Who is Bashar al-Assad? Persons: Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Opinions: why Russia came to Syria

President of Syria

President of Syria, Secretary General of the regional leadership of the Baath Party, member of the Alawite (Nusairit) community. In 1994, he succeeded his father, Syrian President Hafez Assad, and in 2000, after his death, he headed the Syrian branch of the Baath Party and was elected the new president of the country. Re-elected President of Syria in 2007.

Bashar al-Assad is the President of Syria, Secretary General of the regional leadership of the Baath Party, member of the Alawite (Nusairit) community. In 1994, he succeeded his father, Syrian President Hafez Assad, and in 2000, after his death, he headed the Syrian branch of the Baath Party and was elected the new president of the country.

Bashar al-Assad was born on September 11, 1965 in Damascus in the family of a brigadier general, commander of the Syrian air force and air defense, a member of the Arab Socialist Renaissance Party (Baath) Hafez al-Assad. In November 1970, his father, who served as the Minister of Defense of Syria, came to power as a result of a military coup, and in March 1971 he was elected president of the country.

All the men of the Assad clan belonged to the Alawite community, or Nusayris (named after the founder of the sect, Muhammad ibn Nusayr, who lived in the second half of the 9th century). The size of this influential community in Syria is 10-12 percent of the country's total Muslim population. Sunni and Shiite orthodoxies consider Alawites to be heretics because they deviate from the generally accepted norms of Islam: they believed in the transmigration of souls, preserved the cult of the sun, stars and moon, in addition, they deified Jesus, celebrated Christian Christmas and Easter, and received communion during worship bread and wine and read the Gospel. All Alawites are divided into a privileged group of "hassa" ("initiated"), who are the owners of sacred books and special knowledge, and the bulk - "amma" ("uninitiated"), who are assigned the role of novices-performers. It was to the latter group that the Assad family always belonged.

Under Bashar al-Assad’s father, the army and intelligence services were controlled by members of the Alawite community, and representatives of other branches of Islam occupied only economic positions. The leaders of the extremist organization “Muslim Brotherhood,” which has been operating in the country for many decades, constantly reminded the Syrian population about the “wrong” religious affiliation of the president from the point of view of “pure” Islam. In 1982, the country's armed forces, on the orders of Hafez al-Assad, after a month-long siege and shelling, stormed the third largest city in Syria, Hama, which was the main center of the Islamists.

Bashar al-Assad was the third child in the family: he had older sisters Bushra and brother Basel and two younger brothers Maher and Majid. Their father, busy with government affairs, rarely appeared at home, so their mother Anis from the wealthy Makhluf clan was involved in raising the children. Members of Hafez al-Assad's family have never been public figures, unlike the Syrian president himself.

Bashar al-Assad received his primary and secondary education at the elite Arab-French Lyceum Hurriya in Damascus. According to some reports, he was an exemplary student and successfully mastered English and French. In addition, in 1980 he completed a parachute jumping course. In 1982, Assad graduated from the Lyceum and received a bachelor's degree.

According to some sources, after graduating from the lyceum, he went to serve in the army, was demobilized as a sergeant and entered the medical faculty of Damascus University, specializing in ophthalmology; according to others, he immediately entered the university. At one time, Bashar al-Assad’s father dreamed of becoming a doctor, but he became a military man either under the influence of the first Arab-Israeli war, or because he did not have enough money for medical education.

In 1988, Bashar al-Assad graduated from the university with honors and began working as an ophthalmologist at the largest military hospital, Tishrin, on the outskirts of Damascus. In 1991 (according to other sources - in 1992) he went for an internship to the UK - at the Western Eye Hospital ophthalmology center at St. Mary's Hospital, located in Paddington in London. Abroad, Assad took a pseudonym so that no one would know that he was the son of the Syrian president. He participated in international scientific symposiums and preferred to spend time among Syrian intellectuals rather than military officers and politicians. In addition to ophthalmology, Assad was interested in computer science.

In February 1994, Bashar al-Assad interrupted his internship in London and returned to Damascus, since on January 21, 1994, his older brother Basel, whom his father had been preparing for several years as his successor, died in a car accident. The first reports about a possible successor appeared in the press in the mid-1980s after the Syrian president suffered another heart attack. First, Hafez al-Assad decided to prepare his eldest son Basel for the presidency, who not only became a cult figure among young people, but also managed to win the respect of the military. After his death, Hafez chose Bashar as his new successor, since the younger sons were not suitable for responsible government or military functions: Maher was known for his unbridled temper, and Majid was involved in a number of drug scandals. According to some reports, General Bahjat Suleiman proposed the candidacy of Bashar al-Assad to the president. According to experts, Hafez Assad could not simply appoint his successor, because, despite the clearly authoritarian nature of the Syrian regime, the president still has to take into account the opinion of the Baath leadership and the mood of the people. Therefore, Bashar al-Assad left his career as a doctor and began to prepare to become his father's successor.

After returning to Syria, Bashar al-Assad entered the military academy in the city of Homs and was enlisted in the Republican Guard division with the rank of captain. His father assigned experienced generals to him as mentors, who engaged in military training with him according to an individual program. According to some reports, in 1994-1995, his personal military adviser was a Russian officer. In 1995, Assad commanded a tank battalion. In 1996, he received the rank of major. In 1997, after graduating with honors from staff courses and conducting military research work, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel and appointed commander of the Republican Guard. In January 1999, he was awarded the next military rank of colonel.

