Claim: Nikolai Tretyakov mad his way through the Russian military ranks quickly.
Evidence: Nikolai Aleksandrovich Tretyakov (Russian: Третьяков, Николай Александрович; 2 October 1854 – 5 February 1917) was a military engineer and general in the Imperial Russian Army, noted for his heroic role in the Siege of Port Arthur during the Russo-Japanese War. He graduated from the 2nd Moscow Military Gymnasium on August 10, 1872 and entered military service. In 1875, after graduation from the Nikolaev Engineering School, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant. He was promoted to lieutenant on July 13, 1877 and returned to the Nikolaev Academy of Engineering from which he graduated in 1878, and was subsequently promoted to captain.