Yevgeny Andreyevich Berens (, occasionally transliterated as Behrens; – 7 April 1928) was a
Russian
Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including:
*Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
military leader,
Commander-in-Chief of the
Soviet Naval Forces from April 1919 to February 1920.
Born in
Tiflis
Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Kura River with a population of approximately 1.5 million pe ...
in 1876, Berens graduated from the
Naval Cadet Corps in 1895. He was navigating officer of the
Russian cruiser ''Varyag'' and fought in the
Battle of Chemulpo Bay
The Battle of Chemulpo Bay was a naval battle in the Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905), which took place on 9 February 1904, off the coast of present-day Incheon (then called Chemulpo), Korea.
Background
The opening stage of the Russo-Japanese W ...
when his ship was sunk. After being repatriated he served in the
Baltic Fleet as executive officer of the
Russian battleship Tsesarevich. From 1910 to 1917 he served as naval attache to the Netherlands, Germany, and Italy (1915–1917). After the
February Revolution, Berens returned to Russia and served on the Naval General Staff.
After the October Revolution he joined the Red side and was head of the Naval Staff from 1917 to 1919. In 1919, he was appointed commander of the Soviet Navy on the death of
Vasili Altfater.
In 1920, he was transferred to the diplomatic service and was head of the Soviet delegation at major conferences. He was military attache to Great Britain and France from 1924. He died in Moscow in 1928 and was buried in
Novodevichy Cemetery.
Berens' brother,
Mikhail Berens
Mikhail Andreyevich Berens (russian: Михаил Андреевич Беренс) (January 16, 1879 – January 20, 1943) was an officer in the Imperial Russian Navy and the White Navy during the Russian Civil War.
Biography
Mikhail Beren ...
, was also a naval officer but joined the
white side in the Russian Civil War and commanded
Wrangel's fleet
Wrangel's Fleet was the last remnant of the Black Sea Fleet of the Imperial Russian Navy and existed from 1920 until 1924. This squadron was a "White" (anti-communist and anti-revolutionary) unit during the Russian Civil War. It was known also as ...
Sources
* ''This article is translated from Russian Wikipedia''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Berens, Yevgeny
1876 births
1928 deaths
Military personnel from Tbilisi
People from Tiflis Governorate
Imperial Russian Navy admirals
Russian military leaders
Russian military personnel of the Russo-Japanese War
Russian military personnel of World War I
Soviet admirals
Recipients of the Order of Saint Stanislaus (Russian)
Burials at Novodevichy Cemetery
Soviet military attachés
Naval Cadet Corps alumni