In parallel with his military career, Assad was involved in government affairs. He became his father's political adviser, headed the bureau for dealing with citizens' complaints and appeals and the anti-corruption campaign, during which Hafez al-Assad got rid of his son's potential competitors for the presidency of the country. To successfully carry out this campaign, specialists from Al-Aman al-Dahili, the internal security service, were transferred to the subordination of Bashar al-Assad (in addition, Hafez al-Assad gave his son the right to pardon those arrested for violating constitutional laws). In May 1995, Mohammed Doub, the son of the Syrian head of military intelligence and a major drug dealer, General Ali Doob, was arrested for illegally importing cars into the country and selling them on the black market. According to experts, the arrest was made to undermine the source of income of the general and his entourage and deprive him of the economic basis for a possible fight for the presidency. In the same year, Bashar al-Assad dismissed the commander of the Syrian special forces, General Ali Heidar, with the wording “for disobedience.” In November 1996, one of the largest restaurants in Damascus, owned by the eldest son of the president's brother Rifaat Assad, was closed. In the first half of 2000, the chairman of the cabinet, Mahmoud al-Zoabi, was accused of corruption.

At the same time, Assad oversaw investment policy issues. He lobbied for the interests of young businessmen (the so-called “new Syrians”), which included the children of many representatives of the highest echelons of power.

Assad did not deal with foreign policy issues, but began to oversee Syrian-Lebanese relations, which were considered an internal affair of Syria (previously, Vice President Abdel Halim Khaddam was in charge of this area). He began to receive Lebanese ministers, members of parliament and leading businessmen in Syria, and visited Lebanon for meetings with the president, prime minister and chairman of parliament. According to experts, Assad had a direct connection to the election of General Emile Lahoud as President of Lebanon and the resignation of Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in 1998. In 1999, Assad went on his first diplomatic tour of Arab countries (Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman), then traveled to France and began receiving foreign delegations in his father’s place.

In 1994, Assad headed the Syrian Computer Society, or Informatics Association, which organized conferences and exhibitions and attracted young people to study information technology. Thanks to his efforts, the Internet appeared in Syria at the end of 1998, and cellular communications in January 2000.

According to experts, Assad managed to significantly change his image: from a modest ophthalmologist with mild manners, he turned into an energetic, honest and fair politician with a well-chosen team. True, his compatriots continued to call him “Doctor Bashar,” but in Syria this is often addressed not only to doctors, but also to well-educated people in general.

Meanwhile, the health of Bashar al-Assad's father gradually deteriorated. Thus, at the end of 1999, Hafez al-Assad was unable to convene a pre-planned congress of the ruling Baath party in Syria, at which it was planned to introduce his son to the central leadership of the organization. On June 10, 2000, Hafez al-Assad died of heart failure. On the same day, the country's parliament lowered the minimum age for a presidential candidate from 40 to 34 years, and on June 11, 2000, the acting president of Syria, First Vice President Khaddam, awarded Bashar al-Assad the rank of lieutenant general and appointed him supreme commander of the army. At the regional congress of the ruling Baath Party, held from June 17 to 20, 2000 in Damascus, Bashar al-Assad was elected secretary general of the organization in place of his deceased father and nominated as the only candidate for the presidency. After this, on June 27, 2000, his candidacy was approved by parliament, and he himself was appointed acting president of the republic.

On July 10, 2000, a popular referendum was held to elect Assad as president of Syria, in which he received 97.29 percent of the votes, many of whom cut their fingers in order to put a mark in the “yes” column with their own blood. On July 17, 2000, the new President of Syria, Bashar al-Assad, was sworn in. In his inaugural address, he touched on the country's economy and modernization, the return of the Golan Heights, occupied by Israel during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, and support for the Hezbollah movement in Lebanon.

In December 2000, Alawite Assad married Asma Akhras from a respected family of Syrian Sunnis. His wife is an economist and computer technology specialist. She was born and raised in the UK. Assad met her during his internship in London. To become the first lady of Syria, Asma left her job at the London branch of Deutsche Bank, but retained dual citizenship and often makes private visits to London. Bashar al-Assad and Asma had two sons and a daughter.

In the first year of Assad's rule, a group of political prisoners were released from prison. The first independent newspaper began to be published in Syria, political forums began to operate, and non-state universities appeared. Private banks and a stock market were opened in Damascus.

According to experts, unlike his father, Bashar Assad decided to liberalize the country's political system. Back in the first half of the 1990s, the development of a new political platform for the Syrian branch of Baath began, which included the abolition of the state of emergency, the introduction of a multi-party system and the creation of civil society structures. But Hafez al-Assad rejected proposals to depoliticize the armed forces and intelligence services, since the Syrian branch of Ba'ath did not have its own armed forces. Bashar al-Assad also abandoned the principle of appointing functionaries to leading Baathist positions, returned the system of internal party elections and gave voters the right to remove mid-level party workers. In 2002, the article of the charter of the Patriotic Popular Front (the ruling parliamentary inter-party coalition) was changed, defining the monopoly right of the Ba'ath to conduct political work in society. In March 2003, not only members of the PNF, but also independent candidates representing Syrian business were elected to the country's parliament.

In December 2001, Assad accepted the resignation of the government of Mustafa Mir. Mir was tasked with forming a new cabinet, which consisted mainly not of officers, but of civil servants under the age of 50. It was the first civilian government in Syria in many years. In September 2003, Assad again dismissed the government of Mustafa Mir and ordered the chairman of parliament, Mohammed Naji Atari, a supporter of liberal reforms, to form a new cabinet. From 2000 to 2004, the Syrian President changed about 15 percent of high-ranking officials, primarily military ones, during personnel changes.

On the other hand, according to some experts, Assad's liberal reforms were inconsistent, and some initiatives were revised. For example, in 2001, members of the reformist movement "Damascus Spring" were arrested, who began to discuss not only reforms, but also the issue of lifting the state of emergency introduced in the country in 1962.

Under Assad, the main enemies of Syria remained the United States and Israel. Washington's attitude toward Damascus began to change after the events of September 11, 2001, during the global anti-terrorist operation announced by the White House, but after the outbreak of the war in Iraq in 2003, the United States again began to accuse Syria of interfering in the conflict and supporting Middle Eastern terrorist groups. In May 2004, George W. Bush imposed economic sanctions on Syria.

