In the book of military historian E.V. Bey, prepared on extensive archival and memoir material, presents the biography of one of the controversial figures in Russian military history - the Minister of War of the Russian Empire, General of the Cavalry, Adjutant General Vladimir Aleksandrovich Sukhomlinov. The study covers the time of his childhood and youth, his formation as a Russian military and statesman during the reign of Alexander III and the rise of his career during the reign of Nicholas II. Against the background of a personal portrait, the author examined a wide range of issues relating to the reform of the Russian armed forces and their preparation for the Great War. The main reasons for military failures are reflected, as well as the conditions under which the military supply crisis broke out, the so-called “shell famine” in the first years of the confrontation. Particular attention is paid to the events that influenced the fall of Minister of War V.A. Sukhomlinov, who in the eyes of the public has become a symbol of corruption and treason in the highest echelons of power.