[4] The five Soviet ships Ivan Franko, Aleksandr Pushkin, Taras Shevchenko, Shota Rustaveli and Mikhail Lermontov were constructed in 1963–1972 by the East German company VEB Mathias-Thesen Werft, in Wismar.

The last remaining vessel, the Aleksandr Pushkin – last known as Marco Polo, was retired in 2020 and beached in Alang, India for scrapping on 13 January 2021.

The Ivan Franko vessels were also 7.5 metres (24 ft 7 in) wider, and with a gross register tonnage of 19,861, almost three times larger.

The construction of this class featured some notable differences from contemporary ships built in the west.

Among other things they offered cabins for six people and had three taps in the bathrooms – for hot, cold and sea water – Both of these features had been long abandoned in western liners.