KUROPATKIN, ALEXEI NIKOLAIEVICH (1848 1921), Russian general, entered the army in 1864. In 1875 he was employed in diplomatic work in Kashgaria and in 1876 took part in military operations in Turkistan, Kokan and Samarkand. In the war of 1877-78 against Turkey he earned a great reputa tion as chief of staff to the younger Skobelev, and after the war he wrote a detailed and critical history—Lovcha and Plevna (1885)—of the operations, which is still regarded as the classical work on the subject. After the war he served again on the S.E. borders in command of the Turkistan Rifle Brigade, and in 1881 won further fame by a march of 500 m. from Tash kent to Geok-Tepe, taking part in the storming of the latter place. In 1882 he was promoted major-general, at the early age of 34, and was henceforth regarded by the army as the natural successor of Skobelev. In 1903 he took command of the Rus sian army then gathering in Manchuria for the contest with Japan. His ill-success in 1904-05 was largely attributable to
his subjection to the superior command of Adm. Alexeiev, the tsar's viceroy in the Far East, and to internal friction amongst the generals, though in his history of the war (Eng. tr., 1909) he frankly admitted his own mistakes. After the defeat of Muk den and the retirement of the whole 'army to Tieling he re signed the command to General Linievich, taking the latter offi cer's place at the head of one of the three armies in Manchuria. (See RUSSO-JAPANESE WAR.) In the World War Kuropatkin fought at first on the west front, and in 1916 became governor-general of Turkistan. In 1917 he was teaching in a village school. He died at Shem shurino (Pskov) in Feb., 1921.
See D. Story, The campaign with Kuropatkin (1904) •