Sergei Surovikin, the ruthless face of Russian “special military operations.”

With a shaved head, impassive features and a defensive swagger, Sergei Churovikhin became the face of “special military operations”. Russian in Ukraine. Renowned for his ruthlessness, this veteran of the Soviet war Afghanistan, the second Chechen war in the 2000s and the 2015 Syrian campaign was the architect of a massive bombing campaign. Sergei Surovykin, 56, nicknamed “General Armageddon” by Western media, was appointed commander of Russian forces in Ukraine on October 8. He now has the heavy task of ending the series of defeats suffered by the troops in retreating Moscow on several fronts.

While the military has been silent for weeks on the backlash on the ground, Sourovikin appeared on television on Tuesday in military uniform in front of several flags to recognize the “tense” situation and warn: He is not. Afraid to make the “too hard decision”.

“A depressed, traumatized, ruthless commander”

It seems that Vladimir Putin chose General Surovikhin for these kinds of defensive declarations and for the image of restoring the situation. “He’s a very popular person, soldiers talk a lot about him. He has a reputation as a depressed, shocking, ruthless commander,” reveals a prominent Russian military expert, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals from power.

” Cheese fries Love it. In Syria, he pulled officers out of the civil service so that they could lead the attacks,” this analyst continues. Vasily Kashin, an expert in geopolitics at the Higher School of Economics in Moscow, recognizes the general’s “admirable administrative and strategic skills”: “It is clear that Russian leaders consider Surovikhin a very capable commander to lead such a large military effort.”

According to independent analyst Aleksandre Kramzykin, the “southern” forces he had led up to that point in Ukraine had “great success” against the Ukrainians. “This is the only criterion in the current situation. »

He participated in the failed coup attempt in 1991

The change in strategy is already visible: two days after Surovikhin’s appointment, the Russian military unleashed missiles on Ukrainian critical infrastructure. Electricity and running water are cut off in many cities. Massive bombings have since recurred, foreshadowing a harsh winter for Ukrainians. Vladimir Putin justified the strikes on television, confirming that they were carried out “at the proposal of the Ministry of Defense”. Read: Sergey Surovikhin.

Before Ukraine, Surovikhin, a native of Siberia, was one of the commanders of the Russian forces. Syria. l’NGO Human Rights Watch He accused him of being one of those “who were able to claim responsibility” for attacks ordered on residential areas, schools and hospitals in 2020.

In Russia, he is best known for his participation in the failed 1991 coup attempt to sign the Soviet Union’s death warrant. Imprisoned after troops under his command killed three pro-democracy demonstrators, Sergei Churovikhin was released a few months later. “He was jailed a second time for arms smuggling in the late 1990s, but the conviction was overturned on appeal,” says the expert, who asked to remain anonymous.

Respect for hardliners

However, Surovikhin’s reputation has won him the respect of hardliners: Ramzan Kadyrov, the pro-Putin Chechen leader who has denounced the incompetence of the Russian military command in Ukraine, said he was “100% satisfied” with his appointment. Opposition leader Russian, Leonid Volkov accused Churovikhin of being a “legendary thief” who got rich by illegally logging. “He is a businessman, not a general,” he wrote on Twitter.

But Surovikhin will be judged on his ability to turn the tide in Ukraine, as problems and mistakes have piled up for months. On Tuesday, he approved the eviction Russia The population of the occupied city of Kherson, a sign Moscow Prepare to lose it to Ukrainian attacks.