Putin's 'golden cage': How Russia shelters exiled leaders and keeps them under control
Photo: Viktor Yanukovych (Getty Images)
Deposed leaders and fugitive politicians receive luxurious refuge in Russia, but end up completely dependent on the Kremlin. They are forced to live in isolation and silently follow the new master’s orders, according to The i Paper.
Deposed Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, who fled the country in January 2024, now lives with his family in the upscale Rublyovka district outside Moscow. Amid a death sentence issued in Damascus, he spends his time playing video games and brushing up on ophthalmology, which he studied in his youth.
However, the Kremlin has strictly prohibited Assad from making any public statements about the fall of his regime amid sensitive negotiations with Syria’s new authorities over Russian military bases.
“Assad may live here but cannot engage in political activities …,” Russian Ambassador to Iraq Elbrus Kutrashev confirmed.
An elite “cage” for Yanukovych and other exiles
Rublyovka has become a refuge for many of Vladimir Putin’s former allies. Residents of the district and its surrounding areas include:
- former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, who may have later moved to Sochi;
- former Kyrgyz President Askar Akayev;
- former leader of Adjara Aslan Abashidze;
- the family of former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic.
The report notes that Assad’s family real estate portfolio in Moscow alone is estimated at $40 million. Moscow expects the fugitives to pay for their own living expenses from overseas accounts, as the Kremlin’s main costs are related to their security.
At least two dozen former Ukrainian lawmakers from the Party of Regions are also hiding in Russia. They reportedly repay the protection they receive by providing intelligence, compromising material or appearing in propaganda videos.
The threat of payback and constant fear
Despite the luxurious conditions, analysts describe such an existence as a “golden cage.” For leaders accustomed to unlimited power, living under control and in obscurity becomes a difficult ordeal.
Moreover, protection from Russian security services does not guarantee them complete safety. Ukrainian intelligence services continue to track down and eliminate traitors. A prominent example was the killing of former Ukrainian lawmaker Illia Kyva near Moscow in 2023.
Ukrainian intelligence officials told the publication that such operations demonstrate that punishment is inevitable, regardless of where a defector hides, and force Russia to spend increasingly more resources searching for and protecting them.
It was previously reported that a new investigation shed light on the life of former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych after his flight to Russia. Journalists identified a location where he may currently be living.
It was also reported that a Syrian court sentenced ousted dictator Bashar al-Assad and his younger brother to death in absentia. They were found guilty of crimes that led to the deaths of around half a million people.