At home among strangers. Leadership: Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation Surovikin commander-in-chief biography
On November 29, Krasnaya Zvezda officially published a message that Colonel-General Sergei Surovikin, who until recently led a group of Russian forces in Syria, was appointed commander-in-chief of the Aerospace Forces (VKS). The atypical assignment of a combined arms general attracts attention. the site recalled the career history of several senior officers of the Russian army, who changed their specialization just as abruptly.
Biography under the microscope
Sergei Surovikin graduated from the Omsk Combined Arms Command School, commanded motorized rifle units. In particular, the battalion of the Taman division, which Captain Surovikin brought to Moscow in August 1991, turned out to be the hero of the infamous incident in the Chaikovsky tunnel on the Garden Ring. Then, while trying to block the exit of the column of armored vehicles from the tunnel, three defenders of the White House were killed.
They tried to bring Surovikin to justice for that story, but he was fully acquitted, and it is known that Russian President Boris Yeltsin personally stood up for the captain.
In the 1990s, Surovikin served in Tajikistan, as part of the 201st motorized rifle division, where he rose to the position of its chief of staff. In the 2000s, he commanded divisions in Russia (including the 42nd motorized rifle division on the territory of Chechnya), and then the 20th army. In 2008-2010, he held an important post: he headed the Main Operations Directorate of the General Staff... If the General Staff, as noted by Marshal Boris Shaposhnikov, is the brain of the army, then the GOU is the key structure of this brain, responsible for planning military operations and operational command and control of troops.
Then Surovikin served in the leadership of the Central and Eastern Military Districts. Since 2013, he headed the Eastern District, and since May 2017, in parallel, he led the Group of Russian Forces in Syria.
Of course, any general, whoever he is when he graduates from the school, receives a serious course of general command training at the General Staff Academy, getting acquainted with the peculiarities of all branches of the armed forces and branches of the Armed Forces. This allows senior officers, who are growing up to key posts in the General Staff and the Ministry of Defense, to better understand the specifics of their “neighbors” and link them into a single plan.
But one thing is to get acquainted at the academy and on self-training, and quite another is to grow up independently from the Air Force or Air Defense Forces, having learned them from top to bottom.
Let's see if it's okay for a combined-arms general to lead the country's air force, air defense and missile defense? Have there been such precedents in our history and how successful are they?
Who should be
In Soviet times, the corporation of landowners rather firmly held the highest positions in military management. Mainly motorized riflemen, tankmen, less often artillerymen have grown to the top.... At the highest posts, we practically did not meet, say, signalmen or chemists (excluding the command of specialized combat arms).
A notable exception was Marshal Nikolai Ogarkov, who headed the Soviet General Staff from 1977 to 1984. By education, he is a military engineer and spent the first 10 years of service in the engineering troops, only after that moving to operational headquarters positions.
District commanders are usually appointed from the ground. The only exception is Admiral Konstantin Sidenko, who was in charge of the Eastern Military District in 2010-2013. Prior to that, Submariner Sidenko commanded the Pacific Fleet... Such an experiment became possible thanks to a new approach to the military district (joint strategic command), which brought together under its headquarters control of all forces and assets in the reporting territory, including the air force and fleets.
Among the highest commanders of the army, rarely, but nevertheless, there were people who were not quite “specialized” initial education. General of the Army Viktor Samsonov, chief of the Russian General Staff in 1996-1997, graduated as a Marine Corps officer and only after graduating from the Frunze Academy moved to motorized rifle formations. Colonel-General Vladimir Komarov, head of the combat training department of the Ground Forces in 1961-1969, served in the border troops of the OGPU (NKVD) since 1930, and only with the beginning of the Great Patriotic War did he join the army, having received command of an ordinary rifle regiment.
Paratroopers were frequent "guests" in the Ground Forces, but the ground troops also managed to lead the "winged infantry"... The rebellious Colonel General Vladislav Achalov, who headed the Airborne Forces in 1989-1990 and was listed as the Minister of Defense in the alternative government of the Supreme Soviet (September-October 1993), is a tanker, and the first seven years he served in tanks. He was transferred to the Airborne Forces only after the Academy of Armored Forces, and later he was again torn from the landing, returning to the leadership of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany, then to the Leningrad Military District, and only from there was appointed to the post of commander.
