In a photo posted on social media by a news outlet run by a Russian Federation newsmedia figure, Ksenia Sobchak, the now former Commander-in-Chief of Vozdushno-kosmicheskiye sily (the Russian Aerospace Forces), General of the Army Sergei Surovikin, is seen in civilian clothes to include a cap set rather pell-mell on his head, blue jeans, and a button-down shirt. Absent was his usually clean-shaven face. He is apparently walking outdoors in front of a wall covered in ivy. Surovikin is wearing sunglasses of a size that could easily conceal a good portion of ones face as much as protect from the sun. He is walking arm and arm with his wife, Anna Surovikin, who is to his left. In its August 15. 2023 post, greatcharlie entreated for Surovikin’s release and promised to apologetically retract harsh statements it made concerning the Russian Federation government once his release was reported. It is doubtful anyone in the Kremlin was even aware of greatcharlie’s blog post.  Nonetheless, the promise made has been kept.

In early September 2023, stories emerged in the Western newsmedia with new information on the whereabouts of the Commander-in-Chief of Vozdushno-kosmicheskiye sily (the Russian Aerospace Forces) and Deputy Commander of the Joint Group of Forces in the Special Military Operation zone in Ukraine, General of the Army Sergei Surovikin. Surovikin, 56, had been pulled away from his post and detained by the Russian Federation security services as ChVK Vagnera, popularly known as Gruppa Vagnera (the Wagner Group) began its rebellion on June 23, 2023 and had only been seen publicly in a video urging Wagner Group troops to halt their ill-considered effort to capture the Ministerstva oborony Rossiyskoy Federatsii (Ministry of Defense Russian Federation hereinafter referred to as the Russian Federation Defense Ministry which was broadcasted on June 23, 2023. The charges under which Surovikin had been detained were never made completely clear. There was some gossip that Surovikin was held because–much as nearly everyone in the Russian Federation involved with managing the country’s military effort in Ukraine, as well as nearly foreign and national security policy officials in perhaps every national capital with an interest in Ukraine–he had some foreknowledge that the Wagner Group was preparing to act. It was rumored that Surovikin was initially held at the Lefortovo Pre-trial Detention Center. Based on information from various sources, the newspaper of record in the US, the New York Times, reported on September 4, 2023, that Surovikin had been released from detention by the Russian Federation security services.

US officials informed the New York Times, on the basis of anonymity, it did appear that Surovikin had been released from formal detention, but it remained unclear if there were any remaining restrictions on his movement or other limits imposed by Russian Federation authorities. At a briefing by the Spokesman for Office of the Russian Federation President, Dmitri Peskov, reporters were told that it was not possible to comment on whether Surovikin was still under investigation. An individual allegedly close to the Russian Federation Defense Ministry, yet not an official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, stated Surovikin was released in the days after the owner of the Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin was killed along with nine others from his organization in an August 23, 2023 jet crash north of Moscow. That source explained, Surovikin still retains his rank and technically remains an officer in the military, but he no longer has any career prospects. The Russian Federation state-run news agency, RIA Novosti, reported last month that General Surovikin had been formally removed as head of Russian Aerospace Forces.

In a photo posted on social media by a news outlet run by a Russian Federation newsmedia figure, Ksenia Sobchak, Surovikin is seen in civilian clothes, a cap set rather pell-mell on his head, blue jeans, and a button-down shirt. Absent was his usually clean-shaven face. He is apparently walking outdoors in front of a wall covered in ivy. Surovikin is wearing sunglasses of a size that could easily conceal a good portion of ones face as much as protect from the sun. He is walking arm and arm with his wife, Anna Surovikin, who is to his left. The image may be a still photo or clip from a video. In either event, it provides no evidence that Surovikin was walking with even the slightest limping sway. The location of where the photo was taken was not indicated or made immediately clear from the background. It is not known how Sobchak came upon this photo of Surovikin. Posted on the Telegram channel associated with Sobchak was the message: “General Sergei Surovikin is out: alive, healthy, at home with his family in Moscow.” Aleksei Venediktov, who headed the liberal Ekho Moskvy (“Echo of Moscow”) radio station, shuttered by the Russian Federation government in 2022, wrote that Surovikin was at home with his family. Venediktov posted on his Telegram channel that “He [Surovikin] is on leave and at the disposal of the Ministry of Defense.”

