Yevgeni Ivanovich Alekseyev or Alexeyev (; b. – d. May 27, 1917) was a Russian admiral in the

Imperial Russian Navy The Imperial Russian Navy () operated as the navy of the Russian Tsardom and later the Russian Empire from 1696 to 1917. Formally established in 1696, it lasted until being dissolved in the wake of the February Revolution and the declaration of ...

viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the Anglo-Norman ''roy'' (Old Frenc ...

of the

Russian Far East The Russian Far East ( rus, Дальний Восток России, p=ˈdalʲnʲɪj vɐˈstok rɐˈsʲiɪ) is a region in North Asia. It is the easternmost part of Russia and the Asia, Asian continent, and is coextensive with the Far Easte ...

, and commander-in-chief of Imperial Russian forces at Port Arthur and in

Manchuria Manchuria is a historical region in northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day northeast China and parts of the modern-day Russian Far East south of the Uda (Khabarovsk Krai), Uda River and the Tukuringra-Dzhagdy Ranges. The exact ...

during the first year of the

Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War (8 February 1904 – 5 September 1905) was fought between the Russian Empire and the Empire of Japan over rival imperial ambitions in Manchuria and the Korean Empire. The major land battles of the war were fought on the ...

of 1904-05.

Biography

According to rumor, Alekseyev was an illegitimate son of

Emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

Alexander II (). Alekseyev was raised by the family of Lieutenant Ivan Maximovich Alekseyev (1796–1849) in

Sevastopol Sevastopol ( ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea and a major port on the Black Sea. Due to its strategic location and the navigability of the city's harbours, Sevastopol has been an important port and naval base th ...

.Kowner, '' Historical Dictionary of the Russo-Japanese War'', p. 32-33. At the age of 13 Alexeyev attended the Naval Cadet Corps and completed his training three years later. He was assigned as a

midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest Military rank#Subordinate/student officer, rank in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Royal Cana ...

for four years to the

corvette A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper (or " rated") warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the sloo ...

''Varyag'' on a world tour. Commissioned as an ensign in 1867, he served on numerous ships in the Imperial Russian Navy including the ironclad ''Kniaz Pozharsky'', and in 1878 received his first command: the cruiser ''Afrika'', which he commanded on a voyage around the world from 1880 to 1883. From 1883 to 1888 Alexeyev served as a naval attaché to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

; he was promoted to the rank of captain in 1886. During this time he took the place of Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich who was in jail after he was arrested for a drunken fight at a

brothel A brothel, strumpet house, bordello, bawdy house, ranch, house of ill repute, house of ill fame, or whorehouse is a place where people engage in Human sexual activity, sexual activity with prostitutes. For legal or cultural reasons, establis ...

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

, winning the Grand Duke's patronage. After his return to Russia in 1889 he was given command of the

protected cruiser Protected cruisers, a type of cruiser of the late 19th century, took their name from the armored deck, which protected vital machine-spaces from fragments released by explosive shells. Protected cruisers notably lacked a belt of armour alon ...

. In 1891 he made another round-the-world cruise, this time accompanied by the

Tsarevich Tsarevich (, ) was a title given to the sons of tsars. The female equivalent was ''tsarevna''. Under the 1797 Pauline Laws, Pauline house laws, the title was discontinued and replaced with ''tsesarevich'' for the heir apparent alone. His younger ...

Nicholas (the future Tsar Nicholas II, )—during the Eastern journey of Nicholas II. Alexeyev was promoted to rear admiral in 1892 and served on the , becoming vice admiral in 1894 and deputy chief-of-staff in 1895. From 1895 to 1897 he commanded the Russian Pacific Fleet, initially at

Vladivostok Vladivostok ( ; , ) is the largest city and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai and the capital of the Far Eastern Federal District of Russia. It is located around the Zolotoy Rog, Golden Horn Bay on the Sea of Japan, covering an area o ...

, and from December 1897, at Port Arthur in the southern

Liaodong Peninsula The Liaodong or Liaotung Peninsula ( zh, s=辽东半岛, t=遼東半島, p=Liáodōng Bàndǎo) is a peninsula in southern Liaoning province in Northeast China, and makes up the southwestern coastal half of the Liaodong region. It is located ...

leased from

Qing-dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the Ming dynasty and s ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. In 1898 he was appointed governor of the Kwantung Fortified Region, and was again named commander of the Russian Pacific Fleet from 1899. He participated in the suppression of the

Boxer Rebellion The Boxer Rebellion, also known as the Boxer Uprising, was an anti-foreign, anti-imperialist, and anti-Christian uprising in North China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty, by the Society of Righteous and Harmonious F ...

of 1899-1901 in

as commander of an army corps, following an appointment by War Minister Aleksey Kuropatkin and was promoted to Adjutant general. The failure of Russia to withdraw its forces from

as scheduled after the end of the Boxer Rebellion further alarmed the

Empire of Japan The Empire of Japan, also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was the Japanese nation state that existed from the Meiji Restoration on January 3, 1868, until the Constitution of Japan took effect on May 3, 1947. From Japan–Kor ...