Reverse transitions happened more often. The most famous paratrooper Vladimir Shamanov, from the mid-1990s, led the combined-arms groups in the North Caucasus, and after a period of civil political career, returned to service - first in the combat training department of the Ministry of Defense, and then as the commander of the Airborne Forces (2009-2016).
Lieutenant General Valery Asapov, who was killed in Syria in September 2017, is also an Airborne Forces officer, but from the post of chief of staff of the 98th Airborne Division, he went along a different line, reaching the rank of commander of the 5th Combined Arms Army.
Among the paratroopers currently occupying combined-arms command positions, one can mention the Deputy Chief of the General Staff, Colonel-General Sergei Istrakov (the last position in the Airborne Forces was the commander of an airborne assault brigade). Several other Airborne Forces officers serve in high command positions in the Ground Forces, including the chiefs of staff of the Central and Southern Military Districts. (Evgeny Ustinov and Mikhail Teplinsky), as well as the commander of the 8th Army Sergei Kuzovlev.
General Boris Gromov, a motorized rifle officer by training, who commanded the 40th Army in Afghanistan, in 1990-1991 served as First Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of the USSR. At the end of 1991, he returned to the structures of the USSR Ministry of Defense, then to Russia.... Similar was the appointment of Lieutenant General Ivan Yakovlev (self-propelled fighter, then commander in tank forces) to the post of Commander-in-Chief of Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (1968-1986). Yakovlev, in turn, was replaced by another motorized rifleman - General Yuri Shatalin, chief of staff of the Moscow Military District.
Make from scratch
There were two young branches of the armed forces, which, due to the novelty and lack of understanding of the topic, were especially lucky to be “non-core commanders”. These are the Strategic Missile Forces (Strategic Missile Forces) and the Air Defense Forces that are of interest to us, among others.
At first, the Strategic Missile Forces were created by artillery generals: war hero Kirill Moskalenko and Mitrofan Nedelin, who died tragically at Baikonur in the explosion of an R-16 intercontinental missile. However, then came a long period of domination by people who had nothing to do with rocketry, but who managed to master it..
From 1962 to 1992, the Strategic Missile Forces were commanded sequentially: infantrymen Sergei Biryuzov and Nikolai Krylov, tanker Vladimir Tolubko and infantryman (originally a machine gunner and commander of a machine-gun company) Yuri Maksimov.
And if Tolubko in 1960-1968 was part of the leadership of the Strategic Missile Forces and, in fact, directly created them from scratch (although after that he was sent to command troops in the Far East for four years), then Biryuzov, Krylov and Maksimov to strategic missile technology before their appointment had nothing to do.
Maksimov, by the way, before moving to the Strategic Missile Forces, managed to be a military adviser in Yemen and Algeria, as well as to command the Turkestan military district at a crucial moment when Soviet troops entered Afghanistan. Only in 1992, the Strategic Missile Forces received the first commander raised inside the corporation of missilemen - the future Marshal and Defense Minister Igor Sergeev.
The Air Defense Forces were also pretty lucky in the commanders from the outside. Firstly, the above-mentioned Biryuzov managed to lead them. In 1966-1978, the Air Defense Forces were headed by Pavel Batitsky, a cavalryman who ended the war as commander of a rifle corps and from 1948 transferred to the leadership of air defense groups.
Batitsky is better known as the person who personally shot Lavrenty Beria in 1953, but his contribution to the formation and strengthening of Soviet air defense - the main instrument of deterring US strategic aviation - cannot be overemphasized.
After eight years - when one of the best Soviet aces of the war, Marshal Alexander Koldunov, was at the head of the air defense, a scandal broke out with the landing of a light-engine plane Matthias Rust on Red Square... Koldunov as commander-in-chief of the air defense was replaced by Ivan Tretyak, another combined-arms commander in charge of the Far Eastern Military District.
Until that moment, Tretyak had only the most indirect relation to the air defense: it was he, being the commander-in-chief of the troops in the Far East, who on September 1, 1983 gave the order to shoot down an aircraft that had invaded Soviet airspace and which later turned out to be a Boeing 747 passenger airliner of Korean Air. By the way, Tretyak, with his analytical mind and service thoroughness, left a favorable impression and good memory of himself in the air defense.
So the appointment of Surovikin, if you look at the established traditions of the troops (recall that the country's air defense forces and means are now part of the Aerospace Forces), does not seem at all strange. On the contrary, there is a kind of preservation of traditions.
