Eduard Schensnovich Eduard Nikolayevich Schensnovich ( ) " Eduárd Nikoláevič Ščensnóvič " , occasionally transliterated as ( January 6 , 1852 - January 3 , 1911 ) was an admiral in the Imperial Russian Navy . Biography . Schensnovich was born in Arkhangelsk into an ethnic Polish nobility in the Russian Empire . His father , Nikolai Schensnovich was a career naval officer , who had been exiled to Arkhangelsk in 1833 for his role in the November Uprising . The family moved to Kronstadt in 1862 . Schensnovich entered military service in 1867 , and joined the Sea Cadet Corps in Petrograd , graduating as a midshipman in 1871 . HIs first assignment was to the clipper ship " Pearl " in the Pacific Ocean in 1871 , following which he joined the gunboat " Smerch " as a warrant officer . In 1876 he was posted to the Black Sea Fleet serving on board torpedo boats , and was promoted to lieutenant in 1877 . During the Russo Turkish War of 1877 he served as a mine warfare specialist . In 1878 he joined the mine warfare school of the Russian Baltic Fleet and represented Russia during the Exposition Universelle ( 1878 ) in Paris , and went on to study the latest developments in mines in France and England later that year . From 1880 - 1885 he conducted numerous experiments with naval mines as part of the Russian Navy technical department , wrote numerous technical articles , and was decorated for his successes in the development of new weapons . In 1885 , Schensnovich was promoted to Captain 2nd Rank and commanded the destroyer division of the Russian Pacific Fleet . In 1886 he returned to the Baltic Fleet and commanded gunboats and destroyers , and was also involved in the drafting of tactics and battle plans for potential use against the Imperial German Navy in the event of a conflict . In 1895 he was base commander in Vladivostok . In 1898 Schensnovich was promoted to Captain 1st Rank and was sent to Philadelphia to supervise the construction of the battleship and cruiser in America . He returned to Russia in 1902 aboard the " Retvizan " which he commanded for the duration of her Russian Navy career . On September 21 , 1902 " Retvizan " and " Varyag " were assigned to the Far East and arrived as Port Arthur April 20 , 1903 . During the Russo Japanese War Schensnovich was based at Port Arthur . The " Retvizan " was struck by Japanese torpedo es during one of the opening sorties of the Battle of Port Arthur . After emergency repairs , Schensnovich took part in the Battle of the Yellow Sea where , by attempting to ram the Japanese flagship , he proved to be a far more aggressive captain than many of his colleagues . During the battle , " Retvizan " took many hits , and Schensnovich was severely wounded in the abdomen by shrapnel . He never fully recovered from this injury . Captain Schensnovich signed the capitulation of Port Arthur for the Imperial Russian Navy on 2 January 1905 . After repatriation following the war , Schensnovich was based in with the Baltic Fleet and promoted to rear admiral in 1905 . By express order of Tsar Nicholas II , on March 19 , 1906 he was made base commander at Libau and commander of the first Russian Navy submarine squadron , with responsibility for developing all aspects of submarine warfare . From 1908 was promoted to vice admiral and made a member of the Admiralty Board , directing a committee to rewrite the rules and regulations for conduct of the Imperial Russian Navy , and issing numerous memorandums on the shortcomings of the Russian shipbuilding industry and tactics during the Russo - Japanese War . His health continued to deteriorate , and he died in 1910 .