Aleksey Nikolayevich Kuropatkin (; March 29, 1848January 16, 1925) was a Russian politician and military officer who served as the

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 ...

n Imperial Minister of War from January 1898 to February 1904 and as a field commander subsequently. Historians often hold him responsible for major Russian defeats in the

Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War (8 February 1904 – 5 September 1905) was fought between the Russian Empire and the Empire of Japan over rival imperial ambitions in Manchuria and the Korean Empire. The major land battles of the war were fought on the ...

of 1904 to 1905, most notably at the

Battle of Mukden The , one of the largest land battles to be fought before World War I and the last and the most decisive major land battle of the Russo-Japanese War, was fought from 20 February to 10 March 1905 between Japan and Russia near Mukden ...

(1905) and at the

Battle of Liaoyang The () was a major land battle of the Russo-Japanese War, on the outskirts of the city of Liaoyang in present-day Liaoning Province, China. The city was of great strategic importance as the major Russian military center for southern Manchuria ...

(August–September 1904).

Biography

Early years

Kuropatkin was born in 1848 in Kholmsky Uyezd,

Pskov Governorate Pskov Governorate () was an administrative-territorial unit (''guberniya'') of the Russian Empire and the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR, which existed in 1772–1777 and 1796–1927. Its seat was located in Opochka b ...

, 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 ...

. His father, a retired army captain, came from landed gentry. Educated in the Cadet Corps and Pavlovsky Military School, Kuropatkin entered the

Imperial Russian Army The Imperial Russian Army () was the army of the Russian Empire, active from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was organized into a standing army and a state militia. The standing army consisted of Regular army, regular troops and ...

in 1864. On August 8, 1866, he was promoted to lieutenant in the 1st Turkestan Infantry Battalion, and took part in the conquest of Bukhara, the storming of Samarkand and other battles in the

Russian conquest of Turkestan In the 16th century, the Tsardom of Russia embarked on a campaign to Territorial evolution of Russia, expand the Russian frontier to the east. This effort continued until the 19th century under the Russian Empire, when the Imperial Russian Army ...

. He was promoted to major in August 1870. From 1872 to 1874, Kuropatkin studied at the

Nicholas General Staff Academy The General Staff Academy () was a Russian military academy, established in 1832 in St.Petersburg. It was first known as the Imperial Military Academy (Императорская военная академия), then in 1855 it was renamed Nich ...

, after which he was dispatched as a

military attaché A military attaché or defence attaché (DA),Defence Attachés
''Geneva C ...

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

and

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, completing his military studies, and with the

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

troops in

French Algeria French Algeria ( until 1839, then afterwards; unofficially ; ), also known as Colonial Algeria, was the period of History of Algeria, Algerian history when the country was a colony and later an integral part of France. French rule lasted until ...

, accompanying a French expedition to

Sahara The Sahara (, ) is a desert spanning across North Africa. With an area of , it is the largest hot desert in the world and the list of deserts by area, third-largest desert overall, smaller only than the deserts of Antarctica and the northern Ar ...

. Returning to Russia in late 1875, he was assigned to the

Turkestan Military District The Turkestan Military District (, ''Turkestansky voyenyi okrug (TurkVO)'') was a military district of both the Imperial Russian Army and the Soviet Armed Forces, with its headquarters at Tashkent. The District was first created during the 1874 R ...

. He was awarded the

Order of St. George The Order of Saint George () is the highest military decoration of the Russian Federation. It was originally established on 26 November 1769 Julian (7 December 1769 Gregorian) as the highest military decoration of the Russian Empire for commiss ...

(4th class) for his role in the Russian conquest of

Kokand Kokand ( ) is a city in Fergana Region in eastern Uzbekistan, at the southwestern edge of the Fergana Valley. Administratively, Kokand is a district-level city, that includes the urban-type settlement Muqimiy. The population of Kokand was ap ...

. From 1875-1876, Kuropatkin was employed in a diplomatic mission to

Yaqub Beg Muhammad Yakub Beg (30 May 1877), later known as Yakub Padishah, was the Kokandi ruler of Yettishar (Kashgaria), a state he established in Xinjiang from 1865 to 1877. He was recognized as Emir of Yettishar by the Ottoman Empire and held the ...

