Evgenii Alekseev

Born May 11, 1843; died 1918. Russian admiral (1903); adjutant general (1901). Graduated from naval school (1863).

In 1892, Alekseev became assistant head of the Chief Naval Staff. From 1895 through 1897 he commanded the Pacific Ocean Squadron (in 1897 he became the senior flag officer of the Black Sea naval division). In August 1899 he became the chief officer and commander of the troops of Kwantung Province and the naval forces on the Pacific Ocean. He participated in the suppression of the Ikhetuan uprising. On July 30, 1903, he became the tsar’s deputy in the Far East. He was close to the so-called Bezobrazov clique. After the start of the Russo-Japanese War, Alekseev was commander-in-chief of land and naval forces in the Far East from February to October 1904. He demonstrated no military talents, and his relations with General A. N. Kuropatkin, the commander of the Manchurian army, were strained, which greatly compounded the problems of directing military actions. When the vicegerency in the Far East was eliminated in June 1905, Alekseev was made a member of the State Council.