In Sonnet 29 (1609), William Shakespeare presents an individual in a circumstance seemingly apposite to that of Surovikin since June 2023. The Bard writes in the sonnet’s first stannza: “When, in disgrace with fortune and men’s eyes, / I all alone beweep my outcast state, / And trouble deaf heaven with my bootless cries, / And look upon myself and curse my fate.” Yet, it was greatcharlie’s intention not to leave Surovikin “all alone” in an “outcast state.” In its August 15, 2023 post entitled, “The Plight of Surovikin and Other Russian Generals Reveals More of What Is Wrong with the Russian Federation Government”, greatcharlie discussed the matter of Surovikin’s detention, its view thst his detention was wrongful, insisted that the Russian Federation government provide more humane treatment to him while in detention, which he was unlikely receiving given what was evinced by the image of him in the video it released on June 23, 2023, and entreatied for his immediate release. It was made clear by greatcharlie that it did not believe Surovikin was an innocent lamb being led to potential slaughter. Violent antecedents are attached to his name. Yet, as greatcharlie expressed in that post and still believes now, human rights are available equitably to all humans, even Russian Federation generals.

Surovikin (above) apparently under duress, delivers a video message to Wagner Group troops during their rebellion to halt tbeirtheir action to avoid further bloodshed. As described in greatcharlie’s August 15, 2023 post, Surovikin is in a relatively unkempt state–for the first time seen unshaven publicly and in an unpressed uniform sans insignia. It was rumored that at that juncture, Surovikin was initially held at the Lefortovo Pre-trial Detention Center. In its August 15, 2023 post, greatcharlie discussed the matter of Surovikin’s detention, its view thst his detention was wrongful, insisted that the Russian Federation government provide more humane treatment to him while in detention, which he was unlikely receiving given what was evinced by the image of him in the video.

Erudio Procul Imperium. (I educate the empire from afar.) There was no delusion on the part of greatcharlie that caused it to believe it had any standing whatsoever to demand anything from the Russian Federation government. Surely, greatcharlie was not expecting miracles when it composed its August 15, 2023 post. It would be difficult for it to believe anyone in the Russian Federation government would care a jot about the admittedly harsh and angry statements it published concerning the detention of Surovikin scribbled by a small foreign and national security policy blog, hardly on the radar of too many. (In self-defense to its own harsh self-critique, greatcharlie paraphrases the US Senator and statesman Daniel Webster (1782-1852) concerning Dartmouth College (1818): “It is a small blog, and yet there are those who love it.)

Further, in its August 15, 2023 post, greatcharlie extended a pledge that “if Surovikin were to be immediately released near the time of this writing, error upon it would be proved to some considerable degree, certainly greatcharlie, with some trepidation, will publish a more than apologetic retraction of it all once news of Surovikin’s release is reported.” Having made the pledge to provide an apologetic retraction of its statements with the release of Surovikin, it feels obligated to respond as promised upon the advent of that action. A posse ad esse (From possibility to reality.) 

Surely, greatcharlie could have made the choice to simply walk away from the matter. However, at that point, Russian Federation government officials, and likely some unfriendly ones in the US,–they know who they are, could point to how illegitimate the blog was, having made promises to retract its statement upon news of Surovikin’s release but seeing nothing of the kind happened. True, that should not really matter to greatcharlie, but with regard to its regular readers and especially  students, maintaining enough validity, reliability, and legitimacy, to ensure its past, present, and future meditations on the decisions and actions of national governments as well as international and regional organizations will be given some standing and retain credibility, is important.

If Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin, in greatcharlie’s wildest imaginings, had given a scintilla of attention to what was posted on the blog regarding the matter of Surovikin’s detention, then one could say at first blush that he displayed an inordinate degree of patience and tolerance shown given suggestions of his Hollywood Mafia-style approach to “stones in his shoe.” Yet, with all humor aside, one might imagine greatcharlie’s August 15, 2023 post would have been judged by Putin as one more expression of outright arrogance and impudence from a Western source, a US source at that. The pledge extended to provide an apologetic retraction of comments on the blog about the “qualities” of the Russian Federation government if Moscow were to do one thing or another concerning Surovikin was simply empty chatter.

Je le sens pas. Assuredly, greatcharlie stands fully prepared to provide its promised apologetic retraction. Still, it finds taking that step through merely considering certain aspects surrounding news of Surovikin’s release, itself. As it has expressed ad nauseum in previous posts, circumstances are almost never what they seem in the Russian Federation especially when they concerning the high realms of politics and the Russian Federation security services. This is hard lesson learned even by those most experienced with the Russian Federation government’s ways of doing things.

