Heads of military of Imperial Russia
Encyclopedia
College of War
The Russian College of War (or War Collegium) was created in the course of Government reform of Peter IGovernment reform of Peter I
Government reform of Peter I refers to modifications made to the state apparatus of Russia during the rule of Peter I.Peter ascended to the throne in 1682; he ruled jointly with his half-brother Ivan V. After Ivan's death in 1696, Peter implemented a series of sweeping reforms aimed at modernizing...
11 December 1717.
Presidents
- Prince Alexander Menshikov 1717–24
- Prince Anikita RepninAnikita RepninPrince Anikita Ivanovich Repnin was a prominent Russian general during the Great Northern War who superintended the taking of Riga in 1710 and served as the Governor of Livland from 1719 until his death....
1724–26 - Prince Mikhail Golitsin 1728–30
- Prince Vasiliy DolgorukovVasily Lukich DolgorukovPrince Vasiliy Lukich Dolgorukov was a Russian diplomat and minister who was the most powerful man in the country in the later years of Peter II's reign....
1730–31 - Count Burkhard Christoph von MunnichBurkhard Christoph von MunnichCount Burkhard Christoph von Münnich was a Danish-born German soldier-engineer who became a field marshal and political figure in the Russian Empire. He was the major Russian Army reformer and founder of several elite military formations during the reign of Anna of Russia. As a statesman, he is...
1732–41 - Prince Nikita TrubetskoyNikita TrubetskoyPrince Nikita Yurievich Trubetskoy was a Russian statesman and Field Marshal , minister of defense of Russia 1760....
1760–63 - Count Zakhar Chernyshev 1763–74
- Prince Grigori PotemkinGrigori Alexandrovich PotemkinPrince Grigory Aleksandrovich Potemkin-Tavricheski was a Russian military leader, statesman, nobleman and favorite of Catherine the Great. He died during negotiations over the Treaty of Jassy, which ended a war with the Ottoman Empire that he had overseen....
1774–91 - Count Nikolay SaltykovNikolay SaltykovCount Nikolay Ivanovich Saltykov , a member of the Saltykov royal family, was a Russian Field Marshal and imperial courtier....
1791–1802
Ministry of Land Forces
Collegiums were replaced by Ministries as part of the Government reform of Alexander IGovernment reform of Alexander I
The early Russian system of government instituted by Peter the Great, which consisted of various state committees, each named Collegium with subordinate departments named Prikaz, was largely outdated by the 19th century...
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- Count Sergey VyazmitinovSergey VyazmitinovCount Sergey Kuzmich Vyazmitinov , was a Russian general and statesman.He descended from the ancient noble landowner's family of Ruthenian origin, known from end of 15th century...
8 September 1802 – 13 January 1808 - Count Aleksey Arakcheyev 13 January 1808 – 1 January 1810
- Prince Michael Andreas Barclay de TollyMichael Andreas Barclay de TollyPrince Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly , was a Russian Field Marshal and Minister of War during Napoleon's invasion in 1812 and War of the Sixth Coalition.-Early life:...
20 January 1810 – 24 August 1812 - Prince Aleksey GorchakovAleksey GorchakovPrince Aleksey Ivanovich Gorchakov was a Russian general and statesman from the Gorchakov family.Aleksey Gorchakov was a son of Prince Ivan Gorchakov and a sister of Alexander Suvorov. In 1786 he entered the army and...
24 August 1812 – 12 December 1815 acting
Ministry of War
On 17 December 1815 the Ministry of Land Forces was renamed to the Ministry of WarMinistry of War (Russia)
Ministry of War of the Russian Empire, was an administrative body in the Russian Empire from 1802 to 1917.It was established in 1802 as the Ministry of ground armed forces taking over responsibilities from the College of War during the Government reform of Alexander I...
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- Count Pyotr Konovnitsyn 12 December 1815 – 6 May 1819
- Baron Pyotr Meller-Zakomelskiy 6 May 1819 – 14 March 1823
- Count Aleksander Tatischev 14 March 1823 – 26 August 1827
- Prince Alexander ChernyshyovAlexander ChernyshyovAlexander Ivanovich Chernyshyov , General of Cavalry , was a Russian military leader, diplomat and statesman, whose career began in Napoleonic Wars. After Battle of Austerlitz, he performed successful diplomatic mission to France and Sweden and served with distinction in battles of 1812 and 1813...
26 August 1827 – 26 August 1852 - Prince Vasily DolgorukovVasily Andreyevich DolgorukovPrince Vasily Andreyevich Dolgorukov was a Russian statesman, General of the Cavalry , Minister of War , Chief of Gendarmes and Executive Head of the Third Section of H.I.M. Chancellery ....
26 August 1852 – 17 April 1856 - Nikolay Sukhozanet 17 April 1856 – 16 May 1861
- Count Dmitry MilyutinDmitry MilyutinCount Dmitry Alekseyevich Milyutin was Minister of War and the last Field Marshal of Imperial Russia...
16 May 1861 – 21 May 1881 - Pyotr VannovskiyPyotr VannovskiyPyotr S. Vannovskiy was a Russian General.He served in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878; held commands of a St. Petersburg Cadet Corps and an Army Corps based in Kiev; served as Minster of War from 1882 until 1898 under the Tsars Alexander III and Nicholas II respectfully. Credited with...
22 May 1881 – 1 January 1898 - Aleksey KuropatkinAleksey KuropatkinAlexei Nikolayevich Kuropatkin was the Russian Imperial Minister of War who is often held responsible for major Russian drawbacks in the Russian-Japanese War, notably the Battle of Mukden and the Battle of Liaoyang.-Early years:Kuropatkin was born in 1848 in what is now Pskov, in the Russian...
