Russian General Sergei Surovikin Released After Mutiny and Death of Mercenary Tycoon Prigozhin
A top Russian general, Sergei Surovikin, who was detained in the aftermath of the mutiny by mercenary tycoon Yevgeny V. Prigozhin, has been released, according to two U.S. officials and a person close to the Russian Defense Ministry.
General Surovikin, known for his brutal tactics in Syria and nicknamed “General Armageddon,” vanished from public view in June after Prigozhin and members of his Wagner outfit moved against the Russian military leadership. American officials believe that the general had advance knowledge of the uprising. Hours after it began, a video was released by the Russian authorities showing an uncomfortable-looking General Surovikin calling on the Wagner fighters to stand down.
Although General Surovikin has been released from formal detention, it is unclear if any restrictions on his movement or other limits have been imposed by the Russian authorities. He was released in the days following Prigozhin’s death in a plane crash late last month.
According to a person close to the Russian Defense Ministry, General Surovikin has retained his rank but no longer has any career prospects. Last month, it was reported that he had been formally removed as head of Russia’s aerospace forces.
On Monday, General Surovikin appeared in a photograph posted on social media by a Russian news outlet. The photo showed him in civilian clothes, accompanied by his wife, walking outside next to a wall covered in ivy. The location of the photograph was not immediately clear.
The news outlet associated with Ksenia Sobchak, a Russian news figure, released a post on the Telegram messaging app confirming General Surovikin’s release and stating that he was alive, healthy, and at home with his family in Moscow.
Aleksei A. Venediktov, the former leader of the liberal Echo of Moscow radio station, also confirmed on his Telegram channel that General Surovikin was at home with his family and on leave, at the disposal of the Ministry of Defense.
General Surovikin was previously in charge of operations in Ukraine, overseeing the withdrawal of Russian forces from Kherson and the construction of the “Surovikin line,” a defensive strategy that has hampered Ukrainian forces in their counteroffensive.
Yevgeny Prigozhin had a connection with General Surovikin through the Wagner fighters who served in Syria alongside Russian forces during his command there. However, in January, the Kremlin sidelined General Surovikin and appointed Gen. Valery V. Gerasimov as the commander overseeing forces in Ukraine. This marked the beginning of a broader loss of power for Prigozhin, who clashed with General Gerasimov and Defense Minister Sergei K. Shoigu as Wagner forces suffered heavy losses in Ukraine.
The tensions ultimately led to Prigozhin launching a short-lived mutiny aimed at removing the two Russian defense leaders, not at toppling President Vladimir V. Putin.
As speculations about General Surovikin’s whereabouts grew in July, a top lawmaker who chairs the Russian Parliament’s defense committee mentioned that the general was “taking a rest.”
Prigozhin was killed in a plane crash on August 23, along with other Wagner leaders, when a private plane traveling from Moscow to St. Petersburg crashed in the Tver region of Russia. U.S. officials suspect an explosion on board may have caused the crash. The Kremlin has vehemently denied any Western allegations of Putin’s involvement in the event, calling them an “absolute lie.”