General Armageddon is seen for the first time since he was fired by Putin for being too close to assassinated coup leader Yevgeny Prigozhin

Russia’s most feared general has been seen for the first time since Vladimir Putin fired him for being too close to now-deceased coup leader Yevgeny Prigozhin.

A new image appears to show General Sergei ‘Armageddon’ Surovikin walking with his wife, Anna, 50, near their palatial home in Moscow.

General Surovikin, 56, had not been seen for more than two months since Yevgeny Prigozhin tried to oust Putin from power by marching on Moscow with his Wagner forces.

TO New York Times A report based on US intelligence claimed that Surovikin had prior knowledge of Prigozhin’s attempted coup in June, although this was strongly denied by the Kremlin at the time.

Putin sacked Surovikin as head of the aerospace forces two weeks ago. The general is believed to have been detained in the Lefortovo military prison and was probably questioned about his relationship with Prigozhin.

Some experts even claimed that Surovikin, who was nicknamed after him due to his ruthlessness and aggressive approach to war, was dead, as reliable sources said his wife and family had not seen him in weeks.

Putin reportedly arrested and interrogated him to see if he knew anything about Yevgeny Prigozhin’s coup attempt.

Fueling further speculation about his well-being, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu on Monday refused to answer questions about Surovikin and whether Russia is criminally investigating him.

In June, the head of the Russian parliament’s defense committee, Andrei Kartapolov, was heard saying in a video that Surovikin was “currently resting”, adding that he was “not available” at the time.

The top-level commander was briefly in charge of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine until Putin removed responsibility from him in January, handing it over to the current head of the armed forces, General Valery Gerasimov.

Analysts have noted his cruelty towards Russia’s supposed enemies.

The couple were seen walking near their Moscow home two months after Surovikin was last seen.

Russian media reported in 2004 that a colonel serving under General Armageddon committed suicide after receiving a heated reprimand from him.

Under his direction, Russian forces launched rocket attacks against civilians in Ukraine, with one such attack blowing up a major road junction near a children’s playground and a university.

Despite his ruthlessness, he was described as one of the few people in the Russian army who knew “how to supervise and streamline the different branches of the army”.

Gleb Irisov, a former air force lieutenant who worked with Surovikin until 2020, said the Guardian at the time of his appointment as leader of the Russian invasion: “He is very cruel but also a competent commander.”

Another former Defense Ministry official told the newspaper at the time: ‘Surovikin is absolutely ruthless, with little regard for human life. I am afraid that his hands will be completely covered in Ukrainian blood ”.

Surovikin was also in charge of “defending” Moscow’s interests in Syria. According to a 2020 Human Rights Watch report, Russian forces under his command attacked Syrian “homes, schools, health facilities and markets, the places where people live, work and study.”

Even people who might be considered friends or allies of Russia are not safe.

Russian media reported in 2004 that a colonel serving under General Armageddon committed suicide after receiving a heated reprimand from him.

The general first rose to prominence in the early 1990s during a coup attempt against Gorbachev by hardline communists.

He led a rifle division through barricades erected by pro-democracy protesters. Three men were killed in the confrontation, one of them crushed.