Original intentioned was to built a cheap small coastal defence ship but built as un worse designed seagoing battleship. Sergey Ratnik, chief engineer of the shipyard proposed to improve the design of the Sissoi Veliky. Andrey Toropov of the same shipyard finally came with two options. He was hardly to blame for the final design as result of the opposition of the Naval Technnical Committee. Laid down at the Nikolayev Admiralty Shipyard of the Black Sea Fleet in fact on 30 January 1894 but officially not earlier as on 19 May 1895, baptized on 2 0 May 1894, launched on 2 September 1896, completed in March 1890, as a result of the February Revolution of 1917 was the Black Sea Fleet disordered and at the end of the year was she even Ukraine-flagged, British forces leaving Sevastopol destroyed her engines on 25 April 1919, she was then used by the Russian Whites as a floating battery stationed in the Strait of Kerch to keep the Reds away until she was scuttled by her own crew although the superstructure stayed surfaced in November 1920. She was partly broken up in 1930. The major part of the hull still exists nowadays although sinking more and more into the silt.
Displacement 9.020 tons/8.880 long tons (design)-1.690 tons/10.520 long tons and as dimensions 10,3 (waterline)-107,2 (over all) x 20,7 x 7,7 metres or 345.6-351.10 x 68 x 25.2 feet.. Due to the increased displacement was the draught 0,9 metres/3” more as planned causing that the waterline armoured belt was nearly complete submerged. The two vertical triple steam engines and 8 cylindrical fire-tube boilers (4 oil and 4 coal fired) supplied via 2 screws 8.816 ihp (trials) allowing a maximum speed of 15,8 knots. With maximum oil/fuel oil capacity of 830 tons/820 long tons and a speed of just 8 knots was her range 3.100 nautical miles. The original armament consisted of 2x2-25,4cm/10” (instead of the desired 12“) 45 caliber Model 1891 guns in center-pivot turrets, 8-15,2cm/6” 45 caliber Canett Pattern 1891 guns, 12-4,7cm/1,9” Hotchkiss guns to be used against torpedo boats , 16-3,7cm/1.5” Hotchkiss guns and 6-38,1cm/15” torpedo tubes 1xbow, 1xbow, 4xbroadsides, all surfaced except for broadsides which were submerged). She also took 50 mines on board for protection of her anchorage. The by Bethlehem Steel rolled armour consisted of 25,4cm10” (abreast the magazines)-36,8cm/14” covering 69,2metres/227’ of her hull with a height of 2,1metres/7” ending in transverse bulkheads thick 22,9cm/9“ (fore) and 127,cn/5“ (aft), the upper belt with a height of 2,4 metres/7.6 feet covered 48,8 metres/160 feet and a thickness of 12,7cm/5“ and further more a flat armour deck at the upper edge of the belt of 5,1cm/2” and 5,1cm/2“ thick decks below the waterline fore and aft of the armoured citadel. The 10” gun turrets, 6” gun turrets and the conning tower were protected by respectively 6,4cm/2.5” (roots)-sides 25,4cm/10”, 15,2cm/6” and 15,2cm/6”.
