The release of the hacked e-mails of Vladislav Surkov, the Kremlin adviser who oversees “separatist affairs” in the former Soviet republics, did not produce any explosive new revelations about Russia’s not-so-covert war on Ukraine.

But it did give a glimpse of the day-to-day workings of a man many believe was deeply involved in destabilizing Ukraine after the EuroMaidan Revolution.