JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
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. NPR's international affairs correspondent Jackie Northam looks at his legacy.
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JACKIE NORTHAM, BYLINE: When Bashar al-Assad came to power in 2000, there was hope he'd be less autocratic, less ruthless than his father Hafez, who ruled Syria for 30 years. But Assad employed a brutality that few could have envisioned and ended up keeping a grip on power. Here he was at his third swearing-in ceremony in 2014.
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BASHAR AL-ASSAD: (Speaking Arabic).
NORTHAM: Assad was never meant to succeed his father. His early adult life was spent in London studying ophthalmology, while his brother Bassel was back in Syria as the heir apparent.
ROBERT FORD: Bashar al-Assad lived in the shadow of his older brother, who was more dashing and always groomed to replace their father, Hafez al-Assad.
NORTHAM: Robert Ford was the U.S. ambassador to Syria during the Obama administration. He says life changed quickly for Assad when his brother was killed in a car accident.
FORD: Bashar was pulled back to Damascus and suddenly had to be groomed in military issues as well as Syrian politics - none of which he had any prior experience in.
NORTHAM: Assad was 34 years old when his father died. His first few years ushered in a new era for Syria. He allowed political discussion and was open to the West.
MOHAMMAD AL ABDALLAH: Absolutely. Everybody felt optimistic.
NORTHAM: Mohammad al Abdallah, then one of Syria's few political activists, says he remembers 2000 as a hopeful time.
ABDALLAH: Bashar released lots of prisoners. Some of them spent 15, 20 years, sometimes, in prison on his father's hand. Which all was good signs, positive signs.
NORTHAM: It wasn't to last. When demonstrators started taking to the streets during the so-called Arab Spring in 2011, Assad responded violently.
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MONA YACOUBIAN: He cracked down viciously on protesters...
NORTHAM: Mona Yacoubian is a Syria specialist at the U.S. Institute of Peace.
YACOUBIAN: ...Committing widespread atrocities, including gassing his own people, barrel bombing of Syrian towns and cities.
NORTHAM: The U.N. presented evidence of multiple chemical attacks by Assad's forces, which he flatly denied during this 2017 interview with Agence France-Presse.
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ASSAD: So there was no order to make any attack. We don't have any chemical weapons. We gave up our arsenal three years ago.
NORTHAM: But Yacoubian says by 2014, Assad's regime was on the verge of collapse.
YACOUBIAN: And he was really saved by three key backers - Iran, Hezbollah and Russia. And in particular, the Iranians and Hezbollah came in on the ground, mobilizing large numbers of militias to help prop up the regime on the ground, and, of course, the Russians came in, bringing very significant air power.
NORTHAM: As the war progressed, millions of Syrians poured out of the country into Europe and Turkey. Assad needed to rely more heavily on Iran, Russia and Hezbollah fighters. Ambassador Ford again.
FORD: After 13 years of this grinding attrition war, the Syrian Arab Army is hollowed out, riddled with corruption.
NORTHAM: Ambassador Ford said Assad clung to power while rebel forces were training, waiting for the moment to strike. And then they did, two weeks ago. And this time, Iran, Hezbollah and Russia didn't step in to help, and the Syrian Army crumbled.
FORD: Their morale is very low. By the time of this offensive, they simply collapsed whenever confronted by armed opposition forces.
NORTHAM: Twelve days after the rebel offensive, Assad fled to Moscow. Yacoubian says he leaves behind death and destruction.
YACOUBIAN: More than 12 million Syrians are forcibly displaced. The economy has virtually collapsed. So it is an impoverished and devastated Syria that he has left behind.
NORTHAM: Few Syrians will likely shed a tear for Assad, but the future of a divided and scarred Syria is a big question mark. Many in the region beyond are holding their breath. Jackie Northam, NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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