Virenius, Andrey Andreevich

September 15, 1865 A. A. Virenius was enrolled as a pupil in the Naval Cadet Corps . In 1867–1869, the school sailing on the “ Bayan ” corvette under the command of Lieutenant Commander Kulstrem and the screw boat “Marevo” under the command of Lieutenant Berezin. After graduating from the Naval College, he was promoted to the rank of midshipman on April 20, 1869, and was awarded a cash prize of 300 rubles.

On May 9, 1869, he was assigned to the 3rd naval crew and sailed on the Gaydamak clipper under the command of Lieutenant Commander Koltovsky. On April 23 of the following year he was transferred to the 3rd naval crew. In the years 1870-1874 he sailed to the Pacific Ocean on the Vityaz corvette under the command of 2nd-Class Captain Nazimov. During the voyage, he was promoted to the rank of midshipman ^[1] on January 17, 1872, and to the rank of lieutenant on March 31, 1874. July 15, 1874 awarded the Order of St. Stanislav 3rd degree.

From February 2 to October 13, 1875 he commanded the 2nd company of the Sorcerer monitor under the command of Captain Lieutenant Veselago. From September 15, 1875 to 1876 he was a student of the Mine Officer Class , at the end of which he was enlisted in mine officers of the 2nd category. On October 30, 1876, he was appointed mine officer of the tower armored frigate Admiral Lazarev, with transfer to the 2nd naval crew. From January 26, 1877 to March 26, 1878 he was in England at the Whitehead plant in order to familiarize himself with the production of self-propelled mine torpedoes . On his return from an overseas business trip, he was appointed May 23, 1878 to be the flagship mechanic for the Wyhead mines in the mine training squadron, on March 26, 1879, and a mine mechanic detachment in the mine mine headquarters. In the maritime companies of 1878 and 1879, sailed on the Baltic Sea in the crew of the tower boat " Enchantress " under the command of the captain of the 2nd rank Vasnitsky.

In 1878 he was enlisted in mine officers of the 1st rank. August 15, 1879 Virenius was appointed head of the apparatus for throwing self-propelled mines on the cruiser Asia . In the years 1879–1880, he was sailing abroad on the Asia cruiser under the command of Lieutenant-Captain Nolken and on the Europa cruiser under the command of Lieutenant-Captain Grippenberg.

Since July 28, 1880, he was in the position of a mine officer of the Staff of the Pacific Squadron, Admiral S. S. Lesovsky , and sailed to the Pacific Ocean. He was awarded the Order of St. Anne of the 3rd degree (January 1, 1881) and St. Vladimir of the 4th degree (January 1, 1882), as well as the Japanese Order of the Rising Sun of the 4th degree (August 10, 1881). Upon returning from overseas navigation, he was appointed March 22, 1882, by a mine officer of the armored frigate Admiral Greig, transferred to the 6th naval crew .

In 1882, he commanded the minnows "Samopal" in the Gulf of Finland . From April 8 to November 15, 1883, he was on a business trip in Paris , at the disposal of Vice Admiral Likhachev. In 1883, commanding the destroyer Sukhum, moved from France to the Black Sea . January 1, 1884 was awarded the Order of St. Stanislav of the 2nd degree . On January 1, 1885, he was promoted to the rank of captain of the 2nd rank "for distinguished service." On October 6, 1885, he was appointed, with transfer to the 1st fleet crew, a senior officer of the corvette Vityaz .

From December 13, 1885 to May 6, 1886, A. A. Virenius was a naval agent of the Russian Maritime Department in the German Empire . In 1886–88, he participated in hydrographic work in the Pacific Ocean on the corvette “Vityaz” , commanded by Captain 1st Rank S. O. Makarova . In 1889 he was appointed assistant to the chief inspector of the fleet in mine affairs. In 1889-1890, as a member of the commission for the acceptance of ships, he traveled the Gulf of Finland on the Dzhigit clipper, the Vladimir Monomakh armored frigate and the Asia cruiser. January 1, 1890 was awarded the Order of St. Anne of the 2nd degree.

From March 28, 1893 to December 6, 1895 he commanded the cruiser "Africa" ​​and at the same time was in charge of the Mines officer class and mine school. On December 6, 1895, he was promoted to captain of the 1st rank , and on January 1, 1896 he was appointed commander of the cruiser I rank " Memory of Azov ". In 1896, at the same time performs the position of flag captain of the commander of the Pacific Ocean squadron F. V. Dubasov . On February 15, 1899, he was appointed commander of the Victory battleship under construction, and in the same year the Oryol battleship under construction. In 1899 he was awarded the Order of St. Vladimir of the 3rd degree .

In 1901 he was appointed head of the naval scientific department of the Main Naval Headquarters . The following year he was promoted to Rear Admiral for distinction. In 1903 he was appointed Assistant Chief of the Main Naval Staff and a member of the Conference of the Nikolaev Maritime Academy. In 1903-1904, commanding a detachment of ships consisting of the Oslyabya squadron battleship, the Dmitry Donskoy , Diamond , Aurora cruisers, the Buyny , Shiny , Fast , Impeccable , and Impeccable destroyers Poor , Bodry and Bravy , the destroyers No. 212 , No. 213 , No. 221 , No. 222 went from Kronstadt to the Far East , but was recalled from the Mediterranean Sea . In 1904, he served as Chief of the Main Naval Staff. In the same year he was awarded the Order of St. Stanislav of the 1st degree, and in 1905 - the Order of St. Anna of the 1st degree.

Since 1906, Chairman of the Marine Technical Committee (ITC).

In 1908 he was dismissed from production with the rank of vice admiral .

Twice, in 1909 and 1917, he served as Comrade Minister of the Interior of the Grand Duchy of Finland .

Wife (December 10, 1881): Rosalia Lyudvigovna Busse, daughter of a collegiate councilor.

Children:

• Nikolay (born August 19, 1884)
• Jeannette Amalie (born May 1, 1890)
• Olga (born September 28, 1892)
• Adelaide-Maria (born June 15, 1896).

Cape in the Sea of ​​Japan is named after A. A. Virenius.

• Veselago F. F. The General Maritime List from the base of the fleet until 1917. - SPb. : Printing house of the Marine Ministry, 1907. - T. XIII / Kingship of Emperor Alexander II. And - G. - p. 455-459. - 696 s. - (Military history library).