In June 2001, Assad called on Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah and Iranian Vice President Hassan Habibie, gathered in the Syrian city of Qardaha for a memorial service in memory of the late Hafez al-Assad, to renew and strengthen resistance to Israel. In late 2003, Assad proposed resuming peace talks with Israel, which had been interrupted in 2000, to resolve the Golan Heights issue. Moreover, if at first he agreed to negotiations on the basis of previously reached agreements - according to which the Israelis were supposed to leave the territory captured in 1967, but they would retain a narrow strip on the northeastern coast of Lake Kinneret in exchange for providing Syria with territorial compensation in another area borders - then later decided to abandon them. According to experts, Assad's resumption of negotiations with Israel could lead to a complication of relations within the anti-Israeli front - between Syria, Iran and Hezbollah. But Assad did not give up supporting terrorist organizations, and negotiations did not take place. At the beginning of 2005, experts called the only “breakthrough” in bilateral relations between Syria and Israel in recent years an agreement on the direct transportation of Israeli apples to Syria, which were previously transported through Jordan.

In January 2005, Bashar al-Assad visited Moscow. During the visit, Russia wrote off 73 percent of Syria's debt, estimated at $13.4 billion (experts estimate that the Russian portion accounted for more than half of Syria's total debt). The remaining part of the debt ($3.618 billion) was to be repaid in installments, and only one and a half billion dollars were planned to be paid over ten years - the rest of the amount was to go into joint projects in the form of Syrian investments. By that time, Russian oil companies had returned to Syria: Stroytransgaz and Tatneft began implementing a series of oil and gas projects.

On the eve of Assad's visit to Moscow, information appeared in the Israeli and Russian press about Russia's intention to sell high-precision Iskander-E operational-tactical missile systems to Syria. According to experts, this deal could change the entire military-political situation in the Near and Middle East: new weapons would allow Syria to hit any target on Israeli territory. Previously, Damascus had already offered to buy 18 missile systems, but the opportunity to sign a contract appeared only after the Russian military completed tests of the Iskander in August 2004. Information about the possible supply of these weapons to Syria caused a sharp deterioration in relations between Russia and Israel, and the United States also stated that the deal was undesirable. Reports about the planned deal have been repeatedly denied by the Russian side. During his visit to Moscow, Assad said that he discussed only general issues of military-technical cooperation. At the end of February 2005, an agreement was concluded on the supply of Strelets anti-aircraft missile systems to Syria, related to short-range air defense systems. The Russian side specifically notified Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon about this deal. According to a representative of the Russian Ministry of Defense, the export of Iskanders will become possible only after some time, for example, after the Russian military has completed an order for 27 launchers and 100 missiles.

In March 2005, Assad agreed to withdraw the 16,000-strong military contingent from Lebanon, where the so-called “Cedar Revolution” took place - the murder of the famous politician and former Prime Minister of the country Hariri provoked a wave of popular demonstrations and the resignation of the government, and the Syrians were accused of involvement in the murder Lebanese politician. At the beginning of 2006, a criminal case was opened in Syria against the former vice-president of the country, Khaddam, who had left for France, who stated on December 30, 2005 that it was Assad who gave the order to kill Hariri.

After the start of the Lebanese-Israeli conflict in the summer of 2006, Bashar al-Assad called Israel a terrorist state, condemned the Israeli bombing of the Lebanese town of Qana, and even announced the beginning of the call for reservists. Israeli fighter jets bombed Lebanese territory on the border with Syria to block the supply routes for weapons and ammunition to Hezbollah troops. In turn, Syrian air defense systems opened fire on Israeli reconnaissance aircraft that appeared on the Lebanese-Syrian border. But Syria never declared war on Israel. According to experts, Bashar al-Assad did not get involved in this conflict so as not to lose the chance to return the Golan Heights.

According to some experts, the next presidential elections in 2007 could be held in Syria on an alternative basis.

On May 10, 2007, Assad's candidacy as the only contender for the presidency of Syria was approved by the country's parliament. On May 27, 2007, 96.9 percent of nearly 12 million voters took part in a national referendum. Of these, 97.62 percent supported Assad’s candidacy, and only 19,653 people voted against. On July 17, 2007, the day his first presidential mandate expired, Assad officially took office as head of state. The next presidential elections in Syria are due in 2014.

How? Why didn’t the lamb from Krylov’s fable please the wolf? As we all know, the wolf wanted to eat. The transformation of Bashar al-Assad, Mubarak and Muammar Gaddafi from leaders recognized by the West into “bloody dictators” exactly corresponds to the dramaturgy of old man Krylov. Preparing controlled chaos for the entire region, the United States and its satellites are overthrowing secular pro-American regimes in order to replace them with radical Islamist ones. .

Since a detailed study of the life of the Syrian President is not the purpose of this article, we will briefly look at the facts of his biography. Noting the most interesting.

The current head of Syria was born on September 11, 1965 in Damascus. At that time, his father Hafez al-Assad was only a brigadier general. Five years later, in November 1970, Assad Sr., who already held the position of Minister of Defense of Syria, came to power as a result of a military coup, and in March 1971 he was elected president of the country.

Bashar al-Assad was the third child in the family: he had older sisters Bushra and brother Basel and two younger brothers Maher and Majid. In accordance with tradition, Basel Assad was being prepared for the post of successor, with whom they dealt, with whom they dealt purposefully with him in mind as the future head of Syria.

Well, Bashar Assad was in no way preparing for a future high post. First he studied at the elite Arab-French Lyceum "Hurriya" in Damascus. There he learned to speak fluent French and English. In 1982, he graduated from the lyceum and, with a short break for military service (he was demobilized as a sergeant), continued his education.

Bashar al-Assad chose a purely “dictatorial” profession for himself - an ophthalmologist. Therefore, he entered the medical faculty of Damascus University. In 1988, Bashar al-Assad graduated from the university with honors and began working as an ophthalmologist at the largest military hospital, Tishrin, on the outskirts of Damascus.

After working as a doctor for about four years, Bashar al-Assad went on an internship. Where do all the “handshake leaders” of the third world send their sons?