Readers might cast their minds back to statements made by Putin in his June 25, 2023 address made in the aftermath of the Wagner Group Rebellion on the fate of mutineers and his “pledge” to them. Putin explained that those Wagner Group troops who had participated in the rebellion were free to go to Belarus. He also confirmed that those who wished to continue in the fighting in Ukraine could sign contracts with the Russian Federation Defense Ministry. However, Putin then mentioned a step that was an odd twist beyond simply signing contracts with the Defense Ministry. He invited the former Wagner Group “mutineers” to sign contracts with law enforcement or the security services. Putin stated: “I express my gratitude to those Wagner Group soldiers and commanders who had taken the right decision, the only one possible–they chose not to engage in fratricidal bloodshed and stopped before reaching the point of no return.” He then said: “Today, you have the opportunity to continue your service to Russia by signing a contract with the Defence Ministry or other law enforcement or security agency or return home.” This was a big promise by Putin. It seemed almost too big. It was a rather gracious opening of doors of the Russian Federation government’s defense and security services to rebels who he initially created the impression in his address of being associated with a conspiratorial and reckless leadership. Unexpectedly, Putin added to all he said on matter the statement, “I will keep my promise.” Imaginably, that was presumed. Perhaps it should not have been. One would only need to consider the fate of the leadership of the Wagner Group to include its owner Prigozhin and top commanders as Dmitry Utkin, that the pledge concerning the well-being of the organization’s members was not clear. Using their experience as a measure, one might presume the fate of Surovikin is not very clear cut either.

Surovikin (seated left), the Ministr Oborony Rossijskoj Federacii (Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation hereinafter referred to as the Russian Federation Defense Minister) Russian Army General Sergei Shoigu (seated right), and Russian Army Colonel General Sergei Rudskoy, Chief of the Main Operational Directorate of the General Staff (standing center). The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation reports that today the Surovikin was presenting his first progress report after ascending to the post of overall commander of the special military operation in Ukraine on October 9, 2022 to Shoigu. Perhaps a happier day in Surovikin’s career, yet unknowingly at the time, it was the beginning of its end. As was usually the case, Surovikin was doing his job as he best knew how. Yet, the thinking of his superiors on Surovikin and his reports appeared to go beyond just military matters.

Concerning reports in the Western newsmedia–particularly the US newsmedia–concerning Surovikin, the sources most often quoted add to greatcharlie’s uneasiness concerning its promised issuance of an apology for its unflattering comments. Surely, Peskov’s statement to journalists on Surovikin’s status as qioted in the New York Times’ September 4, 2023 story mentioned earlier, did not instill confidence concerning the “preservation” of the general’s well-being by the Russian Federation government into the future. Even more, information emanating out of the Russian Federation from both state-run and independent newsmedia sources have been a mix bag. Much of the information has been contradictory. For instance, a story published by the Associated Press on August 23, 2023, based on an aforementioned report from the Russian Federation state-run news agency RIA Novosti, indicated that Surovikin had been.dismissed Commander-in-chief chief of the Russian Federation Aerospace Forces. Citing an anonymous source, the RIA Novosti report stated that Surovikin had been replaced as commander of the Russian Aerospace Forces by Russian Air Force Colonel General Viktor Afzalov, who at the time was head of the main staff of the Russian Aerospace Forces. The Kremlin did not comment on the report, and the Associated Press was not able to confirm it independently at the time. The Russian daily newspaper RBC reported that Surovikin is being transferred to a new job and is now on vacation. One of Surovikin’s daughters told the Russian social media channel Baza in late June that her father had not been arrested.

As for the journalists in the Russian Federation whose reports and comments were used as the basis for Western newsmedia stories indicating that Surovikin was no longer being detained by the Russian Federation security services, were the same main sources of earlier reports in August 2023 emanating out of the Russian Federation and picked up by some mainstream US newsmedia houses that stated he was no longer being detained. Alexei Venediktov, the former head of the closed radio station Ekho Moskvy, and Ksenia Sobchak, the daughter of a Putin-linked politician, both wrote on social media Tuesday that Surovikin had been dismissed. Sobchak stated Surovikin was removed from his post August 18, 2023, “by a closed decree. The family still has no contact with him.”