Russia may change the commander of its troops in Syria, the government of Bashar al-Assad and the Turkish authorities are increasingly discussing the situation in Afrin (controlled by the Kurds), and in Damascus, the Russian center for the reconciliation of the warring parties has been fired upon. The situation in Syria as of Tuesday looks less and less like the end of the "hot phase" of the conflict, which was discussed at the end of 2017 after the victory over IS. Meanwhile, the Russian Foreign Ministry confirmed information about the deaths and injuries of mercenaries from Russia and the CIS countries on the night of February 7-8 - dozens of people are involved. According to the Pentagon, there were 257 people who attacked the gas processing plant (because of it the battle took place), however, not all of them were from Russia and the CIS.
New old appointment
The fact that the Commander-in-Chief of the Aerospace Forces (VKS), Colonel-General Sergei Surovikin, may be sent to Syria to command a grouping of the armed forces of the Russian Federation, on Tuesday, citing its own sources, reported RIA Novosti. Kommersant's interlocutors close to the General Staff of the RF Armed Forces also called this decision “highly likely”, specifying that the business trip, if a decision is made, could take place no earlier than March. In this case, the current commander of the group, General Alexander Zhuravlev, will return to his duties as commander of the Eastern Military District. The Ministry of Defense does not officially comment on this information.
Colonel General Zhuravlev has been in Syria since the start of Russia's military operation in September 2015. He served as chief of staff of the group (it was then headed by General Alexander Dvornikov; for the first stage of the operation, both received Hero of Russia stars). From July to December 2016, he commanded the Russian armed forces in Syria independently. During this time, the Russian Aerospace Forces took an active part in the offensive on Aleppo, but Palmyra was again occupied by the militants of the "Islamic State" (the organization is banned in the Russian Federation). He returned to Syria in December 2017 by accident: initially, the leadership of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces planned to send the commander of the Airborne Forces Andrei Serdyukov to the republic, but shortly before the trip he was involved in an accident, having received serious injuries. General Zhuravlev was again entrusted with the task of reducing the grouping and completing the active phase of the operation.
The difficulties began almost immediately. On the night of January 1, radical Islamists fired mortars at the Khmeimim airbase. Two servicemen were killed and several aircraft were seriously damaged. According to Kommersant's information, the tragic consequences could have been avoided if the “security perimeter” had been cleared around the facility. But due to the New Year holidays, fewer people were on duty at the airbase. Conclusions were drawn from the incident, and a repeated attack by the Islamists, which happened on the night of January 6, but with the use of a UAV, was repelled. On February 3, in the province of Idlib, a Su-25SM attack aircraft was shot down from MANPADS, the pilot of which was assigned by the command of the group to patrol the territory. Prior to that, only one aircraft was destroyed in the air - the Su-24M, which was shot down by the Turkish Air Force in 2015. All this was overlaid with communication difficulties. Many allied Syrian units refused to report their plans and movements to the Russian command, which often led to disorganization.
Against this background, the Syrian experience of General Surovikin looks more solid. The Ministry of Defense emphasized that it was under his command that it was possible to reach a turning point in the fight against the "Islamic State" and liberate, according to official data from the Ministry of Defense, over 98% of the territory of Syria captured by ISIS militants. However, a number of territories, which are clearly more than 2%, were cleared of IS by the US-led coalition troops and Kurdish units.
The story of the unblocking of a military police platoon surrounded by terrorists in September 2017 came out loud, when the general sent a group to rescue 28 Russian servicemen without approval. Often, traveling to the positions of the Syrian government forces, he helped local commanders in planning operations. This, according to Kommersant's information, was also assessed by the President of Syria, Bashar al-Assad.
The very same title "Hero of Russia" he received following the results of a nine-month Syrian business trip (he stayed there longer than all other commanders of the Russian Armed Forces group). And the general himself, according to his friends, wanted to return to Syria: this activity attracted him much more office work. During Sergei Surovikin's absence, his deputy will act as commander-in-chief of the Russian Aerospace Forces.