Of course, to London. Bashar al-Assad also went there in 1991 - to the ophthalmological center Western Eye Hospital at St. Mary's Hospital, located in Paddington in London. In order to study calmly, he took a pseudonym for himself. Bashar al-Assad did not move in any political spheres, although it would be strange if the British intelligence services missed such an opportunity to get to know the son of the Syrian leader closely.

There were no problems with the arrival of Bashar al-Assad in the capital of Great Britain. Although in 1982, in the city of Hama, the Muslim Brothers staged a real uprising, which the Syrian army suppressed with the use of tanks and artillery and numerous casualties. But no one labeled Hafez Assad a “bloody dictator” and forgave him everything. The world was bipolar then - it was not possible to overthrow the pro-Soviet Assad, the United States lost its nerve and continued the Great Game around the globe.

Thus, it is obvious to us that in the early 90s, Syria, its leader and his son were all accepted political figures. And they trained not in Moscow or Beijing, but in London.

(Thanks to Gorbachev - in 1991 Bashar al-Assad would very likely have gone to study in Moscow).

So Bashar al-Assad would have remained an ophthalmologist, or, in extreme cases, would have become the Minister of Health of Syria, if the tragedy had not occurred in Damascus in 1994. The reasons for it are still unclear. This accident looks very much like a man-made one. On January 21, 1994, his older brother Basel, whom his father had been grooming as his successor for several years, died in a car accident. I was driving to the airport, but crashed into a rock(?) and crashed.

So Bashar al-Assad became the heir of his father Hafez al-Assad. For those who say that this system of transfer of power is unfair, I would like to ask you to show an ARAB COUNTRY in which power is transferred differently than within the same family. The form and name of the system do not matter. I would be extremely grateful.

We will return to our hero. He immediately interrupted his pleasant and measured life in London and returned to Damascus. Where he began to take a “crash course” in government science, and in 2000, after his death, he headed the Syrian branch of the Baath Party and was elected the new president of the country.

This is how an ophthalmologist who studied in Britain became president. Until 2011, Bashar Assad did not stain himself with anything “villainous.” He entered into dialogue, collaborated with the West, and even under pressure from the West, in 2005, he agreed to withdraw Syrian troops from Lebanon. Assad even agreed to cooperate with UN investigators who suspect Syrian intelligence services of murdering former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

(For understanding: Syria and Lebanon are ethnically like Russia and Belarus. In fact, they are one people).

To understand the surprise of the “transformation” of Bashar al-Assad into a “bloody dictator”, I will give one more fact from his biography. Very bright and visual.

It turns out that Assad’s wife... is also from the UK. During an internship in London, Bashar al-Assad met his future wife. The chosen one of the Syrian president is Asme Akhras. She comes from a respected family of Syrian Sunnis. But she was born, studied and raised in the UK.

The United States begins the “Arab Spring” and begins to lead Al-Qaeda to power. By the way, Bashar al-Assad himself spoke about this. I told Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, who in turn shared the details of the conversation with the President of Syria with the BBC.

May 2012 “He (Assad - N.S.) kept laughing: “I studied in the West, the same Western countries - France, England - called me a democrat, a modernizer, a reformer. And how, in a few years, did I suddenly turn from a reformer into some kind of despot and tyrant?

Assad is sure that they want the collapse of the country. And he paid a lot of attention to the Islamist component of the conflict, al-Qaeda. He says: do you see what is happening in Arab countries? It is not Islam that comes to power, but Islamists and radical groups. And victims - thousands of people die. And these Islamists are fighting here: this is not a confrontation between some political parties or movements, but it is radical Islamism that wants to take power».

Here's the story. What is she telling us? That Krylov’s fables are still relevant today. And if someone wants to eat, then the other will immediately become a “bloody dictator.” And also the story of Bashar Assad (Muammar Gaddafi - Hosni Mubarak) is a lesson to all those who make an agreement with the devil (Anglo-Saxons).

And he thinks that the devil will observe him forever.

P.S. And the hardest thing was for the elderly father of Bashar al-Assad’s wife. He lives in London…

March 2012“Fawaz Akhras refuses to publicly comment on what is happening in Syria. He tells friends in the UK-Syria Friendship Society (which he founded in 2003) that he is “in an impossible position” – caught between loyalty to his family and global condemnation of the regime’s crimes. Friends say the 66-year-old doctor is “desperate” and wants his daughter, along with her three grandchildren, to come to London immediately.

In addition, the doctor fears for his personal safety. The doctor was forced to leave his home in Acton - where Asma was born and spent her childhood - after a Syrian opposition demonstration opposite the house. Akhras fears that relatives of victims of Assad's repression may take revenge on his family. He now lives in a secret apartment."

Bashar al-Assad is the president of Syria, leading the country since 2000. Not everyone likes this fact, both in the homeland of the head of state and in the world community. His comrades in the Ba'ath Party considered him a traitor, not appreciating his liberal leadership style, which was sharply different from his father's. The military elite did not like the reduced role of the army. Islamic radicals took advantage of the situation, deciding that presidential power had weakened.

View this post on Instagram

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad

In response, Assad “tightened the screws”: he got rid of unwanted people in various ways, introduced a state of emergency, closed disloyal media outlets, and blocked social networks. Massive public protests led to civil war. A number of foreign states are demanding the resignation of Bashar, believing that this is the only way to stop the bloodshed, and are funding the Free Army and the National Council, whose activities are aimed at overthrowing the Assad regime.

But Bashar was re-elected three times to the main government post, continues the stubborn fight against terrorism, having secured the support of many countries, including Russia, and yesterday’s hostile coalition asks for support from pro-government forces.

Childhood and youth

Bashar Hafez al-Assad was born on September 11, 1965 in the capital of Syria in the family of the general, commander of the Syrian air defense and air forces, Hafez al-Assad, who later became the Minister of Defense, and in 1971 headed the country and the ruling Baath Party. The mother of the future president, Anise Makhlouf, belonged to the richest clan of the Haddadin Alawite tribe and devoted her entire life to raising her children, since her father was constantly absent from home and was busy with government affairs.

