Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Sinkler or Vladimir Sinclair () (12 January 1879 – 16 March 1946) was a Ukrainian military leader, general of the

Russian Imperial 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 ...

, and general of the

Ukrainian People's Army The Ukrainian People's Army (), also known as the Ukrainian National Army (UNA) or by the derogatory term Petliurivtsi (, ), was the army of the Ukrainian People's Republic (1917–1921). They were often quickly reorganized units of the former I ...

. Volodymyr Sinclair was born in the city of

Margilan Margilan (, ; ) is a city (2024 pop. 253,500) in eastern Uzbekistan's Fergana Region. Margilan is located in the south of the Fergana Valley, where trade caravans from China traveled westwards and vice versa during the days of the Silk Road. Margi ...

(present-day

Uzbekistan , image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg , image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg , symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem , national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...

) the former city of

Kokand Khanate The Khanate of Kokand was a Central Asian polity in the Fergana Valley centred on the city of Kokand between 1709 and 1876. It was ruled by the Ming tribe of Uzbeks. Its territory is today divided between Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and ...

. Margilan became the

uyezd An uezd (also spelled uyezd or uiezd; rus, уе́зд ( pre-1918: уѣздъ), p=ʊˈjest), or povit in a Ukrainian context () was a type of administrative subdivision of the Grand Duchy of Moscow, the Tsardom of Russia, the Russian Empire, the R ...

center of the newly established

Fergana Oblast The Fergana Oblast was an oblast (province) of the Russian Empire. It roughly corresponded to most of present-day Fergana Valley. It was created in 1876 when the territories of the former Khanate of Kokand were annexed to Russia (except for the ob ...

in the

Russian Turkestan Russian Turkestan () was a colony of the Russian Empire, located in the western portion of the Central Asian region of Turkestan. Administered as a Krai or Governor-Generalship, it comprised the oasis region to the south of the Kazakh Steppe, b ...

around 1875. The Sinclair family were of the

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

descent that left the

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

after the

Glorious Revolution The Glorious Revolution, also known as the Revolution of 1688, was the deposition of James II and VII, James II and VII in November 1688. He was replaced by his daughter Mary II, Mary II and her Dutch husband, William III of Orange ...

of 1688 and pledged allegiance to

Alexis of Russia Alexei Mikhailovich (, ; – ), also known as Alexis, was Tsar of all Russia from 1645 until his death in 1676. He was the second Russian tsar from the House of Romanov. He was the first tsar to sign laws on his own authority and his council ...

. Sinclair's father was a military engineer. Volodymyr studied at the Nepliuyevsky cadet corps and later at Mikhailov Artillery Academy in

Orenburg Orenburg (, ), formerly known as Chkalov (1938–1957), is the administrative center of Orenburg Oblast, Russia. It lies in Eastern Europe, along the banks of the Ural River, being approximately southeast of Moscow. Orenburg is close to the ...

, Russia. After short service at the head of an artillery detachment went to study at the prestigious Artillery Academy of the General Staff along with

Oleksander Hrekov Oleksander Petrovych Hrekov (; 4 December 1875 – 2 December 1958) was a general of the Imperial Russian Army and Ukrainian People's Army. He was a commander-in-chief of the army of the West Ukrainian National Republic during the Polish-Ukrai ...

with whom he joined the General Staff (General Bulawa) of the

. After graduation with distinction went to serve at different positions in St.Petersburg — served as staff officer and aide-de-camp. Throughout his career Sinclair mostly served as a staff-officer. During World War I first served as regimental Chief of Staff and later commanded a Russian infantry regiment. Awarded the title of major-general, and the

Order of Saint Stanislaus The Order of Saint Stanislaus (, ), also spelled Stanislas, was a Polish order of knighthood founded in 1765 by King Stanisław August Poniatowski of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. It remained under the Congress Poland, Kingdom of Pola ...

, 2nd and 3rd class; the Order of St. Anne, 2nd and 3rd class; the Order of St. Vladimir, 3rd and 4th class with swords. After 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 ...

went to serve in the General Staff of the

(UNR). In 1918 was promoted to Quartermaster General. During the Hetmanate and the

Directorate Directorate may refer to: Contemporary *Directorates of the Scottish Government * Directorate-General, a type of specialised administrative body in the European Union * Directorate-General for External Security, the French external intelligence ag ...

he continued to serve in the General Staff, playing an important role in capture of

Kiev Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

from

Bolsheviks 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, ...

in 1919. At the end of 1919 became Chief of General Staff. In 1920 headed Ukrainian delegation in negotiations with

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

, which resulted in the Treaty of Warsaw. After the military defeat of the Army of UNR retired and settled in Eastern

, participated in the life of the local Ukrainian community. At the end of

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

with the advance of the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

was arrested by

NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (, ), abbreviated as NKVD (; ), was the interior ministry and secret police of the Soviet Union from 1934 to 1946. The agency was formed to succeed the Joint State Political Directorate (OGPU) se ...

and interned to Kiev. Died in

Lukyanivska Prison Lukianivska Prison () is a famous historical prison in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, located in the central Lukianivka neighborhood of the city. It is officially known as SIZO#13 () which is a portmanteau for ''Slidchyi IZOliator'' (). Though the ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sinkler, Volodymyr 1879 births 1946 deaths People from Margilan People from Fergana Oblast Russian military personnel of World War I Ukrainian people of World War I People from the Russian Empire of Swedish descent Ukrainian People's Army generals Ukrainian people in the Russian Empire Ukrainian people who died in Soviet detention Inmates of Lukyanivska Prison Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 2nd class Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 3rd class Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 4th class Imperial Nikolayev Military Academy alumni