Fragment 27 (updated translation)
Now that you have asked me what "около" referred to, I've understood that my original translation was wrong.
Troops mentioned were not of Pugachev, they were of government, and closing and encircling him (Pugachev). Pushkin just used an archaic form "около его" instead of modern "вокруг него" and that confused me. So,
Между тем около его отряды соединялись и со всех сторон приближались к злодейскому гнезду. | Meanwhile troops were merging (closing) around him and approached the evil nest from all directions. |