Alexei Andreyevich Polivanov (russian: Алексей Андреевич Поливанов) (March 16, 1855 – September 25, 1920) was a Russian military figure, infantry general (1915). He served as Russia's Minister of War from June 1915 until the Tsarina Alexandra forced his removal from office in March 1916.

Biography

Polivanov was born to an aristocratic family. He graduated from the Nikolaevsky Military Engineering Academy in Petersburg, present-day Saint Petersburg Military Engineering-Technical University (Nikolaevsky), from which he graduated in 1880. He served in the 1877–78

Russo-Turkish War The Russo-Turkish wars (or Ottoman–Russian wars) were a series of twelve wars fought between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire between the 16th and 20th centuries. It was one of the longest series of military conflicts in European histor ...

. He later became a member of the Russian General Staff (1899–1904), rising in 1905 to become its chief the following year. Following the disastrous defeat in the 1904–1905

Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War ( ja, 日露戦争, Nichiro sensō, Japanese-Russian War; russian: Ру́сско-япóнская войнá, Rússko-yapónskaya voyná) was fought between the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire during 1904 and 1 ...

, he was appointed assistant Minister of War and quickly recommended extensive political and military reforms. However, he was dismissed in 1912 because of his cooperation with liberal factions within the Duma. Polivanov was appointed to the State Council in 1912 and served until June 1915 when he replaced

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 ...

as Minister of War; and at once started transforming the Russian army's training system and tried with limited success to improve its supply and communications systems. However, in August 1915 he became aware of

Tsar Nicholas II Nicholas II or Nikolai II Alexandrovich Romanov; spelled in pre-revolutionary script. ( 186817 July 1918), known in the Russian Orthodox Church as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer,. was the last Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Polan ...

's plan to replace Grand Duke Nikolai as commander-in-chief of the army and personally lead the Russian armies at the front, and made strenuous efforts to persuade him not to. This helped alienate Polivanov from the Tsarina, who then conspired to have him sacked, and achieved this when Tsar Nicholas dismissed him in March 1916. He was succeeded by

Dmitry Shuvayev Dmitry Savelyevich Shuvayev (; – 19 December 1937) was a Russian military leader, Infantry General (1912) and Minister of War (1916). Life Dmitry Shuvayev graduated from Alexander Military School in 1872. Between 1873 and 1875, he particip ...

. Following the

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and ad ...

, Polivanov joined the Red Army in February 1920, participating in the Soviet-Polish peace talks in

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...

later that year but died of

typhus Typhus, also known as typhus fever, is a group of infectious diseases that include epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, and murine typhus. Common symptoms include fever, headache, and a rash. Typically these begin one to two weeks after exposure. ...

during the talks. He was awarded

Order of Prince Danilo I The Order of Prince Danilo I ( cnr, Орден Књаза Данила I, translit=Orden Knjaza Danila I) was an order of the Principality and later Kingdom, of Montenegro. It is currently a dynastic order granted by the head of the House of P ...

and other decorations.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Polivanov, Alexei 1855 births 1920 deaths Military Engineering-Technical University alumni Imperial Russian Army generals Politicians of the Russian Empire Russian military personnel of World War I Deaths from typhus Soviet Army officers Burials at Nikolskoe Cemetery