, still upset by the Triple Intervention, by Russian ''de facto'' annexation of the

and by increasing Russian influence over the

Korean Empire The Korean Empire, officially the Empire of Korea or Imperial Korea, was a Korean monarchical state proclaimed in October 1897 by King Gojong of the Joseon dynasty. The empire lasted until the Japanese annexation of Korea in August 1910. Dur ...

– all of which the Japanese deemed detrimental to their interests and national security. Alexeyev was a key member of the "Bezobrazov Circle", a politically-motivated investment-group organized by Aleksandr Mikhailovich Bezobrazov, whose investors included many members of the highest level in the Russian court. The "Bezobrazov Circle" aimed to establish a commercial enterprise reminiscent of the

British East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

which would reward its investors with financial benefits while setting the stage for the conquest of Manchuria and Korea. Alexeyev reassured the Emperor that increased aggressive action in the region would not provoke a military response from Japan. On August 13, 1903, Emperor Nicolas II appointed Alexeyev as , with all civil and military authority over Russian possessions in the Far East, including Russian-occupied Manchuria, the Liaodong Peninsula, and Russia's Amur Military District (present-day

Primorsky Krai Primorsky Krai, informally known as Primorye, is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject (a krais of Russia, krai) of Russia, part of the Far Eastern Federal District in the Russian Far East. The types of inhabited localities in Russia, ...

). As viceroy, he was beyond the jurisdiction of any ministry and reported directly to the Tsar; however, his exact functions remained poorly defined—historian Ian Nish stated: "he himself was unclear about the extent of his autonomy... In any event Alekseyev, who already had been given in May very great powers of coordination, did not greatly welcome the new title and almost declined to accept it."Ian Nish, ''The Origins of the Russo-Japanese War'' (Longman, 1985; ), pp. 174-75. With the outbreak of the

on February 9, 1904, Alexeyev became commander of all Russian land and naval forces in the Far East. He assumed direct command over the Russian Pacific Squadron after the dismissal of Vice Admiral Oskar Stark (February 24, 1904) until the arrival of Vice Admiral Stepan Makarov (March 8, 1904), and again after Makarov's death () until the appointment (April 1, 1904) of Vice Admiral Nikolai Skrydlov. On land, Alexeyev had serious and continual disagreements with General Aleksey Kuropatkin, the former Minister of War, over the strategy employed against the Japanese. Alexeyev forced Kuropatkin to take a more aggressive position, despite Kuropatkin's insistence on waging a defensive

war of attrition The War of Attrition (; ) involved fighting between Israel and Egypt, Jordan, the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and their allies from 1967 to 1970. Following the 1967 Six-Day War, no serious diplomatic efforts were made to resolve t ...

until the completion of the Trans-Siberian Railroad, which would bring reinforcements and supplies. Following a direct order from the Tsar, Alexeyev left Port Arthur on May 5, 1904, for

Mukden Shenyang,; ; Mandarin pronunciation: ; formerly known as Fengtian formerly known by its Manchu name Mukden, is a sub-provincial city in China and the provincial capital of Liaoning province. It is the province's most populous city with a p ...

, and following the Russian defeat at the Battle of Shaho (5 to 17 October 1904, New Style), was relieved of his command and ordered back to St. Petersburg on October 12, 1904. In June 1905 the post of viceroy was abolished, and Alexeyev became a member of the

State Council of Imperial Russia The State Council ( rus, Госуда́рственный сове́т, p=ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)ɨj sɐˈvʲet) was the supreme state advisory body to the tsar in the Russian Empire. From 1906, it was the upper house of the parliament under t ...

. In his later years he moved to

Russian Armenia Russian Armenia is the period of Armenian history under Russian rule from 1828, when Eastern Armenia became part of the Russian Empire following Qajar dynasty, Qajar Iran's loss in the Russo-Persian War (1826–1828) and the subsequent ceding of ...

and worked as a school teacher. In April 1917, in the wake of the

February Revolution The February Revolution (), known in Soviet historiography as the February Bourgeois Democratic Revolution and sometimes as the March Revolution or February Coup was the first of Russian Revolution, two revolutions which took place in Russia ...

and the abdication of Emperor Nikolai II in March 1917, he retired from public life. He died a few weeks later in

Yalta Yalta (: ) is a resort town, resort city on the south coast of the Crimean Peninsula surrounded by the Black Sea. It serves as the administrative center of Yalta Municipality, one of the regions within Crimea. Yalta, along with the rest of Crime ...