Bashar al-Assad received his primary education at the elite Damascus Lyceum "Hurriya". He was a diligent and diligent student with a strong ability to learn foreign languages. After graduating from the Lyceum, the future Syrian head entered the Damascus Medical University at the Faculty of Ophthalmology and graduated with honors.

Bashar al-Assad (left) as a child with his family / Syrian History

Having become a certified doctor, the son of the then-current president of the country, who at one time also dreamed of a medical career, went to work in his specialty at a military hospital in the suburbs of the Syrian capital.

In 1991, Bashar went to London for an internship at the ophthalmology center at St. Mary's Hospital. Abroad, Assad worked under a pseudonym so that no one knew what family he came from. But in 1994, the young man abandoned his studies and work in the UK and returned to his homeland, since his older brother Basel, whom his father was preparing to be his successor, died in a car accident. Bashar had to take on the role of heir to the clan and abandon his dreams of medicine to become president of the country.

Policy

Bashar al-Assad's preparation for the presidency began at the Homs Military Academy, where experienced military leaders provided him with individual training. In parallel with his military training, the future Syrian leader was actively involved in government affairs and took the position of adviser to his father.

He also headed the anti-corruption committee in the government and the internal security service of Syria. At the same time, Bashar oversaw the country’s investment policy, promoting the interests of the “new Syrians,” which mainly included the children of high-ranking officials.

View this post on Instagram

Politician Bashar al-Assad

Despite the fact that Bashar al-Assad had no relation to Syrian foreign policy, he was involved in Syrian-Lebanese issues. Since 1999, the future president began making political tours around the world and receiving foreign delegations in place of his father. Thanks to the efforts of Bashar, the Internet appeared in Syria in 1999, and cellular communications in 2000.

Then Assad managed to change the image of a doctor to an energetic, fair and honest politician, which won enormous support among the population. Therefore, after his father died of heart failure in 2000, he became the only candidate for the presidency of Syria.

President of Syria

The biography of Bashar al-Assad as the country's president began on the same day when Hafez al-Assad died. The country's parliament instantly changed the constitution, lowering the minimum age of a presidential candidate so that Bashar could become the head of Syria at 34 years old. The next day he was awarded the rank of lieutenant general, after which, in addition to the country, he also led the Syrian army. In the presidential elections, Assad won more than 97% of the votes, many of whom put the “Yes” mark in blood.

View this post on Instagram

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad

In the first years of his leadership in Syria, the president liberalized the country's political system, granted amnesty to a number of political prisoners, and contributed to the creation of political forums and the publication of the first independent newspaper. Also at the dawn of Bashar's presidency, non-state universities appeared in Damascus, the stock market and private banks opened. Over 4 years, he changed the cabinet of ministers by 15%, replacing military officials with civilians.

In 2007, the term of office expired, but Assad again won the elections - he was supported by 97% of the country's population, and Bashar gained power until 2014. In his second term as president, he faced the consequences of the civil war that began to flare up in Syria in 2011.

Then mass protests began throughout the country, demands were made for political reforms and the lifting of the state of emergency introduced back in 1963. Bashar promised to fulfill all the demands of the people, dismissed the government, signed a decree lifting the state of emergency, but this did not help resolve the situation.

View this post on Instagram

Bashar al-Assad in military uniform

An opposition formed in Syria, which stimulated the Protestants. After Bashar al-Assad began using military forces to disperse protesters, he fell out of favor with many European countries. The Free Syrian Army and the National Council appeared, which became the “fruits” of the activities of opposition forces who wanted to overthrow the Assad regime.

The Syrian opposition is still supported by the United States, Great Britain, Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, France and Qatar. In 2013, disagreements began within the Syrian opposition; as a result, a number of extremist groups, including the ISIS organization banned in Russia, came out against the FSA.

View this post on Instagram

President Bashar al-Assad

The situation worsened in August 2013, when the media spread the news about the use of chemical weapons near Damascus. The UN Special Commission established only the fact of the attack itself, but did not name the perpetrators. A month later, a meeting was held between Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and the American Secretary of State, who agreed that it was necessary to destroy all chemical weapons stockpiles in Syria. The last shipment was exported at the end of June 2014, but the West’s claims against Assad have not subsided.

In a 2014 interview, Bashar al-Assad noted that the Syrian civil war had reached a “turning point” and the process of national reconciliation had begun. At the same time, he announced his intention to run for a third presidential term. Elections in Syria were held on June 3, 2014, Assad won almost 89% of the votes and again became president.

View this post on Instagram

Bashar al-Assad and Vladimir Putin

Many Western countries believe that the latest presidential elections were illegal because they took place under conditions of civil war. Despite this, Bashar al-Assad continues to lead the Syrian government army and fight terrorism, which poses a threat to the entire world. Assad’s main enemy is considered the Islamic State group, whose militants he is fighting along with the US-led international coalition, whose actions are directed not only against ISIS, but also against the government army.

In September 2015, official Damascus turned to Vladimir Putin with a request to provide military assistance in the fight against terrorist groups. After the Federation Council gave permission to use Russian weapons and troops abroad, the Russian Ministry of Defense began a special operation in Syria. The goal of Russia’s participation in the Syrian military conflict is the complete destruction of ISIS, which poses a threat not only to the Russian Federation, but to the entire world.

Personal life

In Eastern countries, it is not customary to talk about personal life, but they began to be loyal to photography at the end of the 20th century. Bashar’s family is mentioned only in connection with political activities, especially since the wife of the Syrian president is also an active player in this field, even the operation to remove a cancerous tumor, performed in 2019, does not stop her.

View this post on Instagram

Bashar al-Assad and his wife Asma

In 2001, Assad married Asma al-Akhras, the daughter of a famous Syrian cardiologist and secretary of the Syrian embassy in the UK. The woman was born and raised in London, where she graduated from university and received a diploma in economics and computer technology, and worked at the investment company J.P. Morgan. Speaks 4 foreign languages ​​and has dual citizenship. By religion she is a Sunni Muslim.

