Mykola Kapustiansky

Mykola Oleksandrovych Kapustiansky was a General in the army of the Ukrainian National Republic and one of the founders of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists. Kapustiansky was born in Yekaterinoslav Governorate in central Ukraine, then part of the Russian Empire. He fought in the Russian-Japanese War and in 1912 graduated from the General Staff Academy in Saint Petersburg, reaching the rank of colonel during the First World War. After the Revolution of 1917 Kapustiansky joined the Ukrainian units of the Russian army and rose rapidly in its ranks, becoming chief of staff of the First Division of the First Ukrainian Corps in August 1917, and in early 1918 chief of staff of the southwestern front. Under the Directory of the Ukrainian National Republic, he served as operations chief and then as general quartermaster of the Army of the Ukrainian National Republic. In 1920, he was promoted to brigadier general.