Vladimir Kojève

Vladimir Kojève, or Khodzhev, was a Russian major-general who acted as a military advisor to the government of Syria. He was allegedly killed in the Syrian civil war. In October 2012, after his death, personal documents were published by Al Arabiya which suggested he was working as part of a contract under which the Russian government provided security assistance to the Assad regime; documents suggested he had access to all security facilities in Syria.

However, Now Lebanon cast doubt on the authenticity of Al Arabiya's story. A Russian general had earlier appeared on television, in August 2012, to deny reports of his death.