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Sergey Surovikin

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In this name that follows Eastern Slavic naming customs, the patronymic is Vladimirovich and the family name is Surovikin.
General of the Army

Sergey Vladimirovich Surovikin
Official portrait, 2021 (photomontage)
Native name
Сергей Владимирович Суровикин
Nickname(s)General Armageddon[1]
Born11 October 1966 (1966-10-11) (age 58)
Novosibirsk, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Allegiance Soviet Union
 Russia
Service / branch
Years of service1987–present
RankGeneral of the Army
Commands34th Motor Rifle Division
42nd Guards Motor Rifle Division
20th Guards Army
Eastern Military District
Group of Forces in Syria
Russian Aerospace Forces
Battles / wars
Awards

Sergey Vladimirovich Surovikin (Russian: Серге́й Влади́мирович Сурови́кин; born 11 October 1966) is a Russian Armed Forces army general and Commander of the Aerospace Forces. A veteran of the Soviet–Afghan War, Tajikistani Civil War, Second Chechen War, and the Russian military intervention in the Syrian Civil War, he is currently serving as the commander of all Russian forces in the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine.

During the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, Surovikin commanded a unit that killed three anti-coup demonstrators, for which he was detained for several months but never convicted.[2] He played an important role in the creation of the Main Directorate of the Military Police, a new organisation within the Russian Army.[3] Surovikin commanded the Eastern Military District between 2013 and 2017, and in 2017 commanded the Russian group of forces in Syria. He is accredited with turning the tide of the war in Syrian president Bashar al-Assad's favour, and is also alleged to have been responsible for strikes on civilian targets during the Russian intervention.[2][4]

During the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, he was initially the commander of the Army Group "South" of the Russian Armed Forces.[5] On 8 October 2022, he became the commander of all Russian forces invading Ukraine.[6]

Early life and education

Surovikin was born on 11 October 1966 in Novosibirsk.[7] In 1987, he graduated from the Omsk Higher Military Command School.

Military career

Early career and military academy attendance

He was assigned to a spetsnaz unit and served in the Soviet–Afghan War.[8]

By August 1991, he was a captain and commander of the 1st Rifle Battalion in the 2nd Guards Tamanskaya Motor Rifle Division. During the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt in Moscow, Surovikin was ordered to send his battalion into the tunnel on the Garden Ring, where three anti-coup demonstrators were killed. After the defeat of the coup, Surovikin was arrested and held under investigation for seven months. The charges were dropped on 10 December because Boris Yeltsin[9] concluded that Surovikin was only following orders. He was promoted to the rank of major afterwards.[10]

Surovikin attended the Frunze Military Academy. In September 1995, he was sentenced to a year of probation by the Moscow garrison's military court for illegally selling weapons. The conviction was overturned after the investigation concluded that Surovikin had agreed to give a fellow student a pistol for use in a competition, unaware of its intended purpose.[11]

In 1995, he graduated from the Frunze Military Academy. Surovikin participated in the Tajikistani Civil War where he commanded a motor rifle battalion. He then became chief of staff of the 92nd Motor Rifle Regiment, chief of staff and commander of the 149th Guards Motor Rifle Regiment and chief of staff of the 201st Motor Rifle Division.[8]

In 2002, he graduated from the Military Academy of the General Staff. He became commander of the 34th Motor Rifle Division at Yekaterinburg.

Suicide of subordinate in Surovikin's presence

In March 2004, Surovikin was accused by Lieutenant Colonel Viktor Chibizov of beating him up for leaving his post to participate in elections as an observer. In April, division deputy commander for armaments Colonel Andrei Shtakal shot himself in the presence of Surovikin and the district deputy commander after being criticized by Surovikin.[8] In both cases, a military prosecutor found no evidence of guilt.[11]

Early command roles

Release of officers of the Air Force Academy in Voronezh

From June 2004, he led the 42nd Guards Motor Rifle Division, stationed in Chechnya.

He was the chief of staff of the 20th Guards Army from 2005. In April 2008, he became the army commander.

In November 2008, Surovikin became head of the Main Operations Directorate of the General Staff.[12] In January 2010, he became chief of staff of the Volga–Urals Military District, which soon became part of the Central Military District.[7]

Military Police

From November 2011, he headed the working group charged with creation of the Military Police.[13] It was reported that Surovikin was tipped to head the Military Police after it was instituted, but the appointment did not materialise due to the intervention of the Russian Military Prosecutor's Office, according to the Russian media, which presented the situation as a turf conflict between the Defence Ministry and the Military Prosecutor's Office.[14][11] In October 2012, he became the chief of staff of the Eastern Military District. In October 2013, he was appointed commander of the district.[7] On 13 December, Surovikin was promoted to the rank of colonel general.[15]

Syrian civil war

Surovikin (left) with Minister of Defence Sergei Shoigu, Bashar al-Assad and Syrian Minister of Defence Ali Ayyoub in 2017

