1922 Encyclopædia Britannica/Yanushkevich, Nikolai

YANUSHKEVICH, NIKOLAI (1868-), Russian general, was born in 1868 and entered the army in 1888. He passed through the academy of the general staff, and was appointed on the general staff. By 1909 he had reached the rank of general, but all his service was spent in the offices of the War Ministry, out of contact with troops. Very strict as a bureaucrat, he earned the special favour of the War Minister, Sukhomlinov, and, though he was quite untrained in the leading of troops in modern warfare (at the academy of the general staff he had taken an administrative course), he was, thanks to his even temper and enterprise, quickly promoted to the higher posts. Just before the World War he was appointed head of the general staff. Unable to introduce improvements, he limited himself merely to formal direction, which toned in well with the régime which the careless War Minister, Sukhomlinov, had established. With the declaration of war Yanushkevich, as head of the general staff, became the head of the staff of the supreme commander-in-chief. But at the commencement of operations, feeling himself completely unprepared for leadership on active service, he withdrew and left the work in the hands of his subordinates.