Just a 30 minute drive from the Kremlin lies the village of Barivkha with a population of around 4,000 people.

Amid soaring pine forests, mansions and stunning dachas sit on carefully tended, extensive grounds behind well-guarded gates.

The tiny community and its surrounding area are home to the Kremlin elite, as well as half a dozen or so deposed world leaders.

The plethora of luxury brand shops testifies to the extravagant wealth and privilege of the community's inhabitants.

Stores at the Barvikha Luxury Village include Prada, Giorgio Armani, Gucci, Ralph Lauren and Dolce & Gabbana.

Those looking for new wheels can also try the Lamborghini, Ferrari or Bentley dealers there.

Askar Akayev and Viktor Yanukovych became community members after being toppled from power by popular unrest.

Akayev, a former President of Kyrgyzstan, fled the country in 2005 after an angry mob stormed his palace.

Yanukovych was forced from power in Ukraine after huge protests swept the country in 2014, following his decision to ditch the EU in favour of closer ties with Russia.

The pair initially were billeted in Meiendorf Castle, located on the grounds of the exclusive Barivkha sanatorium.

The imitation medieval castle was once an old tsarist hunting lodge that has since been converted into an official presidential residence, hosting international summits and foreign leaders.

Barivkha 's newest resident could soon be former Syrian dictator Bashar Al-Assad, who has been granted political asylum in Russia.

Already in 2012, there were rumours that Assad could end up in the exclusive community following the outbreak of civil war in his country.

According to another notorious resident, Assad and his family would be welcomed with open arms.

Borislav Milosevic, the brother of the former Serbian leader Slobodan, lives in Barivkha, as does his widow and son Mirjana and Marko.

He told the New York Times that allowing Assad and his family to settle in the neighbourhood would be a humane gesture.

Assad could soon be a close neighbour of the Russian president, who has a luxury estate just six kilometres from Barivkha.

Putin's Novo-Ogaryovo estate boasts a main villa, sports and health complex, helicopter terminal, and private railway stations.

An architect who worked on the property in 2021 revealed it also includes a private hospital, a six-storey reception building, an ice rink, and a luxury sauna estimated to cost £12 million.