Vladimir Aleksandrovich Sukhomlinov (Russian: Владимир Александрович Сухомлинов, IPA: [sʊxɐˈmlʲinəf]; 16 August [O.S. 4 August] 1848 – 2 February 1926) was a Russian general in the Imperial Russian Army who served as the Chief of the General Staff from 1908 to 1909 and the Minister of War from 1909 to 1915.
Sukhomlinov was ousted as Minister of War amid allegations of failure to provide the Imperial Russian Army with necessary armaments and munitions for World War I and accused of responsibility for Russia's defeats in the early Eastern Front. Sukhomlinov was tried for high treason, corruption, and abuse of power in a high-profile case that damaged the reputation of Russia's fragile Imperial government. According to some historians, the Sukhomlinov scandal may have done more harm to the Romanov monarchy than the lurid scandals associated with Rasputin.[5]