Religion is considered a trump card in Assad’s hands, because the presidential clan relies on Alawite Muslims, of whom only 15% of the population. And the Sunnis are almost 80%, and the Rose of Damascus, as Asma’s fellow countrymen called her, is adored in her homeland. There are legends about the nationality and faith of Bashar himself. Some researchers who do not consider Alawism a branch of Islam believe that the head of the Syrian state is a Christian. There are sources on the Internet claiming that Assad is a Jew and a Cilician Armenian. There is no clear opinion.

Bashar Hafez al-Assad- President of Syria (since July 17, 2000), Supreme Commander of the Syrian Armed Forces, Secretary of the Syrian regional branch of the Baath Party (since June 24, 2000). Bashar al-Assad was elected president in uncontested elections in 2000 and 2007; on June 3, 2014, alternative elections were held in Syria for the first time, in which the current leader won with 88.7% of the vote.

Commenting on the trials that befell him, Bashar al-Assad expressed hope that he would be able to preserve the country “in the face of terrorist aggression, accompanied by atrocities in essence and form, which have not been heard of over the past decades, and perhaps past centuries.”

Bashar al-Assad, early years and education

Bashar al-Assad's father - Hafez al-Assad Marshal (October 6, 1930, Qardaha - June 10, 2000, Damascus) - President of Syria (1971−2000), Prime Minister of Syria (1970−1971), Secretary of the regional command of the Syrian regional branch of the Baath Party, Secretary General National Command of the Baath Party (pro-Syrian faction, 1970−2000), Minister of Defense of Syria (1966−1972), General.

Bashar al-Assad's mother is Anisa Makhlouf (1929−2016). She had a significant influence on her husband’s politics, although her compatriots rarely saw her. In general, in Syria, a woman has great authority in the family. The First Lady of Syria was an independent and powerful person. Anisa dedicated her life to raising children. She also advised her son on many political and life issues.

Bashar al-Assad (bottom row, far left) with his parents and siblings (Photo: wikipedia.org)

Assad Bashar's parents belonged to Syria's Alawite minority, a majority Sunni community in the country. Assad's father is from the Kalbiyya Alawite tribe, and his mother is a Haddadin.

As a result of the coup, Assad's father took the post of President of Syria, later became the leader of the ruling Baath Party and was in power for 30 years.

Wikipedia has a photo of the whole family, in which father Hafez Assad, mother Anisa, still little Bashar, older brother Basil, younger ones - Maher, Majid, Jamil and older sister Bushra.

Bashar al-Assad studied at the Arab-French Lycée Hurriya in Damascus, graduating in 1982. The young man had a talent for languages. He is fluent in English and French, in addition to Arabic. After receiving his bachelor's degree, Bashar entered the Faculty of Medicine at Damascus University. He graduated with honors as an ophthalmologist. After university, he worked at the Tishrin military hospital on the outskirts of Damascus.

In 1991, Bashar went on an internship at the Western Eye Hospital (St. Mary's Hospital, London).

While studying in England, Bashar hid his origins by taking a pseudonym. As a scientist, Assad took part in international scientific symposiums and conferences and was interested in computer science.

Bashar al-Assad in his youth

Assad's interests lay in a purely scientific plane. Assad Bashar loved to relax in the company of Syrian intellectuals, spending time in intellectual conversations. At that time, he did not even imagine that the future of Syria would be in his hands. But in 1994, tragic news came. His older brother Basil, whom his father predicted to be his successor, died in a car accident. Bashar al-Assad at that time was studying in England for residency in ophthalmology and eye surgery. And now Bashar had to return to Syria and leave his career as a doctor.

Bashar al-Assad as President of Syria

Assad Jr. began his education as a future president at the military academy in Homs. Experienced military personnel worked with him individually. In parallel with his army training, the future head of Syria was engaged in government affairs, helping his father. In addition, Bashar al-Assad became the head of the anti-corruption committee and the internal security service of Syria.

Thanks to Bashar, the country now has the Internet and cellular communications. His authority as a politician grew among the population; his compatriots associated the promising future of Syria with him. Therefore, after the death of his father, Assad Jr. became the only contender for the presidency.

Bashar al-Assad with his father

The first steps of the young Syrian president were aimed at liberalizing the state system. In addition, he declared an amnesty for political prisoners. Political forums and non-state universities appeared. Syrians saw an independent newspaper for the first time. Private banks and a stock market opened in the capital.

In 2002, at the proposal of Bashar al-Assad, the article of the charter of the Patriotic Popular Front (the ruling parliamentary inter-party coalition), which defines the monopoly right of the Ba'ath to conduct political work in society, was changed, and in March 2003, independent candidates representing Syrian business.

As the Plenipotentiary Ambassador of Syria to Ukraine Hassan Khaddour noted in an interview, in Syria in 2000 “a system of general reform of the state began” and thanks to this process “in 2011, Syria’s external debt was zero... and the country even entered the top ten safest countries in the world "

Civil war in Syria

However, it was in the spring of 2011, in the wake of the Arab Spring, that a conflict began in Syria, which still cannot end. By the summer, mass unrest in the country's cities had turned into a real military confrontation. The opposition demanded Assad's resignation, the lifting of the state of emergency and democratic changes in the state. From the very beginning of the conflict, Western countries supported the opposition and demanded the resignation of Bashar al-Assad.

Portrait of Bashar al-Assad on a bank building. Syria.2013 (Photo: Mikhail Pochuev/TASS)

Initially, all anti-government factions were part of the Syrian National Council (SNC), and the fighting took place between the government army and the Free Syrian Army (FSA). Then Kurdish organizations left the ranks of the opposition, and in 2013 radical Islamist groups formed the Islamic Front. From Islamist groups grew the terrorist organizations Jabhat al-Nusra * (the local branch of Al-Qaeda **) and the Islamic State (IS) ***. IS's seizure of large areas of Syria and Iraq has made the Syrian war an international conflict. In August 2014, the United States, which has done a lot for the development of IS, assembled a coalition to fight terrorists. In the fall of 2014, Australia and France sent planes to the Middle East, and Turkey joined the coalition in 2015.

