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RIGA, Latvia — The Kremlin went into overdrive Thursday to consolidate control and project a picture of normalcy as questions surfaced over the whereabouts of a top general and Russia’s elite prepared for a full-scale investigation into last weekend’s mercenary uprising.
Among those questioned, according to Russian media and elite figures, was General Sergey Surovikin, commander of the Russian Aerospace Forces, who was on good terms with Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin. He reportedly intervened to settle Prigozhin’s ammunition needs after complaints that his fighters were poorly supplied.
Horrified at how close Prigozhin’s fighters were getting to Moscow and could spark a civil war, some members of Russia’s elite ran to show their loyalty to President Vladimir Putin. But rumors and paranoia mounted as to whether Prigozhin had any support from the upper echelons of the Russian military or security services, and what the investigation into betrayal within the Putin regime might reveal.
A well-connected veteran journalist, Alexei Venediktov, said Surovikin had been to southern Russia and had “not had contact with his family for three days”.
“As I’ve been told, he writes statements and reports,” Venediktov told The Washington Post on Thursday, adding it was not clear if this was part of an official investigation.
His daughter Veronika Surovikina dismissed speculation about his arrest and told Baza, a Telegram channel linked to Russian law enforcement, that he works in his office.
Amid the spate of reports that Surovikin had not been in contact since Saturday, when he recorded a video calling on Prigozhin to end the uprising, his daughter said she had been in contact with him and “nothing happened to him.” .
“When did he appear daily in the media? He never made public statements on a daily basis,” she told Baza. “As far as I know, everything is going as it normally goes. Everyone is at their place of work. All is well.”
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Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov did not comment on the detention of Surovikin and directed all questions about the whereabouts of the general to the Ministry of Defense.
Analysts and members of the elite said the Kremlin needed answers on how the situation had spiraled out of control, especially given that some Russian authorities had prior knowledge of Prigozhin’s plans, as Russian National Guard chief Viktor Solotov pointed out on Tuesday journalists claimed .
“Maybe Putin just didn’t expect that,” said a Moscow businessman who wished to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals.
“So that’s the question: why and who is responsible for this,” said Konstantin Remchukov, editor-in-chief and CEO of Nezavisimaya Gazeta, who was among a group of newspaper editors who met with Putin on Tuesday.
“In any case, there will be questions for everyone in this vertical of military and special services people – who worked with Prigozhin, was confronted with Prigozhin, or cared for Prigozhin, or overlooked what he was doing? Whose reaction was timely and whose reaction was not timely?” Remchukov said in a telephone interview from Moscow.
“And from that standpoint, I suspect Surovikin will be among those who are going to be speaking to those conducting this internal investigation.”
A St. Petersburg company executive said a former employee close to Prigozhin “disappeared at the bottom of the sea” hoping no one would question him. “He tries not to show himself anymore,” said the St. Petersburg manager, who also wanted to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals.
Political adviser linked to the Kremlin Sergei Markov said the investigation into the mutiny was far-reaching.
“Anyone who was close to Prigozhin will be investigated,” Markov said. “I am sure that at least several hundred people are under investigation. The aim is to get information about who was actually involved or not, to find out who was involved in the treason, who took part in any negotiations and should have reported it to the authorities.”
“I’m sure they’re questioning everyone, including Surovikin and all the other generals, officers, and soldiers,” Markov added.
Amid the intense, opaque intrigues in Putin’s court, Zurovikin’s sacking poses a risk for the Russian president, who risks deepening divisions in the military and eroding morale at a crucial point, while a Ukrainian counteroffensive aims to target Russian forces push back.
Surovikin, whom Russia analyst Mark Galeotti describes as “not a nice man” but “a dangerously competent general,” is popular with some hardliners. Russian media have nicknamed him “General Armageddon” for his ruthless actions on the battlefield.
Putin “must be very careful around Surovikn,” said Mikhail Khodorkovsky, once Russia’s richest man, now an opposition figure in exile after being imprisoned by Putin for 10 years. “He must find a formula that proves Surovikin almost innocent, otherwise it would mean exposing that there was a full-scale conspiracy within the army. And the fact that the front line [in Ukraine] could collapse in this situation is certain.”
Political analyst Tatyana Stanovaya of Paris-based policy consultancy R.Politik predicted there would be some arrests, but individuals like Surovikin would be “less likely to be targeted,” although she said his ultimate fate remains unclear.
“I don’t expect a Stalin-style purge; This is not Putin’s approach,” she wrote on Twitter.
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Remchukov said the biggest question is why no one responded to Prigozhin’s increasingly hysterical public criticism of Russia’s military leadership in the weeks leading up to the uprising, which clearly violated strict Russian laws against discrediting the military.
“The very clear feeling was that the uprising could only take place because nobody had done anything in the past four weeks, in which it had openly and loudly violated Russian laws,” the newspaper editor said.
Peskov on Thursday declined to comment on whether there was a need to punish some officers in the wake of the rebellion. And he said he has no information on Prigozhin’s location because of questions about the group’s funding and its future activities in Africa and the Middle East.
The Kremlin has attempted to cement the narrative that Russian society has united around Putin as columns of Wagner fighters marched toward Moscow and shot down helicopters from the sky. However, the question remains as to why the Russian President failed to bring the situation under control in the run-up to the uprising. His refusal to communicate with Prigozhin seems to have been a factor.
Putin has been unusually visible, appearing every day except Sunday since Prigozhin took control of the Southern Military District headquarters in Rostov-on-Don on Saturday and demanded the handover to him of Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of the Russian General Staff Valery Gerasimov.
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After Putin welcomed crowds late Wednesday in Derbent, Dagestan, in southern Russia — what appeared to be a large-scale event meant to counter recent images of crowds cheering Prigozhin on his departure from Rostov — the president appeared at an agency on Thursday for Strategic Initiatives Forum titled “Powerful Ideas for a New Era”.
At the event, Putin tried to get the message across to Russians that life is back to normal and that he is in charge. He did not mention the mutiny.
“A strong, responsible civil society is the basis of our country’s sovereignty,” Putin said, despite the fact that he has been steadily dismantling Russian civil society for years. The Kremlin intensified its crackdown after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, jailing activists, critics, opposition figures and ordinary citizens for years, even if they voiced even the slightest criticism of the war.
Speaking of the need to promote Russian brands on Thursday, Putin dabbled in trivial matters, once discussing the prospects for Russian ice cream sales in the occupied Luhansk region of Ukraine. Elsewhere, he scribbled on an interactive screen, drawing a weird cartoon caricature with a square head, smiley face, and wiry hair.
Admiring a computer gaming station, he sat down in a special gaming chair and said, “Beautiful” and “Comfortable, isn’t it?” It all appeared to be part of an effort to calm anxious Russians, many of whom were affected by the crisis on Saturday and the stunned by the unprecedented sight of Putin momentarily losing control.
Belton reported from London.
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