Inconsistent battles
Under General Zhuravlev, another incident occurred in Syria. We are talking about a clash on the night of February 8 near the point of Hisham on the eastern bank of the Euphrates, when Kurdish and American forces entered into battle with a detachment, which included citizens of Russia and the CIS countries, who tried to occupy a Kurdish-controlled hydrocarbon processing plant. The military is solely responsible for the actions of the military personnel, but not the volunteers (from the so-called PMC Wagner). However, on Tuesday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation officially confirmed the injuries of dozens of citizens of the Russian Federation and the CIS during the recent battle, specifying that the department cannot “assess the legitimacy and legality of such them (participants in the clash from the Russian side. "B") solutions ". At the same time, as the diplomats assured, all of them were provided with assistance upon their return to Russia, where the wounded are being treated "in various medical institutions."
The number of wounded participants in the battle near Hisham, taken to medical institutions on the territory of Russia, may exceed a hundred, an acquaintance of one of the Wagner PMC fighters, who visited him in a Moscow hospital, told Kommersant. This conclusion he made on the basis of the number of his friend in the list of the wounded. At the same time, according to him, it was initially decided to leave some of the wounded in Syria. The Russian Foreign Ministry did not name the exact number of wounded, specifying that they were talking about "tens". Earlier, the interlocutor of Kommersant, who visited the Moscow hospital, said that he personally saw only two people brought after the battle in the vicinity of Deir ez-Zor, but they talked about the delivery of 30 wounded to Russia by “special board from the Khmeimim airbase”.
A former employee of PMC Wagner, as well as a former colleague of several killed near Hisham, confirmed to Kommersant: the wounded in Syria - Russians, as well as citizens of Ukraine (primarily from Donbass) and other CIS countries - are being treated in hospitals in Moscow, the Moscow region, St. Petersburg and Rostov. According to Kommersant's sources, according to contracts with firms representing PMCs, victims of American artillery and aviation strikes can count on compensation in the amount of 700 thousand rubles, and the families of the victims - on compensation from 3 million to 5 million rubles.
The total number of Russian-speaking fighters of the detachment that took part in the attack on the positions of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, according to Kommersant's interlocutors, exceeded 500 people. True, the Pentagon, which is conducting its investigation of the incident, claims that on February 7, 257 armed fighters crossed the Euphrates, attacking the positions of the Kurdish formations. By return fire (F-15E fighters, B-52 bombers, MQ-9 strike drones, AC-130 flying batteries, and AH-64 Apache helicopters) "more than a hundred" were killed. The Pentagon has so far refused to speculate about the possible belonging of these forces to Russia or the Syrian army, citing the ongoing investigation. The Ministry of Defense, in turn, claims that the forces attacking the plant (in the department they call them "militias") did not coordinate their actions with the command of the Russian group of forces in Syria.
Damascus Steel vs. Olive Branch
Meanwhile, in northwestern Syria, controlled by the Kurds, the main troublemaker was one of the official guarantors of the Syrian peace, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. On Tuesday, President Erdogan, who is not coordinating with Damascus, the military operation Olive Branch against the Kurds, announced his intention to speed up an offensive against the city of Afrin, controlled by the Kurdish People's Self-Defense Forces and the Democratic Union party. “All our steps are very important from a security point of view. In the coming days, the center of Afrin will be surrounded by us, ”promised Erdogan during his speech in Ankara, which was broadcast by the Turkish A Haber TV channel.
The Turkish leader's remark comes after Operation Olive Branch faced unexpected opposition from the Syrian authorities for the first time since its start on 20 January. On Monday, Damascus announced its determination "in the next few hours" to take control of the Kurdish-controlled positions in the Afrin region and a number of areas bordering Turkey, where Kurds live. The primary source of information was the statement of the official Syrian agency SANA, which was carried out in a very harsh tone in relation to Ankara. “The Syrian People's Forces will enter Afrin in the next few hours to support the resilience of the people in resisting Turkish aggression,” Sana reported. Thus, Damascus has shown its readiness not to be content with the role of a statistician overseeing Operation Olive Branch, and has indicated its intention to put up a barrier to further Turkish advance inland.
On Tuesday evening, the media reported on the entry into the Afrin area of \u200b\u200bparamilitaries supporting the Syrian government forces. Kurdish forces have confirmed the arrival of pro-government militias. At the same time, it was reported that the Turkish military fired at the area through which the Syrian formations were moving. Recep Tayyip Erdogan confirmed that the Syrian pro-government forces tried to enter the Afrin area, but said they "retreated after the shelling." Official Damascus did not comment on the operation on Tuesday evening.
