Ministry of War of the Russian Empire (, ''Military Ministry'') was an administrative body in the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

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 A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a m ...

which led to the creation of ministries. It was renamed to the ''Ministry of War'' in 1815.

Structure

At the end of the 19th century, the Ministry of War had following structure. * Military Council * War Ministry Chancellery * Grand Staff - personal matters, organization, instruction and economy of the army * His Imperial Majesty's Retinue * Departments: **

Commissariat A commissariat is a department or organization commanded by a commissary or by a corps of commissaries. In many countries, commissary is a police rank. In those countries, a commissariat is a police station commanded by a commissary. In some a ...

Department **

Artillery Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...

Department **

Engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

(Military Technical) Department ** Military Medical Department ** Military Education Department ** Military Justice Department ** Department of

Cossack The Cossacks are a predominantly East Slavic Eastern Christian people originating in the Pontic–Caspian steppe of eastern Ukraine and southern Russia. Cossacks played an important role in defending the southern borders of Ukraine and Rus ...

Troops * Committees ** Committee on Military Codification - legislative questions ** Committee on Military Sanitation

Buildings

The Ministry was initially accommodated in Count Zakhar Chernyshyov's former palace on Moika River Embankment, which was bought by the State Treasury for the Military Collegium in 1795 (later it was rebuilt and transformed into the

Mariinsky Palace Mariinsky Palace (), also known as Marie Palace, was the last neoclassical Imperial residence to be constructed in Saint Petersburg. It was built between 1839 and 1844, designed by the court architect Andrei Stackenschneider. It houses the c ...

). In 1824, the mezzanine and the first floor of the

Lobanov-Rostovsky Residence Lobanov-Rostovsky Residence or the Lobanov-Rostovsky Palace is a building at 12 Admiralteysky Avenue in Saint Petersburg, Russia, constructed in 1817-1820 for Prince Alexander Yakovlevich Lobanov-Rostovsky. Today, the building houses a luxury h ...

(12 Admiralteysky Avenue) were rented for the Ministry of War for 63,000 roubles a year. On 23 June 1828, the entire building was bought by the State Treasury for one million roubles, and in 1829-1830 it was renovated to meet the Ministry's needs. It housed the principal establishments of the Ministry until its dissolution in 1918. The main entrance is guarded by white marble

Medici lions The Medici lions are a pair of marble sculptures of lions: one of which is Rome, Roman, dating to the 2nd century AD, and the other a 16th-century Pendant painting, pendant. By 1598 both were placed at the Villa Medici, Rome. Since 1789 they ...

Ministers

Ministers of Land Forces

* Count Sergey Vyazmitinov 8 September 1802 – 13 January 1808 * Count

Aleksey Arakcheyev Count Alexey Andreyevich Arakcheyev or Arakcheev (; b. in Garusovo – d. in Gruzino) was an Imperial Russian general and statesman during the reign of Tsar Alexander I. He served under Tsars Paul I and Alexander I as an army commander an ...

13 January 1808 – 1 January 1810 * Prince

Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly Prince Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly (baptised – ) was a Russian field marshal who figured prominently in the Napoleonic Wars. Barclay was born into a Baltic German family from Livland. His father was the first of his family to be accep ...

20 January 1810 – 24 August 1812 * Prince

Aleksey Gorchakov Prince Aleksey Ivanovich Gorchakov (; – ) was a Russian general and statesman from the Gorchakov family. Biography Aleksey Gorchakov was a son of Prince Ivan Gorchakov and a sister of the noted Russian ''generalissimo'' Alexander Suvor ...

24 August 1812 – 12 December 1815 acting

Ministers of War

* Count

Pyotr Konovnitsyn Count Pyotr Petrovich Konovnitsyn (; 1764–1822) was a Russian military leader, General of Infantry, who served as Minister of War of the Russian Empire from 1815 to 1819. Biography Born in Pskov to the family of a local landowner, Pyotr Petrov ...

12 December 1815 – 6 May 1819 * Baron

Pyotr Meller-Zakomelsky Baron Pyotr Ivanovich Meller-Zakomelsky (; October 28 (November 8), 1755 – June 9 (21), 1823) was a Russian military leader and General of Artillery (1814) who served as Minister of War of the Russian Empire from 1819 to 1823. Biography He was ...

6 May 1819 – 14 March 1823 * Count

Aleksandr Tatischev Count Alexandr Ivanovich Tatischev (; August 8 (19), 1763 – June 17 (29), 1833) was a Russian military leader of the Napoleonic Wars, infantry general (1823) and Minister of War from 1823 to 1827. Biography Alexandr Ivanovich Tatischev comes f ...

14 March 1823 – 26 August 1827 * Prince

Alexander Chernyshyov Prince Alexander Ivanovich Chernyshyov (; 1786, Moscow – 1857, Castellammare di Stabia), General of Cavalry (1827), was a Russian military leader, diplomat and statesman, whose career began in the Napoleonic Wars. After the Battle of Auster ...

26 August 1827 – 26 August 1852 * Prince Vasily Dolgorukov 26 August 1852 – 17 April 1856 * Nikolay Sukhozanet 17 April 1856 – 16 May 1861 * Count

Dmitry Milyutin Count Dmitry Alekseyevich Milyutin (; – ) was a Russian Military history, military historian and politician who served as the Ministry of War of the Russian Empire, minister of war from 1861 to 1881. He was also the last Russian Field marshal ...

16 May 1861 – 21 May 1881 * Pyotr Vannovsky 22 May 1881 – 1 January 1898 * Aleksey Kuropatkin 1 January 1898 – 7 February 1904 *

Viktor Sakharov Viktor Viktorovich Sakharov (; 20 July 1848 in Moscow – 22 November 1905 in Saratov) was a Russian lieutenant general and Imperial Minister of War (1904–1905). Biography Sakharov was a graduate of the Nicholas Academy of the General Staff ...

11 March 1904 – 21 June 1905 * Aleksandr Roediger 21 June 1905 – 11 March 1909 *

Vladimir Sukhomlinov Vladimir Aleksandrovich Sukhomlinov ( rus, Владимир Александрович Сухомлинов, p=sʊxɐˈmlʲinəf; – 2 February 1926) was a Russian general in the Imperial Russian Army who served as the Chief of the General Staf ...

11 March 1909 – 13 June 1915 * Alexei Polivanov 13 June 1915 – 15 March 1916 *

Dmitry Shuvayev Dmitry Savelyevich Shuvayev (; – 19 December 1937) was a Russian military leader, Infantry General (1912) and Ministry of War of the Russian Empire, Minister of War (1916). Life Dmitry Shuvayev graduated from Alexander Military School in 187 ...

15 March 1916 – 3 January 1917 * Mikhail Belyaev 3 January 1917 – 28 February 1917 *

Alexander Guchkov Alexander Ivanovich Guchkov (; 14 October 1862 – 14 February 1936) was a Russian politician, Chairman of the Third Duma and Minister of War in the Russian Provisional Government. Early years Alexander Guchkov was born in Moscow. Unlike most ...

1 March 1917 – 30 April 1917.

References

External links

Encyclopedia of Saint Petersburg
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ministry Of War (Russia)

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

Military of the Russian Empire

War War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...

1802 establishments in the Russian Empire 1917 disestablishments in Russia Ministries established in 1802