Where is Surovikin located? Why the general's mysterious disappearance led to rumors of his arrest

 

Where did the rumors come from?

 

While the state channels at the end of June showed Vladimir Putin greeting the crowd in Dagestan, which he had not done since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, many were interested in another consequence of Yevgeny Prigozhin's rebellion. And the question: where is General Surovikin?

At the same time, pro-war bloggers started rumors that the deputy commander of the Russian troop group in Ukraine had been arrested and was being held in the Lefortovo pre-trial detention center in Moscow. Allegedly for supporting Prigozhin's rebellion.

Z-blogger Volodymyr Romanov (with about 100,000 subscribers) wrote on his Telegram channel that Surovikin was "taken away" from Lefortovo. He later clarified that the general was allegedly "taken away" the day after the rebellion, that is, after members of the rebel private mercenary army left Rostov and returned to their camps.

Even earlier, the Ribar Telegram channel (with more than 1.2 million subscribers) said the phrase: "Surovikin has not been seen since Saturday - it is not known for sure where "General Armageddon" is, there is a version that he is being questioned. "

In the evening, following the Telegram channels, the news about the probable arrest of the general was published by The Moscow Times, citing "two sources close to officials of the Ministry of Defense".

One of the interlocutors of this media suggested what the accusations against Surovikin could refer to:

"Apparently he chose a side [of Prigogine during the rebellion] and grabbed him by the balls."

When asked where the general is now, the source replied: "We do not comment on this information even through internal channels."

 

The former editor-in-chief of "Echo of Moscow" radio Alexey Venediktov shared his knowledge after the rumours:

"Surovikin has not been in contact with his family for three days. His bodyguards are not responding either. I only have these facts."

Later, Venediktov wrote on the Telegram channel that Surovikin "is not" in "Lefortov": "For now I know that."

And the "military commander" Boris Rozhin (more than 864,000 subscribers) said on his Telegram channel that "multiple sources refuted the allegations about the arrest of General Surovikin. Surovikin continues his service and fulfills his tasks in the leadership of the SVO", claims Rozhin.

At the same time, the Financial Times, referring to its sources, writes that the general was taken into custody, although it notes that this may have been done "simply for questioning".

The FT quotes a Western government official who believes that Putin knew about Prigozhin's plans in advance and was therefore able to prepare somewhat and is now putting things in order at home.

An official quoted by the newspaper said that after Surovikin, other officials will be detained.

 

"Sergei Surovikin, a high-ranking Russian general known to be on good terms with Prigogine, has not been seen since he recorded a hostage-style video early on Saturday morning when the uprising began," the Financial Times reported.

The media draws attention to the fact that Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Viktor Zolotov, who heads the Russian Guard, participated in public events after the uprising. And Surovikin disappeared.

The media's sources link the "unexplained absence" of "one of the most prominent commanders" during Russia's invasion of Ukraine to Putin's desire to restore order and regain control of the security forces after the first coup attempt in three decades.

The Financial Times calls Surovikin a link between Prigozhin and the Ministry of Defense, who worked closely with the "Wagner" contingent fighting in eastern

Ukraine. As for Prigozhin himself, although he severely criticized the army, he always spoke well of Surovikin.

Putin's press secretary Dmitry Peskov was asked where Surovikin had gone, to which he cryptically replied that the Russian Ministry of Defense should provide answers to that question. He said that Putin communicates and works directly with the Minister of Defense and the Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Federation.

 

What is the basis for the rumours

On the night from Friday to Saturday, when Prigozhin announced the march of the Communist Party of Ukraine to Moscow, and he himself went to Rostov-on-Don with part of his mercenaries, Surovikin recorded a video message to the rebels. He also talked about his close relationship with the "Wagners" and called on them to stop the rebellion.

"I am addressing the management, commanders and fighters of "Wagner". We fought together with you, lost, won together. We are of the same blood, we are warriors. I invite you to stop, the enemy is just waiting for the escalation of our internal political situation. You can't help him. It is not too late, you must obey the will and orders of the elected, popular president of the Russian Federation," the general said in the video.

Surovikin claimed that he acted on the orders of the Russian Ministry of Defense and that he "came from the front" (he did not specify where).

"They were running around like idiots trying to get Prigozhin to stop. Now they are treating them like they might be traitors," a source told the Financial Times.

 

The American edition of the New York Times, citing American intelligence services, reported that the connection between the general and the private mercenary army could have been even closer - Surovikin allegedly knew about the plans for the rebellion and could not do anything to prevent them.

American officials, informed by American intelligence services, said that not only in Moscow, but also in Washington, they are trying to find out whether the general helped plan Prigozhin's actions.

While Surovikin appears to have been sympathetic to Prigozhin's plans, US authorities are unsure whether he has taken any steps to support the rebellion, a Financial Times source said.

At the same time, New York Times interlocutors are sure that the owner of the private mercenary army "Wagner" would not have raised a rebellion if he did not believe that other people in power would come to his aid.

The Kremlin commented on the New York Times' allegations that Surovikin knew about the preparation of the rebellion with the utmost discretion:

"Now there will be a lot of different speculations, misinformation, etc. around these events. I think this is one such example," Putin's press secretary Dmytro Peskov told reporters.

 

"The temptation to portray him as a conspirator"

 

Surovikin is an authoritative military commander who helped strengthen defenses along the front line after Ukraine's counteroffensive last year, the New York Times reported a day earlier.

Until January, he was the commander of the unified group of troops in Ukraine, and then he gave way to the chief of the Russian General Staff Valery Gerasimov and became the deputy commander.

Surovikin, who earned the nickname "General Armageddon" for his heavy bombing tactics while leading Russian forces in Syria, was a favorite of pro-war bloggers, notes the Financial Times. But the rebellion shook his position.

"In the rift between Shoigu and Gerasimov, on the one hand, and Surovikin, who considered it acceptable to communicate with "Wagner", Putin was on his side," political scientist Tetian Stanova thinks. "But later the scale tipped in favor of Shoigu and Gerasimov".

According to Stanova, the main winner of the coup is probably Shoigu, who apparently managed to overthrow "Wagner" and convince Putin to hand over all power to the Ministry of Defense.

"Whatever Surovikin's real role is, Shoigu might be tempted to portray him as a conspirator. It is very easy to turn sympathizers into conspirators," said Stanova.