On 9 June 2017, he was introduced to news media representatives as the Commander of the Russian armed forces deployed to Syria.[16][17] Reportedly, he took this position in March 2017.[18] In September 2017, Surovikin was cited by Russian media as a likely successor to Viktor Bondarev, who was on 26 September relieved of the position of the Commander of the Aerospace Forces.[19][3] According to a report published by RBK Group on 2 November 2017 that cited an anonymous source in the MoD, Surovikin had been appointed Commander of the Aerospace Forces, despite his initial objections.[20]

Surovikin (left) with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Sergey Shoigu and Valery Gerasimov in 2018

At the end of November 2017, the Russian MoD's Krasnaya Zvezda reported that Surovikin had been appointed Commander of the Aerospace Forces by a presidential decree of 22 November.[21] TASS pointed out that Surovikin became the first combined-arms commander in the history of Russia and the Soviet Union to be put in charge of the Russian or Soviet air forces.[22] On 28 December, he was made a Hero of the Russian Federation for his leadership of the Group of Forces in Syria.[23]

Under the command of Surovikin, a significant turning point in the fight against the Syrian opposition was achieved. The Syrian Government regained over 50% control of Syria by the end of 2017 after a string of successful military campaigns. According to several Russian military commentators, it was Surovikin who managed to turn the tide of the war in Syria.[24][25][26][27]

Again from January to April 2019, Surovikin took over as the commander of the contingent of Russian military forces in Syria. Altogether he commanded the Russian forces group in Syria for more than a year, which was longer than any other officer who held this position[28] until November 2020, when Lieutenant General Aleksandr Chaiko surpassed his duration in that post.

In 2021, Surovikin was promoted to General of the Army. As one of only a handful of Russian officers to reach such a rank, some speculated that he might be an eventual successor to Valery Gerasimov as Chief of the General Staff.[29]

Russian invasion of Ukraine

In June 2022, it was revealed that he became the commander of the Army Group "South" of the Russian Armed Forces in the Southern Ukraine campaign.[5] On 8 October, it was announced that he will be commander of all Russian forces in Ukraine, succeeding Colonel General Gennady Zhidko.[6] On 18 October Surovikin was reported as saying that "The situation in the area of the 'Special Military Operation' can be described as tense".[30]

On 18 October 2022, he said in an interview with Russian media that "Our opponent is a criminal regime, while we and the Ukrainians are one people and want the same thing: for Ukraine to be a country that’s friendly to Russia and independent from the West".[31][32]

According to sources close to the Kremlin, Surovikin is a proponent of large-scale missile attacks on civilian infrastructure.[4]

On 9 November 2022, in a televised meeting with Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu, Surovikin, made a public statement on Russian media—along with other military staff—recommending a withdrawal of Russian forces from Kherson in order to save Russian troops who faced being trapped. In the same TV appearance, Shoigu approved the withdrawal.[33]

Sanctions

In February 2022, Surovikin was added to the European Union sanctions list for being "responsible for actively supporting and implementing actions and policies that undermine and threaten the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine as well as the stability or security in Ukraine".[34]

Awards

Surovikin has been awarded the Order of the Red Star, the Order of Military Merit and the Order of Courage three times. He was awarded the Hero of the Russian Federation in December 2017.[35]

Incarceration and accusations of human rights abuses

Surovikin is accused of having ordered troops to open fire on pro-democracy protestors in Moscow, during the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, when three people were killed.[36] Surovikin was jailed for six months but was later released without trial by order of President Boris Yeltsin. In 1995, Surovikin was found guilty of illegal arms trade. He was sentenced but later let off following allegations that he had been framed.[37]

An October 2020 Human Rights Watch report listed Surovikin as one of the commanders "who may bear command responsibility for violations" during the 2019–2020 offensive in Idlib, Syria.[38]

Personal life

He is married and has four children. Surovikin is an Orthodox Christian.[7]

