This article presents the heads of the military departments of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War ...

College of War

The Russian College of War (or ''War Collegium'') was created in the course of

Government reform of Peter the Great The government reforms of Peter I aimed to modernize the Tsardom of Russia (later the Russian Empire) based on Western European models. Peter ascended to the throne at the age of 10 in 1682; he ruled jointly with his half-brother Ivan V. After Iv ...

11 December 1717.

Presidents

* Prince Alexander Menshikov 1717–24 * Prince Anikita Repnin 1724–26 * Prince

Mikhail Golitsyn Prince Mikhail Mikhailovich Golitsyn or Galitzin (russian: Михаи́л Миха́йлович Голи́цын, tr. ; 1 November 1675 in Moscow – 10 December 1730) was a Russian Imperial field marshal (1725) and a president of the Colleg ...

1728–30 * Prince Vasiliy Dolgorukov 1730–31 * Count

Burkhard Christoph von Münnich Burkhard Christoph Graf von Münnich (, tr. ; – ) was a German-born army officer who became a field marshal and political figure in the Russian Empire. He carried out major reforms in the Russian Army and founded several elite milita ...

1732–41 * Prince

Nikita Trubetskoy Prince Nikita Yurievich Trubetskoy ( Russian: ''Никита Юрьевич Трубецкой'') (26 May 1699 – 16 October 1767) was a Russian statesman and Field Marshal (1756), minister of defense of Russia 1760. His parents were general- ...

1760–63 * Count

Zakhar Chernyshev Zakhar Grigoryevich Chernyshev (172231 August 1784) was a Russian noble, courtier to Catherine the Great, Imperial Russian Army officer, and Imperial Russian politician in the 18th century. After made a courtier to then-Princess Sophie of Anha ...

1763–74 * Prince

Grigory Potemkin Prince Grigory Aleksandrovich Potemkin-Tauricheski (, also , ;, rus, Князь Григо́рий Алекса́ндрович Потёмкин-Таври́ческий, Knjaz' Grigórij Aleksándrovich Potjómkin-Tavrícheskij, ɡrʲɪˈɡ ...

1774–91 * Count

Nikolai Saltykov Count, then Prince Nikolay Ivanovich Saltykov (russian: Николай Иванович Салтыков, 31 October 1736 – 28 May 1816), a member of the Saltykov noble family, was a Russian Imperial Field Marshal and courtier best known ...

1791–1802

Vice-Presidents

Ministry of Land Forces

Collegiums were replaced by Ministries as part of the

Government 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. The responsibi ...

. * Count

Sergey Vyazmitinov Count Sergey Kuzmich Vyazmitinov (russian: Серге́й Кузьмич Вязьмитинов) (7 October 1744 – 15 October 1819) was a Russian general and statesman. He descended from the ancient noble landowner's family of Ruthenian ori ...

8 September 1802 – 13 January 1808 * Count

Aleksey Arakcheyev Count Alexey Andreyevich Arakcheyev or Arakcheev (russian: граф Алексе́й Андре́евич Аракче́ев) ( – ) was an Imperial Russian general and statesman during the reign of Tsar Alexander I. He served under Tsars Paul ...

13 January 1808 – 1 January 1810 * Prince

Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly Prince Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly (german: Fürst Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly; baptised – ) was an Imperial Russian soldier of Baltic German and Scottish origin, who was commander-in-chief and Minister of War of the Russian Empir ...

20 January 1810 – 24 August 1812 * Prince Aleksey Gorchakov 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 War. * 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 Chernyshyov Prince Alexander Ivanovich Chernyshov (russian: Александр Иванович Чернышев, 1786, Moscow - 1857, Castellammare di Stabia), General of Cavalry (1827), was a Russian military leader, diplomat and statesman, whose career be ...

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

Dmitry Milyutin Count Dmitry Alekseyevich Milyutin ( rus, Граф Дми́трий Алексе́евич Милю́тин, tr. ; 28 June 1816, Moscow – 25 January 1912, Simeiz near Yalta) was Minister of War (1861–81) and the last Field Marshal of I ...

16 May 1861 – 21 May 1881 *

Pyotr Vannovsky Pyotr Semyonovich Vannovsky (russian: Пётр Семёнович Ванновский, translit=Pëtr Semënovič Vannovskij; Reforms of Russian orthography#The post-revolution reform, Russian (before 1918): Пётръ Семёновичъ В� ...

22 May 1881 – 1 January 1898 *

Aleksey Kuropatkin Aleksey Nikolayevich Kuropatkin (russian: Алексе́й Никола́евич Куропа́ткин; March 29, 1848January 16, 1925) served as the Russian Imperial Minister of War from January 1898 to February 1904 and as a field command ...

1 January 1898 – 7 February 1904 *

Viktor Sakharov Viktor Viktorovich Sakharov (russian: Виктор Викторович Сахаров; 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 ...

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 of 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 15 March 1916 – 3 January 1917 *

Mikhail Belyaev Mikhail Alekseyevich Belyaev (russian: Михаи́л Алексе́евич Беля́ев; December 23, 18631918) was a Russian general of the Infantry, statesman, Chief of Staff of the Imperial Russian Army from August 1, 1914, to August 10, ...

3 January 1917 – 28 February 1917 *

Alexander Guchkov Alexander Ivanovich Guchkov (russian: Алекса́ндр Ива́нович Гучко́в) (14 October 1862 – 14 February 1936) was a Russian politician, Chairman of the Third Duma and Minister of War in the Russian Provisional Government. ...

1 March 1917 – 30 April 1917

Ministry of Sea Forces

* Count Nikolay Mordvinov 8 September 1802 – 28 December 1802 *

Pavel Chichagov Pavel Vasilievich Chichagov or Tchichagov (russian: Па́вел Васи́льевич Чича́гов) (20 August 1849) was a Russian military and naval commander of the Napoleonic Wars. He was born in 1767 in Saint Petersburg, the son of Ad ...

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 Moller 24 March 1828 – 5 February 1836 * Prince Alexander Menshikov 5 February 1836 – 23 February 1855 * Baron

Ferdinand von Wrangel Baron Ferdinand Friedrich Georg Ludwig von Wrangel (russian: Барон Фердина́нд Петро́вич Вра́нгель, tr. ; – ) was a Baltic German explorer and seaman in the Imperial Russian Navy, Honorable Member of the Saint ...

18 May 1855 – 27 July 1857 * Nikolay Metlin 27 July 1857 – 18 September 1860 * Nikolay Karlovich Krabbe 19 September 1860 – 3 January 1876 * Stepan Lesovskiy 12 January 1876 – 23 June 1880 * Aleksey Peschurov 23 June 1880 – 11 January 1882 *

Ivan Shestakov Ivan Alexeyevich Shestakov (russian: Ива́н Алексе́евич Шестако́в; 13 April 1820 – 3 December 1888) was a Russian naval officer, statesman, and writer. Early years Shestakov was born in the village of Syrok ...

11 January 1882 – 21 November 1888 * Nikolay Chikhachyov 28 November 1888 – 13 July 1896 * Pyotr Tyrtov 13 July 1896 – 4 March 1903 * Theodor Avellan 10 March 1903 – 29 June 1905 * Aleksei Birilev 29 June 1905 – 11 January 1907 * Ivan Dikov 11 January 1907 – 8 January 1909 * Stepan Voevodskiy 8 January 1909 – 18 March 1911 * Ivan Grigorovich 19 March 1911 – 28 February 1917 *