The leaks that appeared about the possibility of the Kurds passing under the "Damascus umbrella", apparently, caused a nervous reaction in Ankara. “If the Syrian regime takes this path, it will not remain without consequences for it,” President Erdogan warned on Monday, although he did not specify how far Ankara would be ready to go in confrontation with Damascus.
In turn, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu outlined the conditions under which the confrontation between Ankara and Damascus could be avoided. According to him, the Turkish side will not object to Syrian government forces occupying Afrin to fight terrorists. However, if the main motive of Damascus is the protection of the Kurds, "then no one can stop the Turkish troops," Mevlut Cavusoglu warned.
The situation in northwestern Syria has put Moscow in a difficult position, which is seeking to prevent an escalation of the conflict and to achieve a compromise between Ankara and Damascus on the Kurdish issue.
On Monday, President Erdogan discussed the Afrin situation with his Russian counterpart by telephone. As the press secretary of Vladimir Putin, Dmitry Peskov, said, the Afrin topic was also discussed during the meeting of the Russian Security Council held on Tuesday. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov outlined the Russian position in more detail. According to the minister, "Turkey's legitimate security interests can be fully realized and satisfied through direct dialogue" with the Syrian government. “We firmly advocate that any problems be resolved with respect for the territorial integrity of the respective state, in this case Syria,” added Sergey Lavrov.
In parallel, another event took place that called into question the agreements on the end of the active phase of hostilities in Syria and the creation of de-escalation zones, reached in November last year in Sochi by the leaders of Russia, Turkey and Iran. The tragedy in the East Ghouta de-escalation zone on Monday night led to a sharp destabilization, as a result of which only dozens of people were killed and hundreds were injured. This incident became the largest after reaching agreements between Russia, Turkey and Iran and attempts to resume the peace process in Geneva and Sochi. The opposition reports massive bombing by the Syrian army of the suburbs of Damascus, while the Russian Center for the Reconciliation of the Warring Parties announced an increase in provocations by militants shelling residential areas of the capital.
Maxim Solopov, Sergey Strokan, Ivan Synergiev, Alexandra Djordzhevich
The Ministry of Defense has selected the main contenders for the post of Commander-in-Chief of the Aerospace Forces (VKS). The candidacies of two military leaders are being considered: Deputy Chief of the General Staff, Chairman of the Scientific and Technical Council of the Ministry of Defense, Lieutenant General Igor Makushev, and Commander of the Space Forces, Colonel General Alexander Golovko. It is noteworthy that initially Colonel-General Sergei Surovikin was expected for this post. His appointment could become a sensation, since Surovikin is a combined-arms commander.
As Izvestia was told in the Ministry of Defense, the final choice between Alexander Golovko and Igor Makushev will be made in the very near future, since the current commander-in-chief of the Aerospace Forces, Colonel-General Viktor Bondarev, will go to work in the Federation Council by the end of September. Both candidates are distinguished military leaders and have extensive leadership experience.
Lieutenant General Igor Makushev was born on August 6, 1964 in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. In 1985 he graduated from the Chernigov Higher Military Aviation School of Pilots, and in 2006 - from the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces.
He has a reputation as an accomplished fighter pilot and combat commander. Makushev has gone through all the steps of the career ladder - from pilot to deputy commander of the air army. He has the qualification category "sniper pilot" and has flown over 3 thousand hours. As deputy commander of the 16th Air Army, he took part in the operation to force Georgia to peace in August 2008. Igor Makushev became known to the general public when in the summer of 2014 he presented at briefings the position of the Russian military department in connection with the death of the Malaysian Boeing 777.
In his current position, General Makushev solves the tasks of scientifically substantiating the promising areas of construction, development, training, use and support of the Armed Forces.
Unlike Makushev, the second candidate came out not from the flight crew, but from the space forces. Colonel General Alexander Golovko was born on January 29, 1964 in Dnepropetrovsk. Graduated from the Kharkov Higher Military Command and Engineering School of the Missile Forces (1986), the Military Academy named after V.I. F.E. Dzerzhinsky (1996), Military Academy of the General Staff (2003).
From 1986 to 2001 he served in various command and engineering positions in the military units of the Main Testing Center for Testing and Control of Space Means. G.S. Titova (GITSU KS). In 2007 he headed the GITSU KS, and in 2011 he became the head of the Plesetsk cosmodrome. In December 2012, Golovko was appointed commander of the Aerospace Defense Forces.
