 From 1895 to 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 was appointed governor of the Kwantung Fortified Region, and was again named commander of the Russian Pacific Fleet from 1899.He participated in the suppression of the Boxer Rebellion as commander of an army corps, following an appointment by War Minister Aleksey Kuropatkin and was promoted to Adjutant general.