Alexei Nikolayevich Kuropatkin (Russian:Алексе́й Никола́евич Куропа́ткин; March 29, 1848 – January 16, 1925) was the Russian Imperial Minister of War from 1898 to 1904, and often held responsible for major Russian defeats in the Russian-Japanese War, most notably at the Battle of Mukden and the Battle of Liaoyang.