Ksenia Sobchak, 41, is the daughter of the renowned political figure, Anatoly Sobchak, the former popular Mayor of St. Petersburg from 1991 to 1996. He was also the political mentor to Putin during the nascent stage of his political life. Putin served as his Deputy Mayor until 1996 when Sobchak lost a reelection bid. (Anatoly Sobchak was also a political mentor of Dmitry Medvedev, now the Russian Federation Vice President.) Ksenia Sobchak became heavily involved in politics when she joined the massive protests in Moscow against Putin from 2011 to 2012. However, she managed to transform herself, emerging anew as a television journalist and opposition activist in the years that followed.

Sobchak became a liberal challenger in the 2018 Russia Federation Presidential Election as the presidential candidate of the Civil Initiative Party. Sobchak finished a distant fourth with about 1.7% of the vote. Critics described her presidential run as a Kremlin effort to add a democratic veneer to Putin’s sweeping re-election. Indeed, although Sobchak has often been critical of Putin, many Russian opposition figures have accused her of serving the Kremlin’s agenda. When Ksenia Sobchak dramatically crossed the border of Belarus and Lithuania on foot, presenting an Israeli passport in 2022, many newsmedia reports stated her decision to leave the Russian Federation reports was founded on fears caused by a crackdown on independent journalism. There were, however, many who believed she was nothing less than a “sent Cossack” with the mission of infiltrating the Russian diaspora, and more particularly, the Russian political opposition abroad.

Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin meeting with then Russian presidential candidate from the Civil Initiative party Ksenia Sobchak in the Kremlin on March 19, 2018. Ksenia Sobchak is the daughter of the renowned liberal Russian political figure, Anatoly Sobchak, the former popular Mayor of St. Petersburg during the 1990s. He was also the political mentor to Putin in the nascent stage of his political life. Putin served as Sobchak’s Deputy Mayor until 1996. (Anatoly Sobchak was also a political mentor of Dmitry Medvedev, now Russian Federation Vice President.) Indeed, although Ksenia Sobchak has often been critical of Putin, many Russian opposition figures have accused her of serving the Kremlin’s agenda. Sobchak’s news reports and comments online have served as the basis for Western newsmedia stories indicating that Surovikin was no longer being detained by the Russian Federation security services.

On October 26. 2022, the Associated Press reported Sobchak’s home in a prestigious suburb of Moscow was searched by law enforcement officials as part of an investigation into alleged wrongdoing by her media director, Kirill Sukhanov. The state-run Tass and RIA-Novosti news agencies going a bit further explained that Sobchak’s home was raided as part of an investigation of her suspected involvement in an extortion scheme along with Sukhanov. He had already been arrested on extortion charges. The target of the extortion plot was a long time associate of Putin, Sergei Chemezov, who heads the state-owned Rostec corporation, a conglomerate controlling Russian aviation industries and other high-tech assets. Sobchak rejected the accusations against Sukhanov as “ravings and nonsense” and described his arrest as part of the authorities’ efforts to stifle independent media. Sobchak suggested on her Telegram channel that the investigation was triggered by a documentary she had made on the use of torture in Russian prisons.

Both Tass and RIA-Novosti also reported that a warrant was issued for Sobchak’s arrest. However, neither Russian Federation law enforcement organizations nor elements were able to locate and arrest Sobchak. Undeniably, Sobchak retains extensive contacts among Russia’s most powerful figures. She has impressively managed to curry information and a photo of Surovikin with his wife. C’est à prendre ou à laisser.

Eadem mutato resurgo! (Although changed, I will resurge!) Without pretention, greatcharlie states that It is thankful over the apparent release of Surovikin from detention. It is thankful that he has been released after his period of detention unharmed by all appearances in the image of him in the photo provided by Sobchak from imaginably a Russian Federation government associated source. It is thankful that Surovikin has been returned to his family or at least has had the opportunity to be in the company of his family. It is thankful that the denoument to the Surovikin detention drama was not his death. Hopefully, the general will be allowed to begin a new, more peaceful chapter of his life. However, anything is possible in the Russian Federation.

Acting within the terms it set in its preceding post, greatcharlie hereby apologizes for and retracts the harsh comments it expressed concerning quality and humanity of the Russian Federation government in its August 15, 2023 post. Promissio parit debitium. (What is promised is owed.)