According to Izvestia, until recently, Colonel-General Sergei Surovikin, the commander of the Eastern Military District (VVO), was considered the main contender. True, according to some information, he himself resigned from this position. Indeed, even the very fact of considering the candidacy of a "land" general became a kind of sensation in military circles.
Sergei Surovikin graduated from the Omsk Higher Combined Arms Command School in 1987, and later - from the Academy. M.V. Frunze and the Military Academy of the General Staff. Passed all stages of an officer's career. In the 1990s, he served in Tajikistan in the 201st motorized rifle division, and in the 2000s, commanded the 42nd Guards Division in Chechnya. In 2012, he headed the working group of the RF Ministry of Defense on the creation of a military police. In October 2013, Surovikin was appointed Commander of the Troops of the Eastern Military District.
The reason for the nomination of Surovikin for the post of commander-in-chief of the Aerospace Forces was the fact that he commanded a group of forces in Syria, where he was able to effectively integrate ground forces, aviation, air defense systems and a space group into a single system.
The fact that the commander-in-chief of the Air Force, Colonel-General Viktor Bondarev will be delegated to the Federation Council from the Kirov region, became known in July this year. Bondarev has held the post of Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force since May 6, 2012. Colonel-General was appointed commander-in-chief of the Aerospace Forces on August 1, 2015. It was under him that the Air Force turned into a VKS due to the integration of the Aerospace Defense Forces into them.
The commander-in-chief of the Aerospace Forces, Colonel-General Sergei Surovikin surprised observers with dark spots of his biography.
The biography of Colonel-General Sergei Surovikin contains facts that are incompatible with the post of Commander-in-Chief of the Military Space Forces (VKS). It is possible that he was given the position for commanding a group of forces in Syria since 2015.
"It was under the command of Colonel General Sergei Surovikin that the Russian group of forces in Syria, in cooperation with the Syrian armed forces, achieved maximum success in the fight against international terrorism, almost destroying its stronghold in this Arab republic," wrote the Krasnaya Zvezda newspaper. Noting the appointment to the post of Commander-in-Chief of the Aerospace Forces as a military, and not a cabinet general, many at the same time wondered how a general who did not have flight education got to this position. And some even questioned Surovikin's merits in Syria.
"To the achievements of this" fired soldier "can be added the most sensitive losses of Russia in Syria, for the entire existence of the group. The death of General Asapov and several colonels, the greatest losses of the PMC ... Surovikin was unable to organize a crossing of the Euphrates River in Deir Ez-Zor , and block the Kurds. Therefore, his merit is that the Kurds got the largest oil fields, and 75% of all Syrian oil. Surovikin is clearly not the one who successfully led the group in Syria "- this is what one of the readers wrote in a comment to the article about appointment of Surovikin.
Other dark spots in the general's biography have surfaced as well. Yes, such that inevitably one wonders whether Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu made a terrible mistake by writing a submission to Surovikin. Or did the concept of officer honor cease to exist in the Russian army under Shoigu? Not only that, in the military department they constantly steal, as the media have repeatedly written about. So also such a general is appointed to responsible positions, who, apparently, has no place in the army for a long time. And you are amazed at how he still serves in it, having unseemly "deeds" behind his back. Anyone else in his place, having soiled the honor of his uniform, could have shot himself.
"Combat path" by Surovikin
In 1991, during the August putsch, the armored personnel carrier of the then captain Surovikin, the battalion commander of the Taman division, crushed three picketers, who later became the last Heroes of the Soviet Union. Thus, Captain Surovikin complied with the order to "restore constitutional order" given by the leaders of the State Emergency Committee. Since then, have Surovikin not dreamed of bloody boys?
Apparently not, because after serving 7 months in "Matrosskaya Tishina", Sergei Surovikin went on to serve. And in 1995 he almost went to jail again. Major Surovikin, a student of the Frunze Military Academy, was accused of illegal arms trade. For which he received a 1 year suspended sentence. Surovikin was detained while trying to hand over a pistol. The major, of course, said that he was framed and that he had no idea about the true purpose of the transfer of weapons. Some kind of baby talk for a whole major.
This story surfaced only in 2011, when Sergei Surovikin was creating a military police and was preparing to head it. A letter was sent to the then Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov by Chief Military Prosecutor Sergei Fridinsky.
