A former top Russian general, Sergey Surovikin, has reappeared in Algeria months after being removed from his post in disgrace following links to the failed Wagner mutiny. Once dubbed “General Armageddon” for his brutal tactics in Syria and role in planning Russia’s defences in occupied Ukraine, Surovikin was seen participating in celebrations for the 80th Victory Day anniversary as part of a Russian military delegation in Algiers.
Independent reports, including from the Telegram-based Astra news outlet, suggest that Surovikin is now working as a military adviser in Africa. Russian State Duma Defence Committee member Lieutenant General Viktor Sobolev confirmed that the disgraced general had taken up duties in the region. According to Africa Intelligence, Surovikin settled in Algiers last year and has since operated as a “military-technical adviser” to the Algerian regime, also reportedly serving as Moscow’s informal diplomatic representative in the country due to the absence of a permanent ambassador at the time.
Photographs published from the May 9 event show Surovikin appearing visibly diminished and standing next to Alexei Solomatin, who was officially appointed as Russia’s ambassador to Algeria in January. The contrast between Surovikin’s current presence and his former authority within Russia’s armed forces paints a picture of a man clinging to relevance from the political fringes of the Kremlin’s shadowy operations abroad.
Surovikin was dismissed from his post as commander of Russia’s air force and from his role overseeing military actions in Ukraine by the Russian dictator Vladimir Putin in August 2023. His fall from grace followed reports of close ties to Yevgeny Prigozhin, the late head of the Wagner mercenary group. Prigozhin launched a failed uprising in June 2023 and later died in a suspicious plane crash, which many suspect was orchestrated by Kremlin interests.
Despite his removal, The New York Times reported that Surovikin retained his military rank. However, sources noted that he had been assigned to a post without any future prospects, marking an effective exile from meaningful military command. In September 2023, Kommersant reported he had taken over leadership of an air defence committee under the Commonwealth of Independent States, an ineffective regional bloc positioned as Russia’s equivalent of the European Union.
His recent appearance in Algeria highlights how sidelined Kremlin insiders are often deployed abroad, far from Moscow, where they can still serve geopolitical objectives without posing a threat to the inner circle’s control.
The Kremlin has remained silent on Surovikin’s role, just as it has refused to comment for several days on who will represent Russia at the upcoming peace discussions in Istanbul. That meeting, ironically proposed by the Russian dictator himself, now sees both Putin and his reported double absent from the agenda, as confirmed by Ukraine’s intelligence services.