The Western coalition is fighting IS, while continuing to advocate for Assad's departure. And, here, Russia’s military operation in Syria, which has been carried out by the Aerospace Forces of the Russian Federation since September 30, 2015, is based on the support of the legitimate Syrian leader. As Vladimir Putin noted, there is only one legitimate army in Syria—the army of Syrian President Assad, which is fighting terrorist organizations.

As of mid-October 2016, the Russian military killed about 35 thousand militants, which allowed government troops and militia units to liberate 586 settlements. The Syrian President noted that the Russian military did more in 2 months of the campaign against Islamic State militants than the US-led coalition did in a whole year.

Accusations of Bashar al-Assad using chemical weapons in Ghouta

One of the main accusations brought against Bashar al-Assad is the use of chemical weapons in the Damascus suburb of Ghouta in August 2013. According to a UN investigation, on the night of August 21, several rockets with warheads containing about 350 liters of sarin were fired into populated areas.

According to the Al Arabiya TV channel, 1,188 civilians were killed as a result of the attack from toxic substances.

Smoke from intense shelling rises in the vicinity of Damascus, Syria. August 2013 (Photo: AP/TASS)

There is no exact information about the dead; it is said that both 281 and 1,729 victims were killed. The Syrian authorities and the opposition blamed each other for the incident. In September 2013, the international community, at the proposal of Russia, adopted an agreement on Syria’s accession to the Convention on the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. The United States confirmed its intention to refrain from military intervention in Syria if the plan proposed by Russia is implemented, and the Syrian authorities promised to transfer chemical weapons to the control of the international community.

Foreign policy of Bashar al-Assad

During the reign of Hafez al-Assad, Syria's foreign policy was based on confrontation in terms of Arab-Israeli relations. Having come to power, Bashar al-Assad emphasized that he would not deviate from his father’s position regarding the complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from the occupied territories to the 1967 borders as an indispensable condition for peace. At the same time, the new president did not refuse to conduct a peaceful dialogue with Israel.

After the reunification of Crimea with Russia, Assad said that Syria supports President Putin’s direction of restoring peace and stability in the countries, as well as the fight against extremism and terrorism. At the UN General Assembly, Syria voted against the resolution declaring the Crimean referendum illegal.

The magazine "Vlast" and the radio station "Echo of Moscow" are completing a joint project "Authorities"*. In the last issue of 2006, "Power" talks about the youngest head of the Arab state - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Last week, Vladimir Putin’s guest was Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Today Syria is perhaps Russia's most loyal ally in the Middle East. The last Russian naval base in the far abroad remains in Syria - Tartus. Last year, Vladimir Putin wrote off 73% of the Syrian debt to the USSR, which is estimated at $13.4 billion. Recently, Russia concluded a contract with Syria for the supply of arms worth about $3 billion. However, this time Bashar al-Assad came to Moscow not so much for material, but for political support. He wants Russia to help reduce pressure on Syria from Washington, which wants Damascus to stop sponsoring Hezbollah, Hamas and Islamic Jihad and help the West solve problems in the Middle East. To this end, the United States introduced economic sanctions against Syria in May 2004. Damascus is also under pressure from the UN: the UN commission investigating the death of ex-Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri from time to time accuses Bashar al-Assad of having ordered the murder of this influential Lebanese politician.

Ophthalmologist

In fact, the problems of the president of the country, which is often included in the “axis of evil” along with Iran and North Korea, should not have affected Bashar al-Assad. He did not want and should not become President of Syria. His father Hafez al-Assad, who came to power in Syria as a result of a military coup in 1970, planned to transfer the presidency to his eldest son Basil. Basil Assad was like his father in everything. In the early 1990s, he was an idol for Syrian youth. He was described as a brave military man, a favorite of women and a charismatic party leader.

Bashar never envied his older brother and did not seek to compete with him. Perhaps, of the four sons of Hafez Assad, Bashar is the most modest. The eldest, Basil, was most like his father - decisive and ambitious; The younger ones, Maher and Majid, were distinguished by their difficult character even in childhood. Maher is still known for his temper, and Majid has been involved in several drug scandals. Shy, mild-mannered and soft-spoken, Bashar was more like Anis's mother in character - a modest woman who did not like to be seen in public and devoted her entire life to raising children. Like many scions of the Syrian elite, Bashar al-Assad graduated from the Arab-French Lyceum in Damascus, thanks to which he speaks fluent French. Bashar was not interested in a military career; he dreamed of becoming a doctor. They say that in his youth his father Hafez Assad also wanted to study medicine, but he did not have enough money for such a prestigious education, he was forced to become a military man. Bashar al-Assad did not have such problems, so after graduating from the lyceum in 1982, he entered the medical faculty of Damascus University. In 1988, Bashar al-Assad graduated from the university, receiving a diploma with honors and the specialty of ophthalmologist.

Bashar al-Assad began his medical practice at the Tishrin military hospital in the suburbs of Damascus. And in 1991, he went to the UK, where he continued to practice medicine with a residency at the Western Eye Hospital at St. Mary's Hospital in London. In the UK, Assad had to take a pseudonym. This need was dictated by his safety: the father of the young ophthalmologist had made many blood enemies over the decades of authoritarian rule in Syria. In London, Assad communicated mainly with the Syrian intelligentsia. He often visited the house of Dr. Akhras, where he saw his future wife Asma Akhras. Asma is ten years younger than her husband; they met as children. “Our families have a long-standing relationship. During our summer holidays, our parents took a vacation, and we came home to Syria, where we talked. In England, we also talked. We have a case where childhood friendship turns into love,” she said in one from an interview with Asma Assad. Their common hobby was computer technology. Asma studied computer technology at King's College, University of London, and Bashar headed the Syrian Computer Society. They got married only in December 2000.

