Claim: Nikolai Tretyakov went from being captain in 1878 to colonel in 1899.
Evidence: 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. Promoted to colonel on December 25, 1899, Tretyakov was with the Russian expeditionary forces in the Boxer Rebellion in northern China.