Yevgeny Ivanovich Alexeyev

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Yevgeny Ivanovich Alexeyev

Yevgeny Ivanovich Alexeyev ( Russian Евгений Иванович Алексеев * 13. May 1843 in Saint Petersburg ; † 27. May 1917 in Yalta ) was an admiral of the Imperial Russian Navy , governor of the Russian Far Eastern Province and in the first year of the war, in 1904, commander of the Russian armed forces in the Far East in the Russo-Japanese War .

origin

Alexejew was an illegitimate son of Tsar Alexander II ; he was raised in the family of Lieutenant Ivan Maximowitsch Alexejew (1796-1849). He was raised to the nobility by his father after he had become tsar in 1855. He got on well with his half-brothers, and especially with Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich Romanov (January 2, 1850 - November 27, 1908), the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, son of Tsar Alexander II and brother of Tsar Alexander III.

career

Alexejew entered the Navy Cadet School at the age of 13 and successfully completed his training there three years later. This was followed by four years of service on the screw corvette Varyag , including an extensive world tour. In 1867 he was promoted to lieutenant at sea. After further commands on various ships, he was in 1878 commander of the cruiser Africa , with which he made his second trip around the world from 1880-1883. From 1883 to 1888 he was a naval attache in France. He was promoted to captain at sea (captain first rank) in 1886, and in 1889 he was given command of the protected cruiser Admiral Kornilow , which was put into service in August 1889 , with whom he undertook his third world tour. In 1891 he accompanied Tsarevich Nikolaus (later Tsar Nicholas II ) on his journey to the Far East .

The promotion to rear admiral took place in 1892, with a simultaneous transfer to the admiral staff, where he served as its deputy chief until 1895. In 1894 Alexeyev was promoted to vice admiral. From 1895 to 1897 he commanded the Russian Pacific Fleet , with which he occupied the port of Port Arthur in December 1897 and in March 1898 took the southern part of the Liaodong peninsula with the city of Dairen in lease for Russia. In 1898 he became governor of the Liaodong lease area, and in 1899 Commander in Chief of the Russian naval forces in Kwantung and the Pacific Fleet . He took part in the suppression of the Boxer Rebellion (November 1899-1901) in China; for his services in this he was appointed adjutant general.

Russo-Japanese War

On July 30 jul. / August 12, 1903 greg. the Japanese ambassador demanded the withdrawal of Russian troops from Manchuria and recognition of the political supremacy of Japan in Korea . However, Russia was only ready to recognize the status quo . The following day, July 31 jul. / August 13, 1903 greg. , Alexejew, while being promoted to admiral by Tsar Nicholas II, became governor of the newly created Far East region by amalgamating the previous military district of Amur ( Manchuria occupied by Russia ) with the leasing area of ​​Kwantung (Liaodong) and combining their civil and military administrations appointed. Since he was one of the leading figures in the warring party, this was a clear signal to the Japanese government that Russia was not necessarily willing to negotiate. The now very large province of the Far East surrounded large parts of North Korea and inner Manchuria and thus posed a clear threat to Japanese interests.

From the beginning of the Russo-Japanese War with the Japanese attack on Port Arthur on February 8/9 to October 12, 1904, Alexejew was commander-in-chief of all Russian land and naval forces in the Far East. However, he had significant differences of opinion with General Kuropatkin (1848-1925), the previous Minister of War, who had taken over command of the Russian armies in Manchuria in February and, unlike Alexejew, advocated a defensive strategy. Alexejew was replaced by General Kuropatkin by Tsar Nicholas II on October 12, 1904, after the heavy defeat of the Russian forces on sea and on land, and he was recalled to Saint Petersburg.

Last years

In June 1905 Alexejew became a member of the Russian State Council . In April 1917, following the February Revolution and the abdication of the Tsar in March, he formally resigned from office. He died a few weeks later, on May 27, 1917.

literature

  • Vice Admiral Alexejeff, leader of the Russian naval forces in East Asia , portrait photography, in: Deutscher Hausschatz, 26th year, 1998/1900, no. 46, p. 864.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Alekseev, Evgeny Ivanovich at genealogy.babr.ru
  2. ↑ Bernhard Stern: The Romanows: Intimate episodes from their family and court life. Verlag Siegfried Cronbach, Berlin, 1906 (pp. 189-190).
  3. ↑ to the article "Weltrundschau (from July 15 to August 6, 1900)", p. 861 ff.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Alexejew, Yevgeny Ivanovich
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Алексеев, Евгений Иванович (Russian)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Russian admiral
DATE OF BIRTH May 13, 1843
PLACE OF BIRTH St. Petersburg
DATE OF DEATH May 27, 1917
Place of death Yalta