The Russian media reveals more information about the Syrian President brother Dr. Maher al Sharaa’s life in Russia

After the Syrian transitional President Ahmad al Sharaa’s appointed his brother Dr. Maher as Secretary-General of the Syrian Presidency, Russian media outlets began highlighting his long, years-long stay in Russia.

According to Russian media reports, Maher al Sharaa was born in 1973 and lived for a long time in the central Russian city of Voronezh.

According to the Russian medical website Prodoctorov, Dr. Maher completed his undergraduate studies at the Nikolai Burdenko Voronezh State Medical Academy in 2000, specializing in general medicine, before specializing in obstetrics and gynecology in 2004 at the same academy.

He holds a PhD in medical sciences and has completed advanced training programs in Russia, including at the Voronezh Medical Academy and Voronezh State University.

Between 2004 and 2013, he worked in several hospitals in Syria, then returned to Voronezh, where he continued his career in several gynecology clinics.

The Prodoctorov website indicates that he also worked at Abha Hospital in Saudi Arabia between 2014 and 2018.

The Russian medical website, revealed that Dr. Maher boasts positive patient reviews, with 39 out of 40 positive reviews between 2018 and 2023.

A Russian journalistic investigation, based on documents and leaks, also revealed that Dr. Maher is married to a Russian woman named Tatiana Zakirova, who also holds Syrian citizenship and was active in the business sector until 2020, and the couple leads a stable family life and has three children, aged 23, 20, and 13.

The investigation added that Russian border guard records indicate that Dr. Maher left Russia by air for the Turkish city of Izmir in July 2022, with no record of his return since that date.

Inside Syria, local media reported that Maher served as a health advisor in hospitals in northern Syria during 2022 and 2023, before being appointed acting Minister of Health in the government of Mohammed al-Bashir, which was formed following the fall of the Bashar al Assad regime last December.