Nikolay Yung
Encyclopedia
Nikolay Viktorovich Yung was a career officer in the Imperial Russian Navy
, noted for his participation in the Battle of Tsushima
in the Russo-Japanese War
as captain of the battleship
and was accepted into the Imperial Russian Navy in 1873. He graduated from the Naval Academy in 1876 ranked 18th in his class.
During the Russo-Turkish War Yung was assigned to the Danube River flotilla as a warrant officer
and commanded a small patrol boat. He was promoted to lieutenant on January 1, 1882, and served on the clipper ship Zhemchug later that year followed by the clipper Rogue from 1882-1885.
Around 1879, Yung became involved with the revolutionary group Narodnaya Volya
and was considered one of its founding members at the naval base of Kronstadt
. The group initially stood for a mix of democratic and socialist reforms
, including a Constituent Assembly
(for designing a Constitution
); universal suffrage
; freedom of speech
, press
, and assembly
; a volunteer military; land reform; and national self-determination
. However, it soon mutated into a terrorist organization and was responsible for the assassination of Tsar
Alexander II
in 1881. Yung escaped arrest at the time as he was on the Rogue circumnavigating the globe and only returned to Russia in 1886. He was taken into custody on his return, but was soon released by a military tribunal
after he disavowed connections to the organization.
Yung was promoted to lieutenant commander on August 30, 1893. He briefly serviced as acting captain of the battleship in 1894, and in 1897 was captain of the cruiser Vestnik. From 1898, Yung served on the committee for testing of new warships and on the examination board for testing midshipmen for the Sea Cadet Corps.
From September 20, 1902 through April 19, 1904, Yung was captain of the cruiser . After the start of the Russo-Japanese War
, he was re-assigned to command the battleship Oryol, as part of the Second Pacific Squadron, which sailed from the Baltic Sea
to relieve the Russian Pacific Fleet trapped at Port Arthur by the Imperial Japanese Navy
. The squadron engaged Japanese Admiral Togo Heihachiro
’s Combined Fleet
at the Battle of Tsushima
on May 15, 1905. During the battle, Oryol took a tremendous beating from the Japanese ships, and Captain Yung was seriously wounded and unconscious at the surrender of the Russian fleet by Admiral Nikolai Nebogatov
. He died of his wounds the following day. In accordance with the wishes of his crew, the Japanese permitted a burial at sea
at 35°56′N 135°10′E.
Imperial Russian Navy
The Imperial Russian Navy refers to the Tsarist fleets prior to the February Revolution.-First Romanovs:Under Tsar Mikhail Feodorovich, construction of the first three-masted ship, actually built within Russia, was completed in 1636. It was built in Balakhna by Danish shipbuilders from Holstein...
, noted for his participation in the Battle of Tsushima
Battle of Tsushima
The Battle of Tsushima , commonly known as the “Sea of Japan Naval Battle” in Japan and the “Battle of Tsushima Strait”, was the major naval battle fought between Russia and Japan during the Russo-Japanese War...
in the Russo-Japanese War
Russo-Japanese War
The Russo-Japanese War was "the first great war of the 20th century." It grew out of rival imperial ambitions of the Russian Empire and Japanese Empire over Manchuria and Korea...
as captain of the battleship
Battleship
A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...
Biography
Yung was from the local nobility of Tver Governorate. In 1872 he entered the Sea Cadet CorpSea Cadet Corps (Russia)
The Sea Cadet Corps , occasionally translated as the Marine Cadet Corps or the Naval Cadet Corps, is an educational establishment for training Naval officers for the Russian Navy in Saint Petersburg.It is the oldest existing high school in Russia.-History:...
and was accepted into the Imperial Russian Navy in 1873. He graduated from the Naval Academy in 1876 ranked 18th in his class.
During the Russo-Turkish War Yung was assigned to the Danube River flotilla as a warrant officer
Warrant Officer
A warrant officer is an officer in a military organization who is designated an officer by a warrant, as distinguished from a commissioned officer who is designated an officer by a commission, or from non-commissioned officer who is designated an officer by virtue of seniority.The rank was first...
and commanded a small patrol boat. He was promoted to lieutenant on January 1, 1882, and served on the clipper ship Zhemchug later that year followed by the clipper Rogue from 1882-1885.
Around 1879, Yung became involved with the revolutionary group Narodnaya Volya
Narodnaya Volya
Narodnaya Volya was aRussian left-wing terrorist organization, best known for the successful assassination of Tsar Alexander II of Russia. It created a centralized and well disguised organization in a time of diverse liberation movements in Russia...
and was considered one of its founding members at the naval base of Kronstadt
Kronstadt
Kronstadt , also spelled Kronshtadt, Cronstadt |crown]]" and Stadt for "city"); is a municipal town in Kronshtadtsky District of the federal city of St. Petersburg, Russia, located on Kotlin Island, west of Saint Petersburg proper near the head of the Gulf of Finland. Population: It is also...
. The group initially stood for a mix of democratic and socialist reforms
Reform movement
A reform movement is a kind of social movement that aims to make gradual change, or change in certain aspects of society, rather than rapid or fundamental changes...
, including a Constituent Assembly
Constituent assembly
A constituent assembly is a body composed for the purpose of drafting or adopting a constitution...
(for designing a Constitution
Constitution
A constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed. These rules together make up, i.e. constitute, what the entity is...
