Vladimir Sukhomlinov Vladimir Aleksandrovich Sukhomlinov ( ) ( , Telšiai – February 2 , 1926 , Berlin ) was a cavalry general of the Imperial Russian Army ( 1906 ) 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 . Biography . Vladimir Sukhomlinov graduated from Nikolayevskoye Cavalry School ( 1867 ) . He served in Guard Uhlans regiment at Warsaw . He graduated from the General Staff Academy in 1874 . He participated in the Russo - Turkish War of 1877 - 1878 , served for some time on the staff of General Mikhail Skobelev , and was awarded the Order of St . George 4th class . After the war , on the invitation of General Mikhail Dragomirov , Chief of the General Staff Academy , he joined the staff of that institution , and lectured as well at the Nicholas Cavalry School , the Corps of Pages and the Mikhail Artillery School . From 1884 to 1886 , Sukhomlinov commanded the 6th Dragoon Regiment at Suvalki . He was Chief of the Officers ' Cavalry School at St . Petersburg from 1886 till 1898 , being promoted General in 1890 . His next appointment was as Commander of the 10th Cavalry Division at Kharkov . In 1899 , Sukhomlinov was appointed Chief of Staff of the Kiev Military District . In 1902 , he became a deputy commander and , in 1904 , commander of the Kiev Military District . In 1905 , Vladimir Sukhomlinov was appointed Governor General of Kiev , Podolia , and Volhynia . In December 1908 , he became head of General Staff and , in March 1909 , Minister of War . In this position he opposed training innovations that would have placed emphasis on infantry firepower against the use of sabers , lances and bayonets ; stating that " I have not read a military manual for the last twenty - five years " . Sukhomlinov ' s personal charm and popularity with Tsar Nicholas II enabled him to survive charges of lazy incompetence and dishonesty while in office . Some regard Vladimir Sukhomlinov as responsible for the military stagnation of 1905 – 1912 , which resulted in the unpreparedness of the Russian Army at the outbreak of World War I . On the other hand , in " Bayonets Before Bullets " , Bruce W . Menning asserts that " There was no doubt that he remained committed to building Russia ' s defensive and offensive military power . . . Thanks to Sukhomlinov ' s reforms , the peacetime strength of the Imperial Russian Army on the eve of World War I reached 1 , 423 , 000 officers and men . " Though he has some criticism for the Minister , Menning credits him with simplifying and modernizing the structure of the Russian army corps , including the addition of a six aircraft detachment to each . Norman Stone maintains that Sukhomlinov had " an extremely bad press " due to his autocratic style and accusations of corruption made by his enemies in the Duma and the army . The effect of the allegations against him is that " Sukhomlinov , as a sort of uniformed Rasputin , belongs to the demonology of 1917 . But the case against him is far from watertight . " Stone details his position as leader of informal group of " praetorians " in the high ranks of the army , professional soldiers , often from lower - and middle - class backgrounds , with experience in and loyalty to the infantry . As such , he and his allies were opposed by what Stone calls the " patrician " faction , upper - class officers owing less of their status to military service , who tended to favor the cavalry and artillery ( especially fortress artillery ) . Stone regards the continued standoff between the two factions as the work of the Czar , who played the two sides off against one another as a means of preserving his freedom of action . In any case , Sukhomlinov did try , with some success , to direct resources away from the static fortifications which would prove less useful in the coming war , to the infantry and mobile artillery . His failure to achieve more Stone blames on problems of Russian development economics , and the resistance of the supposedly " technocratic " patrician faction . As Minister of War , Sukhomlinov was never trusted by the Army Committee of the Duma , led by Alexander Guchkov . He was also resented by Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich of Russia ( 1856 – 1929 ) , Commander - in - chief of the Russian forces in the first phase of World War I . Disagreement between the Minister and his assistant , General Alexei Polivanov , culminated in 1912 in the dismissal of Polivanov , and his replacement by General Vernander . Despite Sukhomlinov ' s reforms ( or perhaps because of his inefficacy and resistance to change , as some assert ) , the opening phase of the First World War was very bad for Russia . After several defeats of the Russian Army during the first year of war , Vladimir Sukhomlinov was relieved of his post in June 1915 . In March 1916 , he was arrested on charges of abuse of power and treason , after some of his close associates had been convicted for espionage on behalf of Germany ( S . Myasoyedov , A . Altschuller , V . Dumbadze , and others ) . After six months in custody , Vladimir Sukhomlinov was placed under house arrest and then once again arrested after the February Revolution of 1917 . His trial took place in August and September 1917 . While acquitted of charges of treason , Sukhomlinov was found guilty of abuse of power and inactivity . He was sentenced to open - ended katorga on charges of leaving the army unprepared for the Great War . Sukhomlinov was then sent to a fortress to serve his sentence . On May 1 of 1918 , he was released from prison on reaching 70 years of age . Soon , he emigrated to Finland and then to Germany . His memoirs appeared in 1924 , dedicated to the deposed German Kaiser .