Kazimierz Porębski (November 15, 1872 – January 21, 1933) was a Polish career naval officer who rose to the position of admiral within the Imperial Russian Navy and was subsequently the first commander-in-chief of the inter-war Polish Navy. Biography Porębski was born in Vilnius, in what was then Vilna Governorate of the Russian Empire, to an ethnic Polish family. He entered the Sea Cadets Corps in Petrograd in 1889 and graduated as a midshipman in 1892. Russian Navy career Porębski attended mine warfare school upon being commissioned into the Imperial Russian Navy. From 1895 to 1899, he served aboard the on which he voyaged to the Mediterranean and the Far East with a visit to Nagasaki, Japan in 1896. Porebski was promoted to lieutenant on April 13, 1897, after his return to Russia, and continued his studies in mine warfare. Porebski was assigned to the from 1899-1901. On December 1, 1901, he became the executive officer on the cruiser , whose construction he had been sent to oversee at the Schichau-Werke shipyards in Danzig, Germany. Assigned with Novik to the Russian Pacific Fleet, he was promoted to Captain Lieutenant on April 17, 1905. Novik played an active role in the Russo-Japanese War, especially at the Battle of the Yellow Sea and the Battle of Korsakov. After the end of the war, Porębski was promoted to lieutenant commander on December 6, 1906, and was assigned to the Russian Baltic Fleet. He briefly commanded the new cruiser, , in 1909. From 1909-1913, Porębski was captain of the minelayer, Yenisei. He was also promoted to the rank of captain on November 26, 1912. During the early stages of World War I, Porębski was captain of the battleship, , with the Russian Black Sea Fleet and was active in combat operations off of Bulgaria. Porębski was promoted to rear admiral on April 19, 1916, and reassigned to command the cruiser squadron of the Black Sea Fleet. He went into the reserves from November 1916, but was recalled in early 1917, and was placed in command of the fortifications guarding the Gulf of Finland. Porebski then served as head of the Maritime Department for the Northwestern Front. Polish Naval career With the Russian Revolution, Porębski was released from service with the Russian Navy and quickly moved to the newly independent Poland, arriving in Warsaw in November 1918. He founded the predecessor of the Maritime and