Moscow said: “Kyiv has carried out multiple assassinations in Russia recently and could claim his death shows no-one is safe under Putin. We cannot allow that.”

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights cited a “private source” with the motive “to embarrass the Russian government and accuse it of being complicit” in his death.

It was the second time poisoning claims had surfaced. 

Foreign minister Sergei Lavrov strongly denied the poisoning claim, saying curtly: “He has no problems living in our capital.”

And in recent days, a video appeared to show Assad walking hand-in-hand with a mysterious young woman in a snowy Red Square in Moscow.

But the footage was fake, made with AI to demean the despot. 

Putin has reportedly decreed no information must be made public about Assad, or former first lady Asma, 50, who has cancer.

No details about a promised meeting between Putin and Assad have been released – it’s not known whether the pair have met at all. 

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “We cannot share any information on this matter.”

As Assad remains hidden, his son Hafez, 24, spoke out with a dramatic account of the day the family left Syria. 

He said: “There was never a plan – not even a backup – to leave Damascus, let alone Syria.”

Hafez said his mother had been in Moscow already when the rest of the family fled Syria, after a bone marrow transplant at the end of summer.

Rumours circulated on December 7 that the family had made their escape, he said.

Hafez said: “In response, I took a picture at Al-Nairabain Park in Al-Muhajireen neighbourhood and shared it on my private Instagram account. 

“Until then, despite the distant sounds of shelling, nothing seemed unusual – just the familiar reality we had grown accustomed to since the early years of the war.”

Calm shattered in the early hours of the morning, said the dictator’s son.

Hafez said: “That changed after midnight when a Russian official arrived at our home.”

Hafez rubbished claims that he and his father had left the country without telling their cousins, saying: “I was the one who called them multiple times as soon as we knew we were relocating.” 

The family left for Damascus airport at 3am, finding it “deserted”, Hafez said.

He says they flew on a Russian military plane to Latakia in Syria. The family then tried to get to the presidential residence but found phones disconnected and “all attempts to contact anyone were unsuccessful”.

As reports flooded in of troops withdrawing from the front lines, drone attacks began on the base.

Leaving the safety was no longer possible, as commanders told the family “the situation had descended into chaos, and all contact with the military leadership had been lost”. 

It was then that Putin personally approved the escape: “After consulting with Moscow, base command informed us that our transfer to Russia had been requested. 

“Some time later, we boarded a Russian military plane bound for Moscow, where we landed that same night.”

Security expert Will Geddes said the despot could have used body doubles and other subterfuges to assist his dash from Syria.

He told The Sun: “President Assad would have, no doubt, had an emergency extraction plan already in play – this would have been planned for many, many years.”

Geddes added that Assad’s team would have wanted to send rebels on a “wild goose chase” as they extracted their man.

He said: “They could have a presidential car, his favourite Limo, whatever it might be, driving off into the opposite direction in Damascus, with someone sat in the back that looks like his wife, looks like him, or looks like a family member.”

Putin’s spies are alleged to have organised the extraction.

New authorities in Syria have demanded Assad’s extradition – which Russia has so far refused.

Syrian interim president President Ahmed al-Sharaa bluntly admitted he had demanded Assad’s extradition when he met Putin. 

He said: “The Russians have a different opinion. However, justice must prevail.”