Early on in his life, Essen received home education; he was well-educated and fluent in English, French, Russian, and his native German.

After a brief assignment as an instructor at the Naval Cadet Corps, he was appointed captain of the cruiser Novik (1902–1904), which was stationed at Vladivostok.

[3] At the start of the Russo-Japanese War, Admiral Stepan Makarov reassigned Essen to command the battleship Sevastopol at Port Arthur.

However, on hearing of the surrender of Port Arthur, he moved Sevastopol into deeper water and then scuttled her, making her the only battleship that the Imperial Japanese Navy could not raise after the war.

Essen, from lessons learned in the war against Japan and the mutiny of the Black Sea Fleet, urged far-reaching reforms and modernisation of the Imperial Russian Navy.

He recognised early the importance of submarines and aircraft, and sought to promote younger officers based on their knowledge of modern strategy and tactics, also establishing a naval training academy at Kronstadt.

He was survived by his wife, Mary, and son Anthony (who was later killed[5] in action as commander of the submarine AG-14 on 24 October 1917), and two daughters who married naval officers.