The prosecutor pointed out in it that in accordance with Article 20 of the draft federal law "On the Military Police of the Armed Forces" there is a ban on serving in the military police of citizens with or have had a criminal record. That is, even with a cleared conviction, Surovikin, according to the law, had no right to occupy this position.
Naturally, Surovikin called this letter an attempt to tarnish his honor and dignity. And after many years he went to court, which removed his criminal record. However, Sergei Surovikin was not appointed to the post of chief military policeman.
Officer Surovikin apparently knew firsthand about honor and dignity. He crushed people, got a criminal record, and in the same place - to talk about honor. Moreover, by this time in his biography there were other cases that clearly demonstrate Surovikin's concepts of officer honor. Lieutenant Colonel Viktor Tsibizov turned to the military prosecutor's office with a complaint that he was beaten by the division chief, Major General Sergei Surovikin. According to Tsibizov, this was due to the fact that he did not want to vote for the candidate whom Surovikin unofficially supported.
The scene of the beating probably resembled the scene that can be observed in the barracks, when senior soldiers abuse the young. This is called "bullying." Tsibizov said that Surovikin, his adjutant and deputy for educational work beat him in the chest and pushed him. Would Surovikin behave like that one on one? Or I would be afraid to get change. And three for one is like a man. What honor can these officers speak of?
Sergei Surovikin reacted in his usual style. He didn’t hit anyone and knows nothing about the incident. And he promised ... to dismiss the colonel for alleged absence from work for a month. Tsibizov worked at the election headquarters at that time. In general, Surovikin reacted to the incident with dignity and honor.
Viktor Tsibizov took the statement from the prosecutor's office. Apparently, Sergei Surovikin put pressure on him, threatening with dismissal and refusal to provide the lieutenant colonel with an apartment. He frankly took advantage of his official position. A month later, a new incident occurred. In front of his colleagues, Lieutenant Colonel Andrei Shtakal committed suicide after Sergei Surovikin was harassed. Sergei Surovikin, apparently, was not shy in expressions and the conversation was, to put it mildly, in a raised voice. Perhaps, Surovikin's winged the colonel with a three-story obscenity, as some narrow-minded military commanders like to do. They do not have enough vocabulary when talking with a subordinate. There are no duels in the modern army, so the oruns feel their impunity. Shtakal drew his pistol and shot himself in the temple. It was not possible to save the lieutenant colonel, whom his colleagues called a decent and good person.
Sergei Surovikin did not incur any punishment. Is he to blame for the lieutenant colonel's excessive emotionality? But the charter of the internal service clearly defines how the commander and subordinate should communicate in the army. And there is no raised tone in the charter. However, like the mat, jerks and blows to the chest.
These two cases clearly characterize Sergei Surovikin. There is a type of people who revel in their power over others. And the more it is received, the more they believe in their impunity. And the rest for them is dirt under their feet.
Fighting girlfriend
Oddly enough, but his wife Anna attracted attention to the personality of Sergei Surovikin. They say that at one time she promoted him before a possible appointment to the post of chief of the military police. Then, perhaps, she used newspapers, and now - telegram channels. Surovikin's wife is what you need - a business woman and a real fighting friend. Why doesn't she pay the pearls of praise to her husband? He probably doesn't push her in the chest and doesn't yell at her.
Anna Surovikina runs a business together with Anastasia Misharina, daughter of the ex-governor of the Sverdlovsk region Alexander Misharin. They own the Argus group of companies. At one time it was instead of 80 million rubles. paid for electricity only 6 million rubles. "Argus-les" was also allocated 300 million rubles. from the city budget for the construction of a thermal power station, which was supposed to work on its waste. In general, apparently, the Surovikins and Misharins did a great job.
What interests could the Chief of Staff of the Central Military District Sergei Surovikin and then Governor Alexander Misharin have? Probably free labor. It's no secret that soldiers of military units are often used to carry out various kinds of work. This is of course prohibited. But out of friendship, the chief can always give the appropriate order to his subordinate commanders. Evil tongues could suspect Surovikin of organizing drug trafficking to Yekaterinburg. At one time, Surovikin served as chief of staff of the 201st motorized rifle division, which was supposed to stop drug trafficking from Afghanistan to Russia and Europe. But why would Surovikin and Mesharin be involved in the supply of drugs to the Sverdlovsk region? There are enough of them in it.