The quiet life in London ended suddenly for Bashar al-Assad after his older brother Basil died in a car accident in 1994. The seriously ill Hafez al-Assad decided that Bashar should become his successor and immediately summoned him from London. The son did not dare to contradict his father. Upon returning to Syria, emergency retraining of an ophthalmologist to become president of a Middle Eastern state began.

"Night of Long Tongues"

First of all, Hafez Assad assigned military advisers to his son, who were supposed to quickly prepare the future supreme commander of Syria. In 1997, Bashar al-Assad completed staff courses with honors, and in 1999 he received the rank of colonel in the Syrian army.

At the same time, Assad the father helped his son clear his path to power. Bashar al-Assad headed the Syrian intelligence services. In 1995, Mohammed Doob, the son of the head of Syrian military intelligence, General Ali Doub, was arrested. Muhammad Doub had a large business selling cars on the black market, money from which his father could use for a coup. More than half of the ministers were dismissed; potential rivals in the fight for the presidency were replaced by young technocrats loyal to Assad Jr.

Gradually, Hafez Assad transferred most of his powers to his son: issues of military-technical cooperation, receiving foreign delegations. In addition, Bashar was responsible for the modernization of Syria: he lobbied for the interests of young Syrian businessmen and was involved in attracting investment. Largely thanks to Bashar al-Assad, the Internet appeared in Syria in 1998, and the first cellular communications company appeared in 2000.

A year before his death, Hafez Assad sent his son on his first diplomatic tour of the Middle East to attend the leaders of the Arab world. It is noteworthy that the first country Bashar visited was Saudi Arabia, where he received the blessing of the royal family - the leaders of Sunni Muslims.

When Hafez al-Assad died of heart failure on June 10, 2000, the stage was set for Bashar to take his father's place. Only one formality prevented Bashar from becoming president of Syria: according to the constitution, a person under 40 years old could not become head of state. The Syrian parliament quickly corrected this misunderstanding by lowering the age of the presidential candidate to 34 years. On June 20, 2000, at the congress of the ruling Baath Party, Bashar al-Assad was elected secretary general and nominated as the only presidential candidate. On June 27, parliament approved his candidacy. “Instead of the required three hours, the people’s assembly met all day and most of the night: all 200 deputies wanted to demonstrate loyalty to the new ruler. The Syrians even called this event the “night of long tongues,” said Mikhail Gusman, deputy general director of the ITAR-TASS agency.

Dictator number thirteen

After Bashar al-Assad became president, many, especially in the West, expected a new policy from him. It was expected that the authoritarian ruler Hafez al-Assad, whose portraits adorned the main streets of all Syrian cities and hung in all the offices of officials of any rank, would be replaced by a new type of politician - with a European education, guided by Western values, who would carry out democratic reforms in Syria and help the West solve problems in the Middle East.

Outwardly, Bashar al-Assad is ideally suited to the role of a liberal leader. “In personal communication, Dr. Bashar al-Assad is a surprisingly simple and friendly person. He never interrupts his interlocutor. He often drives a car himself. He can, for example, easily go out without security and buy himself shawarma in a street shop. He, his wife and children almost every for a week they go to an ordinary restaurant in Damascus and walk the streets,” says Ziyad Sabsabi, the plenipotentiary representative of Chechnya to the President of the Russian Federation, who in 2005 personally met with the President of Syria. Bashar al-Assad is a loving husband and father of four children.

At first, the new Syrian president really began liberal reforms. In the first year of his rule, he released hundreds of political prisoners from Mezze prison. The first independent press appeared in Syria, non-state universities began operating, private banks and the stock market opened, and free trade zones appeared. In 2002, the Baath Party lost its monopoly on the right to conduct political work in society, for example, in organizing youth movements. And in March 2003, independent candidates entered parliament for the first time. But, on the other hand, a state of emergency remained in the country (introduced in 1963), thanks to which, in particular, the authorities could arrest any Syrian citizen for a long term without trial. In 2001, many reformist oppositionists were taken into custody.

The foreign policy of Damascus caused particular dissatisfaction in the West. After the outbreak of the war in Iraq, the United States accused Syria of sponsoring the terrorist groups Hezbollah, Hamas and Islamic Jihad. Damascus continues to rely on developing relations with Tehran. In 2003, the American magazine Parade included the Syrian President in its ranking of dictators at number thirteen. And in May 2004, the United States imposed economic sanctions against Syria.

Syria's relations with the West deteriorated further after the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in February 2005. This murder led to the "Cedar Revolution" in Lebanon and a change in government. Under pressure from the international community, Syria was forced to withdraw its 15,000-strong contingent from Lebanon. The UN has established a commission to investigate the assassination of Rafik Hariri. Its head, Detlev Mehlis, soon accused Bashar al-Assad of involvement in the operation to physically eliminate the former Prime Minister of Lebanon. The same accusation was made by the country's Vice President Abdel-Halim Khaddam, who fled Syria in 2005, saying that it was Assad who gave direct orders to kill Rafik Hariri.

However, according to some analysts, Bashar al-Assad is not an independent figure, and Syria is ruled by the “old guard,” who are fighting for power behind the back of the young, inexperienced president. Indirect evidence of this version is the fact that, despite some reforms, during the five years of Assad’s presidency, neither Syria’s domestic nor foreign policy has undergone significant changes. However, another part of the analysts is convinced that “the lion cub has grown” (“asad” means “lion” in Arabic). After all, over the past two or three years, the most influential members of the “old guard” have been fired: in 2004, Defense Minister Mustafa Tlass lost his post, and in 2005, Vice President Abdel-Halim Khaddam resigned. One thing is certain: Dr. Assad will not solve all the problems of modern Syria, and in order to remain in power, he needs to show the grip of a real lion.

NARGIZ ASADOVA

*In the new year, you can still hear about the most influential people in the world on the Ekho Moskvy radio in the 48 Minutes program.