Roman Kondratenko was born in Tiflis, as the tenth child to a retired Army major of Ukrainian origin. He was sent to study at the PolotskCadet Corps in Polotsk with the assistance of an elder brother, and obtained a scholarship to study at public expense. Graduating with honors in 1877, he was able enter the Nikolaev Engineering Institute, now Military engineering-technical university. He got a praporshchik and was assigned to the 1st Caucasian sapperbattalion. Kondratenko was admitted into the Military Engineering Academy in 1879, and in 1884 he became an attendee of the General Staff Academy. After serving some time on the engineering department, he received command of a regiment in 1895 and was promoted to major general in 1901 and served as chief of staff of the Amur Military District. In 1903, Kondratenko received command of the 7th East Siberian Rifle Brigade, based at Port Arthur. The brigade was expanded into the 7th East Siberian Rifle Division, and Kondratenko was promoted to lieutenant general.
Russo-Japanese War
After Kondratenko's arrival at Port Arthur in 1903, he reorganized and improved on its already massive fortifications over a period of several months, anticipating the coming conflict with the Empire of Japan. After the start of the Siege of Port Arthur, he was the soul of the Russian defenses, personally directing efforts of the defending troops in the most difficult and dangerous areas, and overseeing repairs of the fortifications due to battle damage. Kondratenko successfully repulsed four Japanese assaults, making skillful use of both army and Imperial Russian Navy forces, and effectively functioned as third in command of Port Arthur, after General Anatoly Stoessel and Lieutenant GeneralKonstantin Smirnov. However, on December 2, 1904 he was mortally wounded when the armory of the fort he was defending took a direct hit from Japanese howitzer fire. Only eighteen days after his death, generals Stoessel and Alexander Fok surrendered Port Arthur to the Japanese. After the war, the body of General Kondratenko was transported to St. Peterburg and buried in Alexander Nevsky Lavra. In the memory of Kondratenko's courage, the Japanese erected a granitecenotaphon the spot of his death.