(ruler of

Kashgaria Yettishar ( Chagatai: ; ; ), also known as Kashgaria or the Kashgar Emirate, was a Uyghur state in Xinjiang that existed from 1864 to 1877, during the Dungan Revolt against the Qing dynasty. It was an Islamic monarchy ruled by Yakub Beg, a ...

) to resolve the issues of Russian border claims in the

Fergana Valley The Fergana Valley (also commonly spelled the Ferghana Valley) in Central Asia crosses eastern Uzbekistan, southern Kyrgyzstan and northern Tajikistan. Encompassing three former Republics of the Soviet Union, Soviet republics, the valley is e ...

. From September 1877 to September 1878, he was

Chief of Staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supportin ...

of the 16th Infantry Division. In August 1879, he was commander of the Turkestan Rifle Brigade. In December 1880, he and 5 companies made an 18-day march across 500 miles of desert to join General

Mikhail Skobelev Mikhail Dmitriyevich Skobelev (; 29 September 1843 – 7 July 1882), a Russian general, became famous for his conquest of Central Asia and for his heroism during the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878. Dressed in a white uniform and mounted on ...

’s invasion of

Turkmenistan Turkmenistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the south and southwest and the Caspian Sea to the west. Ash ...

. Kuropatkin led the main assault at the

Battle of Geok Tepe The Battle of Geok Tepe in 1881 was the main event in the 1880/81 Russian campaign to conquer the Teke tribe of Turkmens. Its effect was to give the Russian Empire control over most of what is now Turkmenistan, thereby nearly completing the ...

on January 24, 1881. He was awarded the Order of St. George (3rd class) for his victory in the battle. After the war, he wrote a detailed and critical history of the operations which was highly regarded. During the 1880s, Kuropatkin served on the south-eastern frontier in command of the Turkestan Rifle Brigade. He was promoted to major general on January 29, 1882. He joined the General Staff the following year, and was promoted to lieutenant general in 1890. From 1890 to 1898, Kuropatkin was governor of the

Transcaspian Region The Transcaspian Oblast, or simply Transcaspia, was an oblast of the Russian Empire and early Soviet Russia to the east of the Caspian Sea during the second half of the 19th century until 1924. It was bounded to the south by Iran's Khorasan Pro ...

in Central Asia, based in

Askhabad Ashgabat (Turkmen language, Turkmen: ''Aşgabat'') is the capital city, capital and largest city of Turkmenistan. It lies between the Karakum Desert and the Kopet Dag, Kopetdag mountain range in Central Asia, approximately 50 km (30 ...

. During his tenure, he was known to have developed trade, agriculture and towns in an area formerly known for endemic

banditry Banditry is a type of organized crime committed by outlaws typically involving the threat or use of violence. A person who engages in banditry is known as a bandit and primarily commits crimes such as extortion, robbery, kidnapping, and murder, ...

and

slavery Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

. He established a local judicial and school system, and encouraged the settlement of colonists from the interior provinces of the

. In 1895 on Kuropatkin was bestowed the extraordinary Russian mission, called the Extraordinary Embassy to Persia in order to proclaim the ascension to the throne of

Nicholas II Nicholas II (Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov; 186817 July 1918) or Nikolai II was the last reigning Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Poland, and Grand Duke of Finland from 1 November 1894 until his abdication on 15 March 1917. He married ...

. One member of the mission was Pavel Piasetsky, who later painted his famous '' Panorama of Persia'', showing the way from Anzali to

Teheran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District. With a population of around 9.8 million in the city as of 2025, ...

Minister of War

In 1898, Kuropatkin was recalled to

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

and appointed War Minister. His first priority was of improving the command structure of the army, as well as the living conditions of its officers. His reforms included measures to rejuvenate the army by setting age limits for line officers and candidates for higher office, and by increasing the period of secondment of officers from the General Staff to combat units. He attempted to improve the quality of officers by raising the two-year cadet training program to three years, and by opening seven new cadet schools. He also increased the frequency of training maneuvers. However, with respect to the lower ranks, Kuropatkin's reforms fell short. While aware of the poor standards of food, clothing, and housing, he was unable to secure the necessary funds for improvements, so his activities were confined to improving morale through the increased use of

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intellige ...

s, the abolition of

corporal punishment A corporal punishment or a physical punishment is a punishment which is intended to cause physical pain to a person. When it is inflicted on Minor (law), minors, especially in home and school settings, its methods may include spanking or Padd ...

