His mother, Yevgeniya (Dzhenni) Alekseevna Greig, was descended from the Greigs, a long line of admirals of Scottish origin, notably Samuel and Alexey Greig.
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When the Boxer Rebellion broke out in 1900, Ukhtomsky was dispatched to Peking to offer Russian support against the Western powers who might seek to take advantage of the situation and push into China.
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One of Esper's relations, Pavel Petrovich Ukhtomsky, would serve as a vice-admiral of the Pacific Squadron in the Russo-Japanese War.