Her building was ordered on 20 April 1863, laid down as a Pervenets-class broadside ironclad at the shipyard of Semiannikov&Poletika, St. Petersburg, Russia on 21 December 1863, launched on 26 August 1865, trials on 18 October 1866, commissioned in 1866, gunnery training ship in 1870, reclassified coast defence ironclad on 13 February 1892, reserve since 24 December 1904, stricken on 12 October 1905 and finally sold to be broken up on 5 September 1908.
Designed for the defence of St. Petersburg were she and her half sister ship also called self-propelled armoured floating batteries. She was somehow larger her half sisters. Her originally 870 ihp engine and four boilers (replaced in 1876, 1886, 1892 and 1901) were second hand, coming from the former wood-built frigate Ilya Muromets and decommissioned ships. During her sea trial she achieved a speed of 7,08-8,93 knots. Originally planted to fit her out with a schooner rigging. The three iron made masts were hollow to be used as ventilation pipes for the lower decks. With a displacement of 3.723 tons or 3.664 tons were her dimensions 67,4 (over all0 x 16,2 x 4,6 (mean) or 221’x 53’x 15’. The wrought iron made armour on a 38,1cm/15” thick teak made backing consisted of 1 11,4cm/4.5” thick belt, a 2,9cm/1,14” thick deck and further more transverse 11,4cm/4.5” thick bulkheads. The hull was divided in watertight bulkheads, four transverse and two longitudinal. Contract building costs were 909.000 rubles which was increased with another 48.000 when the building was stopped for year as an amendment to the contract of 20 July. The original armament consisted of 17-19,6cm/7.72” smoothbore 60 pd guns.