, and improved field kitchens.

Russo-Japanese War

Kuropatkin was involved in the negotiations with the

Empire of Japan The Empire of Japan, also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was the Japanese nation state that existed from the Meiji Restoration on January 3, 1868, until the Constitution of Japan took effect on May 3, 1947. From Japan–Kor ...

before the

in 1904. He did not support an armed conflict with Japan and opposed the

Bezobrazov Bezobrazov () was the name of the Russian nobility, Russian noble family, whose members held significant positions within the Russian Empire. History The family first appeared in written documents in the 15th century. They had numerous noble unt ...

Circle. His views became firmer after a visit to Japan in June 1903. Kuropatkin was heavily involved in the fiasco of the Russian land forces during the war. Although the rationale of his military approach was to wage a

war of attrition The War of Attrition (; ) involved fighting between Israel and Egypt, Jordan, the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and their allies from 1967 to 1970. Following the 1967 Six-Day War, no serious diplomatic efforts were made to resolve t ...

and to avoid an offensive until the

Trans-Siberian Railway The Trans-Siberian Railway, historically known as the Great Siberian Route and often shortened to Transsib, is a large railway system that connects European Russia to the Russian Far East. Spanning a length of over , it is the longest railway ...

brought sufficient troops and materiel, his cautiousness and hesitancy markedly influenced the repeated Russian defeats. Military historians consider his indecisiveness and organizational deficiencies in directing large-scale military operations as a major element in the Russian defeat. Kuropatkin also was influenced by his racism against Asians, reportedly telling the Tsar that he would only need two Russian soldiers for every three Japanese soldiers. After the Russian defeat at the

, Kuropatkin was relieved of command and handed over his post to

Nikolai Linevich Nikolai Petrovich Linevich, also ''Lenevich'' and ''Linevitch'' (, ; – ) was a career military officer, General of Infantry (1903) and Adjutant general in the Imperial Russian Army in the Far East during the latter part of the Russo-Japanes ...

, formerly commander of the

1st Manchurian Army The 1st Manchurian Army () was a field army of the Russian Empire that was established in 1904 during the Russo-Japanese War, for the purposes of operating in the Manchuria region against Japan. It was one of the three such armies that were create ...

. However, he insisted that he stay at the front and was given permission to take over Linevich's old post. In 1906, following the end of the Russo-Japanese War, Kuropatkin served as a member of the

State Council of Imperial Russia The State Council ( rus, Госуда́рственный сове́т, p=ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)ɨj sɐˈvʲet) was the supreme state advisory body to the tsar in the Russian Empire. From 1906, it was the upper house of the parliament under t ...

. However, in 1907 he retired to his country house, and wrote his own, yet candid, defense, which was published in a number of books in several languages. The Russian government reportedly confiscated the history he wrote.

World War I

At the start of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Kuropatkin requested to be reinstated and to be sent to the front; however, his requests were blocked by Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich. Nevertheless, once Tsar

assumed the post of Supreme Commander, he put Kuropatkin in charge of the

Grenadier Corps Grenadier Corps () was a Grenadier unit of the Imperial Russian Army. It was headquartered in Moscow. The corps was formed on August 29, 1814, consisting of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd grenadier divisions. It was a military tactical and administrative un ...

in October, 1915. At the end of January 1916, he was appointed commander of the 5th Army, and in February 1916, he became Commander of the Northern Front, in succession to General Pavel Plehve, whose health had broken down. In early March, his forces undertook a limited offensive near

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

, but were outflanked and forced to withdraw to the

Daugava River The Daugava ( ), also known as the Western Dvina or the Väina River, is a large river rising in the Valdai Hills of Russia that flows through Belarus and Latvia into the Gulf of Riga of the Baltic Sea. The Daugava rises close to the source of ...

