Nikolai Ivanovich Nebogatov (1849–1922) was a Rear Admiral in the Imperial Russian Navy, primarily recognized for his command during the Russo-Japanese War. He was tasked with leading the Third Pacific Squadron, a fleet consisting of older naval vessels dispatched to reinforce the Second Pacific Squadron in the conflict against the Imperial Japanese Navy.
During the Battle of Tsushima on May 27–28, 1905, Nebogatov assumed command of the remaining Russian fleet after the primary commander, Admiral Zinovy Rozhestvensky, was incapacitated. On the morning of May 28, surrounded by the superior Japanese fleet under Admiral Tōgō Heihachirō, Nebogatov made the decision to surrender his remaining warships and crews. He cited the desire to prevent the unnecessary slaughter of his sailors as the primary motivation for this action.
Upon his return to Russia following the conclusion of the war, Nebogatov was subjected to a court-martial. In 1906, he was convicted of surrendering his ships and sentenced to death. Tsar Nicholas II later commuted the sentence to ten years in a fortress. Nebogatov served approximately two years of his sentence before being released in 1909 due to poor health. He lived in obscurity until his death in Moscow in 1922.