, on .

Honors

Order of St. Stanislaus, 3rd degree, 1871 * Ufficiale OCI Kingdom BAR

Order of the Crown of Italy The Order of the Crown of Italy ( or OCI) was founded as a national order in 1868 by King Victor Emmanuel II of Italy, Vittorio Emanuele II, to commemorate Italian unification, the unification of Italy in 1861. It was awarded in five degrees for ...

, Officer's Cross 1873 (Italy) * Order of St Vladimir, 4th degree with bow, 1875 . * Order of Osmanieh, 4th degree 1876 (Ottoman Empire) * Order of Saint Stanislaus Ribbon

Order of St. Stanislaus, 2nd degree 1877. * Order of Saint Anna ribbon bar

Order of St. Anne, 2nd degree 1879 * Legion Honneur Commandeur ribbon

Legion of Honor The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and civil. Currently consisting of five classes, it was ...

, Commander, 1888 (France) * GRE Order Redeemer 3Class

Order of the Redeemer The Order of the Redeemer (), also known as the Order of the Saviour, is an order of merit of Greece. The Order of the Redeemer is the oldest and highest decoration awarded by the modern Greek state. Establishment The establishment of the Orde ...

, Commander's Cross 1889 (Greece) * Order of St Vladimir, 3rd degree, 1890 * Order of St. Stanislaus, 1st degree, 1894 * Order of Saint Anna ribbon bar

Order of St. Anne, 1st degree, 1896 *

Order of the Double Dragon The Imperial Order of the Double Dragon () was an Order (decoration), order awarded in the late Qing dynasty. The Order was founded by the Guangxu Emperor on 7 February 1882 as an award for outstanding services to the throne and the Qing court. ...

, 1886 (China) * JPN Kyokujitsu-sho 1Class BAR

Order of the Rising Sun The is a Japanese honors system, Japanese order, established in 1875 by Emperor Meiji. The Order was the first national decoration awarded by the Japanese government, created on 10 April 1875 by decree of the Council of State. The badge feat ...

, 1st degree, 1896 (Japan) * Order of St Vladimir, 2nd degree, 1898 * Order of the White Eagle, with swords, 1901 * Legion Honneur GC ribbon

, Grand Croix, 1901 (France) * PRU Roter Adlerorden BAR

Order of the Red Eagle The Order of the Red Eagle () was an order of chivalry of the Kingdom of Prussia. It was awarded to both military personnel and civilians, to recognize valor in combat, excellence in military leadership, long and faithful service to the kingdom, o ...

, 1st class with swords, 1901 (Prussia) * BEL Order of Leopold II - Grand Cross BAR

Order of Leopold II, Grand Cross, 1901 (Belgium) * RUS Order of Saint George 3rd class ribbon 2000

Order of St. George, 3rd class, 1903 * Band to Order St Alexander Nevsky

Order of St. Alexander Nevsky The Imperial Order of Saint Alexander Nevsky was an order of chivalry of the Russian Empire first awarded on by Empress Catherine I of Russia. History The introduction of the Imperial Order of Saint Alexander Nevsky was envisioned by Emperor ...

, 1906 * Order of St Vladimir, 1st degree, 1915

References

* Connaughton, R.M (1988). ''Rising Sun and Tumbling Bear—A Military History of the Russo-Japanese War 1904–5'', London, . * Jukes, Geoffry. ''The Russo-Japanese War 1904–1905''. Osprey Essential Histories. (2002). . * * Warner, Denis & Peggy. ''The Tide at Sunrise, A History of the Russo-Japanese War 1904–1905''. (1975). .

Notes

External links

Biography on Russo-Japanese War.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alekseyev, Yevgeni Ivanovich 1843 births 1917 deaths Imperial Russian Navy admirals Imperial Russian Army generals People of the Boxer Rebellion Russian military personnel of the Boxer Rebellion Russian military personnel of the Russo-Japanese War Members of the State Council (Russian Empire) Recipients of the Order of St. George of the Third Degree Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 1st class Recipients of the Order of St. Vladimir, 1st class Recipients of the Grand Cross of the Order of Leopold II Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour Grand Cordons of the Order of the Rising Sun Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Russia) Russian naval attachés Military attachés of the Russian Empire Nobility from the Russian Empire Naval Cadet Corps alumni