. A second and larger offensive later that month only managed to advance a couple of kilometers. Tsar Nicholas II did not accept Kuropatkin's excuses of a lack of artillery support, poor roads and bad weather. He planned a night attack which included setting up batteries of

searchlight A searchlight (or spotlight) is an apparatus that combines an extremely luminosity, bright source (traditionally a carbon arc lamp) with a mirrored parabolic reflector to project a powerful beam of light of approximately parallel rays in a part ...

s to blind the German defenders, a tactic which had worked in 1904 against Japanese troops. Unfortunately for his men in 1915, on being sent 'over the top', they were silhouetted and suffered thousands of casualties. Kuropatkin was relieved of command on July 22, 1916, and reassigned to Turkestan, where the Russian involvement in World War I, especially against the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

was extremely unpopular among the indigenous peoples and which had led to the

Central Asian revolt of 1916 The Central Asian revolt of 1916, also known as the Semirechye Revolt and as Urkun in Kyrgyzstan, was an anti-Russian uprising by the indigenous inhabitants of Russian Turkestan sparked by the conscription of Muslims into the Russian military ...

. Kuropatkin served as

Governor-General Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...

of the

as well as

ataman Ataman (variants: ''otaman'', ''wataman'', ''vataman''; ; ) was a title of Cossack and haidamak leaders of various kinds. In the Russian Empire, the term was the official title of the supreme military commanders of the Cossack armies. The Ukra ...

of the Semirechye Cossacks and led the brutal suppression of the revolt.

Post-Revolution

In the

February Revolution The February Revolution (), known in Soviet historiography as the February Bourgeois Democratic Revolution and sometimes as the March Revolution or February Coup was the first of Russian Revolution, two revolutions which took place in Russia ...

of 1917 Kuropatkin was in

Petrograd Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

, and quickly pledged his allegiance to the

Russian Provisional Government The Russian Provisional Government was a provisional government of the Russian Empire and Russian Republic, announced two days before and established immediately after the abdication of Nicholas II on 2 March, O.S. New_Style.html" ;"title="5 ...

, cutting the royal insignia off his

epaulettes Epaulette (; also spelled epaulet) is a type of ornamental shoulder piece or decoration used as insignia of rank by armed forces and other organizations. Flexible metal epaulettes (usually made from brass) are referred to as ''shoulder scales ...

. He was confirmed in his post as commander of the Turkestan Military District by Provisional Government War Minister

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 ...

. However, this was disputed by the

Bolshevik The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a radical Faction (political), faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with the Mensheviks at the 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, ...

'' Tashkent Soviet of Soldiers and Workers' Deputies'', who placed him under arrest and sent him back to Petrograd. Freed by order of the Provisional Government, he returned to his home province. Following the

October Revolution The October Revolution, also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution (in Historiography in the Soviet Union, Soviet historiography), October coup, Bolshevik coup, or Bolshevik revolution, was the second of Russian Revolution, two r ...

, he became very skilled at playing the violin and taught at an agriculture school that he had founded, until his death in 1925.

Writings

* 1882 – * 1909 –

Honours

Order of St. Alexander Nevsky The Imperial Order of Saint Alexander Nevsky was an order of chivalry of the Russian Empire first awarded on by Empress Catherine I of Russia. History The introduction of the Imperial Order of Saint Alexander Nevsky was envisioned by Emperor ...

, with diamonds * RUS Order of Saint George 4th class ribbon 2000

, 4th class, * RUS Order of Saint George 3rd class ribbon 2000

, 3rd class, * Order of the White Eagle War Merit ribbon

Order of the White Eagle *

Order of St Vladimir The Imperial Order of Saint Prince Vladimir () was an Imperial Russian order established on by Empress Catherine II in memory of the deeds of Saint Vladimir, the Grand Prince and the Baptizer of the Kievan Rus'. Grades The order had four ...

