Originally, the Soviet Navy wanted a supercarrier similar to the American Kitty Hawk class, but the smaller Kiev-class design was chosen because it was considered more cost-effective.

In the Soviet Navy, this class of ships was specifically designated as a "heavy aviation cruiser" (Russian: Тяжелые авианесущие крейсера) rather than solely as an aircraft carrier.

This designation allowed the ships to transit the Turkish Straits, while the 1936 Montreux Convention prohibited aircraft carriers heavier than 15,000 tons from passing through the Straits.

The ships were designed with a large island superstructure to starboard, with an angled flight-deck two-thirds of the length of the total deck; the foredeck was taken up with heavy surface-to-air and surface-to-surface missile armament.

The intended mission of the Kiev class was support for ballistic missile submarines, other surface ships, and naval aviation; it was capable of engaging in antiaircraft, antisubmarine, and surface warfare.