); universal suffrage
Universal suffrage
Universal suffrage consists of the extension of the right to vote to adult citizens as a whole, though it may also mean extending said right to minors and non-citizens...
; freedom of speech
Freedom of speech
Freedom of speech is the freedom to speak freely without censorship. The term freedom of expression is sometimes used synonymously, but includes any act of seeking, receiving and imparting information or ideas, regardless of the medium used...
, press
Mass media
Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
, and assembly
Deliberative assembly
A deliberative assembly is an organization comprising members who use parliamentary procedure to make decisions. In a speech to the electorate at Bristol in 1774, Edmund Burke described the English Parliament as a "deliberative assembly," and the expression became the basic term for a body of...
; a volunteer military; land reform; and national self-determination
Self-determination
Self-determination is the principle in international law that nations have the right to freely choose their sovereignty and international political status with no external compulsion or external interference...
. However, it soon mutated into a terrorist organization and was responsible for the assassination of Tsar
Tsar
Tsar is a title used to designate certain European Slavic monarchs or supreme rulers. As a system of government in the Tsardom of Russia and Russian Empire, it is known as Tsarist autocracy, or Tsarism...
Alexander II
Alexander II of Russia
Alexander II , also known as Alexander the Liberator was the Emperor of the Russian Empire from 3 March 1855 until his assassination in 1881...
in 1881. Yung escaped arrest at the time as he was on the Rogue circumnavigating the globe and only returned to Russia in 1886. He was taken into custody on his return, but was soon released by a military tribunal
Military tribunal
A military tribunal is a kind of military court designed to try members of enemy forces during wartime, operating outside the scope of conventional criminal and civil proceedings. The judges are military officers and fulfill the role of jurors...
after he disavowed connections to the organization.
Yung was promoted to lieutenant commander on August 30, 1893. He briefly serviced as acting captain of the battleship in 1894, and in 1897 was captain of the cruiser Vestnik. From 1898, Yung served on the committee for testing of new warships and on the examination board for testing midshipmen for the Sea Cadet Corps.
From September 20, 1902 through April 19, 1904, Yung was captain of the cruiser . After the start of the Russo-Japanese War
Russo-Japanese War
The Russo-Japanese War was "the first great war of the 20th century." It grew out of rival imperial ambitions of the Russian Empire and Japanese Empire over Manchuria and Korea...
, he was re-assigned to command the battleship Oryol, as part of the Second Pacific Squadron, which sailed from the Baltic Sea
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
to relieve the Russian Pacific Fleet trapped at Port Arthur by the Imperial Japanese Navy
Imperial Japanese Navy
The Imperial Japanese Navy was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1869 until 1947, when it was dissolved following Japan's constitutional renunciation of the use of force as a means of settling international disputes...
. The squadron engaged Japanese Admiral Togo Heihachiro
Togo Heihachiro
Fleet Admiral Marquis was a Fleet Admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy and one of Japan's greatest naval heroes. He was termed by Western journalists as "the Nelson of the East".-Early life:...
’s Combined Fleet
Combined Fleet
The was the main ocean-going component of the Imperial Japanese Navy. The Combined Fleet was not a standing force, but a temporary force formed for the duration of a conflict or major naval maneuvers from various units normally under separate commands in peacetime....
at the Battle of Tsushima
Battle of Tsushima
The Battle of Tsushima , commonly known as the “Sea of Japan Naval Battle” in Japan and the “Battle of Tsushima Strait”, was the major naval battle fought between Russia and Japan during the Russo-Japanese War...
on May 15, 1905. During the battle, Oryol took a tremendous beating from the Japanese ships, and Captain Yung was seriously wounded and unconscious at the surrender of the Russian fleet by Admiral Nikolai Nebogatov
Nikolai Nebogatov
Nikolai Ivanovich Nebogatov was a Rear-Admiral in the Imperial Russian Navy, noted for his role in the final stages of the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905.-Biography:...
. He died of his wounds the following day. In accordance with the wishes of his crew, the Japanese permitted a burial at sea
Burial at sea
Burial at sea describes the procedure of disposing of human remains in the ocean, normally from a ship or boat. It is regularly performed by navies, but also can be done by private citizens in many countries.-By religion:...
at 35°56′N 135°10′E.
Honors
- Order of St. Stanislaus 3rd degree 1879.
- Royal Order of KapiolaniRoyal Order of KapiolaniThe Royal Order of Kapiolani was instituted on August 30, 1880 by King Kalākaua to recognize services in the cause of humanity, for merit in Science and the Arts, or for special services rendered to the Kingdom of Hawaii...
, Officer Cross, 1884 (Kingdom of Hawaii) - Order of St. Anne
Order of St. AnnaThe Order of St. Anna ) is a Holstein and then Russian Imperial order of chivalry established by Karl Friedrich, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp on 14 February 1735, in honour of his wife Anna Petrovna, daughter of Peter the Great of Russia...
3rd degree 1892 - Order of St. Stanislaus 2nd degree 1894
- Legion of Honor, Chevalier, 1894 (France)
- Order of St. AnneOrder of St. AnnaThe Order of St. Anna ) is a Holstein and then Russian Imperial order of chivalry established by Karl Friedrich, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp on 14 February 1735, in honour of his wife Anna Petrovna, daughter of Peter the Great of Russia...
2nd degree 1899