Bashar al-Assad was never expected to rule Syria. That job was meant for his older brother, Basil, who trained as a military commander while Bashar studied to be an ophthalmologist. He wasn’t ...

Bashar al-Assad, an Ophthalmologist Who Became a Dictator, Is the Last of a Despotic Dynasty Once a self-styled modernizer, Syria’s president bought time with a harsh crackdown, but his ...

In this pool photograph distributed by the Russian state agency Sputnik on July 25, 2024, Syria's President Bashar al-Assad meets with Russian president at the Kremlin in Moscow on July 24, 2024.

Syria’s iron-fisted leader Bashar al-Assad is the second generation of an autocratic family dynasty that held power for more than five decades and his disappearance amid a lighting rebel advance ...

Former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his family have been granted asylum in Russia and are now in Moscow. Assad's departure marks the end of nearly 25 years of brutal rule.

Bashar al-Assad was never expected to rule Syria. That job was meant for his older brother, Basil, who trained as a military commander while Bashar studied to be an ophthalmologist.

In this pool photograph distributed by the Russian state agency Sputnik on July 25, 2024, Syria's President Bashar al-Assad meets with Russian president at the Kremlin in Moscow on July 24, 2024.

Syria’s iron-fisted leader Bashar al-Assad is the second generation of an autocratic family dynasty that held power for more than five decades and his disappearance amid a lighting rebel advance ...