Yevgeni Ivanovich Alekseyev Yevgeni Ivanovich Alekseyev or Alexeyev ( ( – May 27 , 1917 ) was an admiral in the Imperial Russian Navy , viceroy of the Russian Far East province , and commander of Russian forces at Port Arthur and in Manchuria during the first year of the Russo - Japanese War of 1904 - 05 . Biography . Alexeyev was an illegitimate son of Tsar Alexander II , raised by the family of Lieutenant Ivan Maximovich Alexeyev ( 1796 – 1849 ) . At the age of 13 , Alexeyev attended the Sea Cadet Corps and completed his training three years later . He was assigned as a midshipman for four years to the screw corvette " Varyag " , on a world tour . He was commissioned as an ensign in 1867 . After serving on numerous ships in the Imperial Russian Navy , he was given his first command in 1878 : the cruiser " Afrika " , which he commanded on a voyage around the world from 1880 - 1883 . From 1883 - 1888 he served as a naval attaché to France , and was promoted to the rank of captain in 1886 . After his return to Russia in 1889 , he was given command of the protected cruiser " Admiral Kornilov " . In 1891 , he made another round the world cruise , this time accompanied by the Tsarevich Nicholas ( the future Tsar Nicholas II ) . Alexeyev was promoted to rear admiral in 1892 and served on the General Staff of the Imperial Russian Navy , becoming vice admiral in 1894 and deputy chief of staff in 1895 . From 1895 - 1897 he was made commander of the Russian Pacific Fleet , initially at Vladivostok , and from December 1897 , from Port Arthur in the southern Liaodong Peninsula leased from Qing dynasty China . In 1898 he became governor of the Liaodong leased territory , and was again commander of the Russian Pacific Fleet from 1899 . He participated in the suppression of the Boxer Rebellion and was promoted to Adjutant general . The failure of Russia to withdraw its forces from Manchuria after the end of the Boxer Rebellion further alarmed the Empire of Japan , still upset over the Triple Intervention and Russian de facto annexation of the Liaodong Peninsula and increasing Russian influence over Joseon dynasty Korea – all of which were concerned detrimental to Japanese interests and security . On August 13 , 1903 Tsar Nicolas II appointed Alexeyev as viceroy in charge of all civil and military authority over Russian possessions in the Far East , including Russian - occupied Manchuria , the Liadong Peninsula , and Russia Amur Military District ( present day Maritime Provinces ) . His exact functions were poorly defined , and " 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 . Since Alexeyev showed extreme hostility towards Japan , supporting the desire of Russian industrialists to establish themselves in Korea , this was a clear signal to the Japanese government that Russia was not willing to negotiate any political concessions . With the outbreak of the Russo - Japanese War on February 9 , 1904 , Alexeyev became commander of all Russian land and naval forces in the Far East . However , he had serious disagreements with General Kuropatkin , the former minister of war over the strategy employed against the Japanese and forced Kuropatkin to take a more aggressive position despite Kuropatkin ’ s insistence on assuming a defensive war of attrition until the completion of the Trans - Siberian Railroad , which would bring reinforcements and supplies . After major defeats on sea and by land , Alexeyev was recalled to St . Petersburg on October 12 , 1904 . In June 1905 , Alexeyev became a member of the State Council of Imperial Russia . In April 1917 , in the wake of the February Revolution and the abdication of the Tsar in March , he retired from public life . He died a few weeks later in Yalta , on 27 May 1917 .