4th degree *

3rd degree *

2nd degree * Order of St. Stanislaus 3rd degree * Order of Saint Stanislaus Ribbon

Order of St. Stanislaus 2nd degree * Order of Saint Stanislaus Ribbon

Order of St. Stanislaus 1st degree. * Order of Saint Anna ribbon bar

Order of St. Anne 3rd degree * Order of Saint Anna ribbon bar

Order of St. Anne 2nd degree * Order of Saint Anna ribbon bar

Order of St. Anne 1st degree ;Foreign *:

Legion of Honor The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and civil. Currently consisting of five classes, it was ...

, Chevalier *:

Order of the Star of Romania The Order of the Star of Romania (Romanian: ''Ordinul Steaua României'') is Romania's highest civil Order and second highest State decoration after the Order of Michael the Brave. It is the oldest Order of Romania. It is awarded by the Preside ...

Order of St Alexander The Order of St Alexander () was the second highest Bulgarian order during the Kingdom of Bulgaria. It was established by Knyaz Alexander I and named after his patron saint (Alexander Nevsky). History The order was established with a decree on ...

*: Grand Cordon of the

Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus The Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus () (abbreviated OSSML) is a Roman Catholic dynastic order of knighthood bestowed by the royal House of Savoy. It is the second-oldest order of knighthood in the world, tracing its lineage to AD 1098, a ...

- ''July 1902'' - during a visit to Russia of King

Victor Emmanuel III of Italy Victor Emmanuel III (; 11 November 1869 – 28 December 1947) was King of Italy from 29 July 1900 until his abdication on 9 May 1946. A member of the House of Savoy, he also reigned as Emperor of Ethiopia from 1936 to 1941 and King of the Albania ...

References

Sources

*
«Personal» // «The Advertiser, Adelaide», Monday 26 January 1925, p. 9
*

Alfred Knox Major-General Sir Alfred William Fortescue Knox (30 October 1870 – 9 March 1964) was an Ulster-Scots career officer in the British Army and later a Conservative Party politician. Military career Knox was born at Shimnah House in Newcastle ...

. General Kuropatkin. The Slavonic Review, Vol. 4, No. 10 (Jun., 1925), pp. 164–168 * Kowner, Rotem (2006). "Historical Dictionary of the Russo-Japanese War". Scarecrow. 620pp.
Kashgaria, Eastern Or Chinese Turkistan
Historical and Geographical Sketch of the Country, Its Military Strength, Industries, and Trade. By Aleksei Nikolaevich Kuropatkin. Translated by Walter Edward Gowan. Published by Thacker, Spink and Co., 1882 ** Kessinger Publishing. 2004. . ** McCutchen Press. 2008. . * The Russian Army and the Japanese War: Being Historical and Critical Comments on the Military Policy and Power of Russia and on the Campaign in the Far East. By Aleksei Nikolaevich Kuropatkin. Translated by Alexander Bertram Lindsay. E.P. Dutton, 1909
Volume IVolume II
*Connaughton, R.M (1988). ''The War of the Rising Sun and the Tumbling Bear—A Military History of the Russo-Japanese War 1904–5'', London, . *Jukes, Geoffry. ''The Russo-Japanese War 1904–1905''. Osprey Essential Histories. (2002). . *Warner, Denis & Peggy. ''The Tide at Sunrise, A History of the Russo-Japanese War 1904–1905''. (1975). .

External links

"General Kuropatkin Ready for Anything Awaits the Coming of the Japanese"
is an artwork, from 1904, by

Kobayashi Kiyochika was a Japanese ukiyo-e artist, best known for his colour Woodblock printing in Japan, woodblock prints and newspaper illustrations. His work documents the rapid modernization and Westernization Japan underwent during the Meiji period (1868– ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kuropatkin, Alexei 1848 births 1925 deaths People from Toropetsky District People from Kholmsky Uyezd (Pskov Governorate) Imperial Nikolayev Military Academy alumni Ministers of War of the Russian Empire Members of the State Council (Russian Empire) Governors-general of Turkestan Imperial Russian Army generals Russian military personnel of the Russo-Japanese War Russian military personnel of World War I Russian Provisional Government military personnel Recipients of the Order of Saint Stanislaus (Russian), 1st class Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 1st class Recipients of the Order of St. Vladimir, 2nd class Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Russia) Recipients of the Order of St. George of the Third Degree Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour Grand Crosses of the Order of the Star of Romania