What makes you think that Russia will pay for Assad's protection? The guy is a ruthless dictator and had already been on the verge of defeat all the way back in 2015 - it would be asinine to assume that he hadn't prepared coffers with millions in cash and assets for the day when he has to fuck off. Assad is probably one of the 500 richest individuals in all of Russia right now, lmao.
Russia invested approximately $20 billion in propping up Assad. So even if Assad foots the bill for his own protection, the die is already cast for ordinary Russians bankrolling a maniacal dictator.
I heard rumours Assad transferred about 150million to Russian banks around the time he fled. Purely conjecture but almost entirely likely.
Just an unsurprising and common trope of the autocrat playbook; Like Gaddafis golden guns, Saddams palaces, Assads torture chambers and Putins dacha on the Black sea. Pilfering the state is tacitly accepted.