References

  1. ^ "Who is Putin's hard-line new commander?". BBC. 12 Oct 2022.
  2. ^ a b Seddon, Max; Miller, Christopher (2022-10-11). "Vladimir Putin taps 'General Armageddon' to reverse Ukraine battlefield failures". Financial Times. Retrieved 2022-10-20.
  3. ^ a b Создатель военной полиции генерал Суровикин возглавит ВКС России Rossiyskaya Gazeta, 21 September 2017.
  4. ^ a b "Who is 'General Armageddon?' The new commander leading Russia's forces in Ukraine is reportedly a proponent of targeting civilian infrastructure". Meduza. 10 October 2022.
  5. ^ a b Cherkasov, Alexander (26 June 2022). "Люди, стрелявшие в наших отцов". Novaya Gazeta.
  6. ^ a b "Russia names new commander of its forces engaged in Ukraine". Alarabiya. 8 October 2022.
  7. ^ a b c d "Суровикин Сергей Владимирович" [Surovikin Sergey Vladimirovich]. structure.mil.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 2016-02-29.
  8. ^ a b c "В Екатеринбурге полковник застрелился на учениях на глазах у командования, не выдержав критики" [In Yekaterinburg, a colonel shot himself on exercises in front of command, unable to withstand criticism]. www.newsru.com (in Russian). News.ru. 22 April 2004. Retrieved 2016-02-29.
  9. ^ "Сергей Владимирович Суровикин. Биографическая справка" [Sergey Vladimirovich Surovikin: Biography]. RIA Novosti (in Russian). 7 July 2011. Retrieved 12 October 2016.
  10. ^ "Профессия – служить родине" [Occupation – Serving the Motherland]. www.mk.ru (in Russian). Moskovskiy Komsomolets. 29 March 2011. Retrieved 2016-02-29.
  11. ^ a b c Safronov, Ivan; Muradov, Musa (14 December 2011). "Военную прокуратуру не устроил полицейский кандидат" [Military prosecutor's office did not accept a military police candidate]. Kommersant (in Russian). Retrieved 23 October 2016.
  12. ^ "Генерал Суровикин Сергей Владимирович" [General Surovikin Sergey Vladimirovich]. 42msd.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 2016-02-29.
  13. ^ "Возглавить военную полицию в РФ может экс-руководитель ВАИ Минобороны" [Lead the military police in the Russian Federation may be ex-head of the Ministry of Defense VAI]. РИА Новости (in Russian). 29 October 2012. Retrieved 2016-02-29.
  14. ^ Сергей Суровикин не прошел дальше отбора: Вместо военной полиции он возглавил штаб Восточного военного округа Kommersant, 30 October 2012.
  15. ^ "У К А З" [Ukase]. www.redstar.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 2016-02-29.
  16. ^ "Брифинг НГОУ ГШ ВС РФ генерал-полковника С.Ф. Рудского (09.06.2017)". Retrieved Oct 11, 2022 – via www.youtube.com.
  17. ^ Российский командующий в Сирии рассказал об операции против ИГ* RIA Novosti, 9 June 2017.
  18. ^ Генерал с сирийским взглядом на ВКС: Сергей Суровикин получил новое назначение Kommersant, 22 September 2017.
  19. ^ Источники сообщили о смене командующего ВКС России RIA Novosti, 21 September 2017.
  20. ^ "Российской группировке в Сирии нашли нового командующего". www.rbc.ru. Retrieved Oct 11, 2022.
  21. ^ Штандарты в надёжных руках Krasnaya Zvezda, 29 November 2017.
  22. ^ Главкомом ВКС назначен Сергей Суровикин TASS, 29 November 2017.
  23. ^ Baranets, Viktor; Grachev, Ivan (28 December 2017). "Стало известно, за что именно получили Звезду Героя генералы, воевавшие в Сирии" [Reasons behind the awarding of the Gold Star to generals who fought in Syria discovered]. Komsomolskaya Pravda (in Russian). Retrieved 29 December 2017.
  24. ^ РБК (November 2, 2017). "Российской группировке в Сирии нашли нового командующего". www.rbc.ru (in Russian). rbc.ru. Retrieved 2017-12-29.
  25. ^ "Министр обороны доложил Верховному Главнокомандующему о выполнении его приказа по выводу российских войск из Сирии". Департамент информации и массовых коммуникаций Министерства обороны (in Russian). mil.ru. 2017-12-22. Retrieved 2017-12-22.
  26. ^ "Они сражались за Сирию. 11 российских генералов, отличившихся в арабской республике". kommersant.ru (in Russian). Коммерсантъ.ru. December 11, 2017. Retrieved 2017-12-28.
  27. ^ Сергей Вальченко; Александр Круглов; Егор Созаев-Гурьев (Dec 28, 2017). ""В плен никого не брать!"". iz.ru. Retrieved Oct 11, 2022.
  28. ^ "Командующего ВДВ десантировали в Сирию". kommersant.ru. 23 June 2020.
  29. ^ "Путин присвоил звание генерала армии главкому ВКС РФ Сергею Суровикину". TASS. Retrieved 2021-08-16.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  30. ^ "Russian commander admits situation is 'tense' for his forces in Ukraine". Reuters. 2022-10-18. Retrieved 2022-10-19.
  31. ^ "'We may have to make some difficult decisions in Kherson' Meduza's summary of the first interview given by Russia's new top commander in Ukraine". Meduza. 19 October 2022.
  32. ^ "Ukraine attempts to attack, Russia grinds down enemy forces — commander". Tass. 18 October 2022.
  33. ^ "Putin makes top brass take the fall for Kherson humiliation". Daily Telegraph. 10 November 2022.
  34. ^ Council Decision (CFSP) 2022/265 of 23 February 2022 amending Decision 2014/145/CFSP concerning restrictive measures in respect of actions undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine, 2022-02-23, retrieved 2022-03-03
  35. ^ "Путин присвоил звание Героя России генералу Суровикину за успехи в Сирии". Retrieved Oct 11, 2022.
  36. ^ "Russia appoints notorious general to lead Ukraine offensive". the Guardian. 2022-10-08. Retrieved 2022-10-09.
  37. ^ Kilner, James (2022-10-08). "Vladimir Putin makes 'brutal and corrupt' general new military chief". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2022-10-09.
  38. ^ ""Targeting Life in Idlib": Syrian and Russian Strikes on Civilian Infrastructure". 2020-10-15. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
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