I don't think that Syria was handled very well by Russians.

Remember when Turkish F-16s shot down a Russian plane over Syria? What happened after that? Nothing.

Remember when Israel shot down Russian plane over Mediterranean Sea? What happened after that? Nothing.

All those "little" things had been (very telling) precursors to the Russian debacle in Ukraine, so I definitely wouldn't be bragging about having experience in Syria.

Then again...

"According to various media reports, Surovikin was given the nickname ‘General Armageddon’ by his colleagues, citing his hardline and unorthodox approach to military operations."

Russians could definitely use some "unorthodox approach to military operations" right now.

... and if that approach doesn't start with blowing U.S. (and NATO) satellites out of orbit, I definitely wouldn't call it unorthodox... or even (potentially, just maybe) successful.

Let's wait and see.