[1] After initially serving in the Baltic Fleet, Kanin was transferred to the Pacific and took part in the expedition to China during the Boxer Rebellion of 1900.

[1] According to another officer, Kanin successfully organized the operation to create the main defensive minefield of 2,200 mines within two days, and without losing a single casualty.

He was described as being a capable officer with a high level of technical expertise, and became the closest advisor of the Baltic Fleet commander, Admiral Nikolai Ottovich von Essen.

[1] He oversaw some successful operations as the fleet commander (including the Battle of the Gulf of Riga in 1915), but Emperor Nicholas II was persuaded by other naval leaders to replace Kanin in September 1916 because they believed his leadership was too passive.

[1] Kanin joined the Armed Forces of South Russia during the Russian Civil War and served as the commander of their nearly defunct Black Sea Fleet from November 1918 until early 1919.