Tsushima's logistical feat and damaged naval inheritance

The easy version of this story treats the Imperial Russian Navy as uniformly incompetent, although it still had some capable admirals before the Russo-Japanese War. The force sent to Tsushima combined ships, crews, and leaders of very uneven quality. Even so, it crossed an extraordinary distance without the overseas repair network available to the Royal Navy. The Great White Fleet's access to British colliers shows how much outside support shaped such voyages. Russia's fleet collapsed when it met the Japanese, but reaching the battle was a genuine feat of logistics, engineering, and maintenance. Naval competence here looks very different depending on whether the question is getting a fleet across the world or fighting once it arrives.