A ruthless Russian commander known as “General Armageddon” has been appointed head of the Russian Army in Ukraine as Moscow looks to reverse a series of defeats on the battlefield.
Sergei Surovikin, 56, was likely behind Monday’s massive missile strikes, the largest since the beginning of the war, which targeted critical infrastructure in cities across Ukraine. The feared general previously won respect commanding Russian troops in Tajikistan, Chechnya, and Syria, according to Russian newspaper Kommersant, earning one of his many monikers: “Severe,” a play on his name in Russian. He has since made a name for himself as a no-nonsense military commander, albeit one with disregard for the standard rules of engagement. His appointment is expected to garner a drastic shift in Russian tactics at a time when public outcry against the conduct of the war is at an all-time high.
Surovikin began his career fighting as part of a special forces unit in Afghanistan, according to a profile from RIA Novosti, a Russian state news outlet. He was the only Soviet officer to take action against anti-coup protesters during the hard-line coup against Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in August 1991, resulting in the only three civilian deaths of the affair. He was temporarily arrested, but released on the personal orders of Russian President Boris Yeltsin under the rationale that he was simply following orders.
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In a 2004 episode that has played a major part in his reputation, Suvorikin chastised a junior officer so severely in Yekaterinburg that the officer killed himself with his service pistol immediately afterward in front of his colleagues, according to a 2004 article from Kommersant. Just two months prior, he was accused of beating up one of his colleagues over his political opinions.
Surovikin was appointed as the head of the Russian Aerospace forces in Syria in 2017, overseeing a brutal but highly effective air campaign that helped the Syrian government regain control over most of the country. For his efforts, he was appointed commander in chief of all Russian Aerospace forces — the first to hold the position since the 1920s with no flight experience, Kommersant reported.
During the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Surovikin commanded the southern grouping of troops, which has seen the most success in the conflict.
Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu appointed “General Armageddon” as the first overall commander of all Russian forces in Ukraine on Saturday in an apparent bid to better coordinate the different military groups and branches. Many experts believe the appointment may bear fruit for the Russians, helping to rectify the critical leadership problems that have plagued them since February.
“Surovikin is like Marshal Zhukov,” Ruslan Pukhov, the director of the Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies, a Moscow defense think tank, told the Financial Times, referring to the Red Army’s undefeated commander during World War II. “He’s a tough guy who knows how to run a war. He’s a real beast, not some dumb vodka-drinking guy or a pseudointellectual. He’s a real fighter who isn’t scared to tell the higher-ups the truth.”
“He is very cruel but also a competent commander,” Gleb Irisov, a former aerospace force lieutenant who worked with Surovikin until 2020, told the Guardian. He added that he was one of the few people in the army who “knew how to oversee and streamline different army branches.”
Several anonymous former colleagues told the Guardian that he was known as “General Armageddon” due to his “hard-line and unorthodox approach to waging war.”
His appointment was met with jubilee from Russian hard-liners who have been increasingly critical of the Kremlin in recent weeks following Ukrainian successes on the battlefield. Chechen strongman Ramzan Kadyrov and the Wagner mercenary group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin gave him their personal endorsement.
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“I personally know Sergei Vladimirovich well for almost 15 years. I can definitely say about him that he is a real general and warrior, an experienced, strong-willed, and far-sighted commander, for whom such concepts as patriotism, honor, and dignity always stand above all else. It is my pleasure to welcome this appointment. The combined group of troops is now in safe hands,” Kadyrov said in a statement on his Telegram channel.