Scandal with paratroopers
In 2015, Sergei Surovikin almost got into an international scandal. The Ministry of Defense, apparently, wanted to secretly transfer a group of paratroopers to Syria. And they refused and complained to the Human Rights Council under the President of Russia (HRC). The servicemen were to be transferred from the Eastern Military District to Novorossiysk, and from there to Syria. According to the paratroopers, they collected documents for the production of passports. The local military prosecutor's office refused to accept the application of the servicemen who came to it the day before departure. I had to contact the HRC.
After that, the Ministry of Defense immediately announced that all servicemen are in their places and their movement is carried out only within the district. The scandal even had to be commented on by the presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov, who said that he did not know anything about the movements of the contractors. Who could have been in charge of this covert operation, if it did exist? Only Sergei Surovikin, who worked on two fronts: the district and the group in Syria. The previous Commander-in-Chief of the Aerospace Forces Viktor Bondarev is now a member of the Federation Council from the Kirov region. Apparently, he was not forgiven for falling missiles all the time. And who was appointed to replace him? Does a scandalous general have the right to occupy such a position?
Under the current leadership of the Ministry of Defense, apparently, yes. Sergei Shoigu is probably not very familiar with the moral and ethical standards adopted in society. And according to them, such a person as Sergei Surovikin should not only be appointed to the post of Commander-in-Chief, but should be driven out of the army. Because all his scandals are an example of what an officer of the Russian army should not be. Moreover, a general and a major military leader.
Surovikin Sergey Vladimirovich - Commander-in-Chief of the Aerospace Forces, Commander of the group of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in the Syrian Arab Republic, Colonel General.
In the army since 1983. In 1987 he graduated with a gold medal from the Omsk Higher Combined Arms Command School named after M.V. Frunze, in 1995 - with honors from the M.V. Frunze Military Academy, and in 2002 - with honors from the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.
Since 1987, as part of a limited contingent of Soviet troops, he took part in hostilities in the Republic of Afghanistan. Then he served as a platoon, company and battalion commander in the 2nd Guards (Taman) Motorized Rifle Division of the Moscow Military District. In 1989, he distinguished himself in the exercises, driving off an infantry fighting vehicle, blazing with fire and equipped with a combat kit, from a group of servicemen.
Since 1995, he served in the Republic of Tajikistan as commander of a motorized rifle battalion, then chief of staff of the 92nd motorized rifle regiment, chief of staff and commander of the 149th motorized rifle regiment, and since 1999 - chief of staff - deputy commander of the 201st motorized rifle division. Since June 2002 - Commander of the 34th Motorized Rifle Division of the Volga-Ural Military District, and since June 2004 - Commander of the 42nd Motorized Rifle Division of the North Caucasus Military District.
Since 2005 - Deputy Commander, since 2006 - Chief of Staff - First Deputy Commander, and since April 2008 - Commander of the 20th Combined Arms Army. Since November 2008 - Chief of the Main Operations Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.
Since January 2010 - Chief of Staff - First Deputy Commander of the Volga-Ural Military District, since July 2010 - Temporary Acting Chief of Staff - First Deputy Commander of the Central Military District, and since December 2010 - Chief of Staff - First Deputy Commander of the Troops Central Military District.
Since April 2012, he served in the Central Office of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation. He led the working group on the creation of military police bodies in the structure of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation.
Since October 2012 - Chief of Staff - First Deputy Commander of the Troops, and since October 2013 - Commander of the Eastern Military District. Since October 2017 - Commander-in-Chief of the Aerospace Forces.
From March to December 2017 - Commander of the group of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in the Syrian Arab Republic. Coordinated the forces and assets of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation during the Russian military operation in Syria against the international terrorist organization "Islamic State". It was he who managed to turn the tide of the war in Syria and organize the defeat of the military formations of terrorists.
By the decree of the President of the Russian Federation of December 8, 2017 for courage and heroism shown in the performance of military duty, to the Colonel General Surovikin Sergey Vladimirovich awarded the title of Hero of the Russian Federation with the presentation of a special distinction - the Gold Star medal.
Military ranks:
major general (10.12.2002);
Lieutenant General (12/15/2010);
Colonel General (12.12.2013).He was awarded the Order of St. George, 4th degree (2018), 3 Orders of Courage (2.09.1997, 2.08.2006, 2008), the Order of Military Merit (14.10.1998), medals, including the medal of the Order of Service to Fatherland "1st degree with swords (3.10.2005) and 2nd degree with swords (1.03.1997).