1 January 1898 – 7 February 1904 - Viktor SakharovViktor SakharovViktor Viktorovich Sakharov was a Russian Lieutenant General and Minister of War .-Life:Sakharov was a graduate of the Nicholas Academy of the General Staff...
11 March 1904 – 21 June 1905 - Aleksandr RoedigerAleksandr RoedigerAleksandr Fedorovich Roediger — Russian General;Graduate of the Page Corps and a student of the Nicholas Academy of the General Staff; served in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878; in 1882 was appointed Assistant Minister and later Minister of War of the newly independent Principality of Bulgaria;...
21 June 1905 – 11 March 1909 - Vladimir SukhomlinovVladimir SukhomlinovVladimir Aleksandrovich Sukhomlinov was a cavalry general of the Imperial Russian Army who served as the Chief of the General Staff in 1908–09 and the Minister of War until 1915, when he was ousted from office amid allegations of failure to provide necessary armaments and munitions.Vladimir...
11 March 1909 – 13 June 1915 - Alexei PolivanovAlexei PolivanovAlexei Andreyevich Polivanov was a Russian military figure, infantry general . He served as Russia's Minister of War from June 1915 until his Tsarina Alexandra forced his removal from office in March 1916....
13 June 1915 – 15 March 1916 - Dmitry ShuvayevDmitry ShuvayevDmitry Savelyevich Shuvayev was a Russian military leader, Infantry General ....
15 March 1916 – 3 January 1917 - Mikhail Belyaev 3 January 1917 – 28 February 1917
- Alexander GuchkovAlexander GuchkovAlexander Ivanovich Guchkov was a Russian politician, Chairman of the Duma and Minister of War in the Russian Provisional Government.-Early years:...
1 March 1917 – 30 April 1917
Ministry of Sea Forces
- Count Nikolay MordvinovNikolay MordvinovCount Nikolay Semyonovich Mordvinov was one of the most reputable Russian political thinkers of Alexander I's reign. He is associated with the reforms of Mikhail Speransky, who he advised on the ways to improve the performance of the national economy.Mordvinov was an admiral's son and started his...
8 September 1802 – 28 December 1802 - Pavel ChichagovPavel ChichagovPavel Vasilievich Chichagov or Tchichagov was a Russian military and naval commander of the Napoleonic wars.He was born in 1767 in Saint Petersburg, the son of Admiral Vasili Chichagov and his English wife. At the age of 12 he was enlisted in the Guard. In 1782 he served in a campaign in the...
31 December 1802 – 28 November 1811 - Ivan de Traverse 28 November 1811 – 17 December 1815
Ministry of the Navy
On 17 December 1815 the Ministry of Sea Forces was renamed, becoming the Ministry of the Navy.- Ivan de Traverse 17 December 1815 – 24 March 1828
- Anton MollerAnton MöllerAnton Möller was a German painter and draughtsman.Möller was born in Königsberg. He primarily painted religious themed works. He also produced a number of woodcuts. Möller died in Danzig in 1611 .-References:...
24 March 1828 – 5 February 1836 - Prince Aleksandr Menshikov 5 February 1836 – 23 February 1855
- Baron Ferdinand von WrangelFerdinand von WrangelBaron Ferdinand Friedrich Georg Ludwig von Wrangel – May 25 , 1870) was a Russian explorer and seaman, Honorable Member of the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences, a founder of the Russian Geographic Society...
18 May 1855 – 27 July 1857 - Nikolay Metlin 27 July 1857 – 18 September 1860
- Nikolay Karlovich KrabbeNikolay Karlovich KrabbeNikolay Karlovich Krabbe was an admiral of the Russian Imperial Navy.After graduating from naval academy joined the corps of navy cadets and in 1832 was promoted midshipman in the Baltic Fleet serving on the frigates Belton, Kulm and Oranienbaum...
19 September 1860 – 3 January 1876 - Stepan Lesovskiy 12 January 1876 – 23 June 1880
- Aleksey Peschurov 23 June 1880 – 11 January 1882
- Ivan ShestakovIvan Shestakov-Early years:Shestakov was born in the village of Syrokorenye in Smolensk Governorate to the Russian noble family of captain-lieutenant Alexey Antonovich Shestakov and Yevdokiya Ivanovna Khrapovitskaya. After finishing his studies at the Naval Cadet Corps , he served in the Black Sea Fleet...
11 January 1882 – 21 November 1888 - Nikolay Chikhachyov 28 November 1888 – 13 July 1896
- Pyotr Tyrtov 13 July 1896 – 4 March 1903
- Fyodor Avelan 10 March 1903 – 29 June 1905
- Aleksey Birilyov 29 June 1905 – 11 January 1907
- Ivan Dikov 11 January 1907 – 8 January 1909
- Stepan Voevodskiy 8 January 1909 – 18 March 1911
- Ivan GrigorovichIvan GrigorovichIvan Konstantinovich Grigorovich served as Russia's Naval Minister from 1911 until the onset of revolution in 1917.Graduating from the Naval academy in 1874 Grigorovich served as an officer on various ships. In 1896 he was appointed Russian naval attaché in London. In 1899 he appointed to command...
19 March 1911 – 28 February 1917 - Alexander GuchkovAlexander GuchkovAlexander Ivanovich Guchkov was a Russian politician, Chairman of the Duma and Minister of War in the Russian Provisional Government.-Early years:...
1 March 1917 – 30 April 1917