One large seagoing ship, the Vzryv ("Взрыв", 1877, 160 tons) with torpedo armament was originally called "minnoye sudno", "минное судно" ("mine/torpedo vessel").

Then came torpedo ships, which Russia had built or bought since 1880 and classified as "minonosets", "миноносец" (literally, "mine/torpedo carrier").

Russia was the second nation, after Great Britain, to build torpedo boat destroyers (TBDs),[1] basing their first ones upon the Yarrow design.

[1] Sokol, which was built for Russia by Britain's Yarrow Shipbuilders, was laid down in 1894 and completed in January 1895; she was 190 feet long, displaced 220 tons, and attained a speed of over 30 knots during her trials.

Pacific destroyers were built in Saint Petersburg, transported in sections by railway to Port Arthur and assembled.

Three of them later served in the Siberian Flotilla; they were reclassified as destroyers in 1907 Officially classified as torpedo boats, they participated in the Russo-Japanese War.

Two Pacific ships participated in the defence of Port Arthur in 1904; those destined for the Baltic (except for the uncompleted Vidnyi) were sent to the Far East and fought in the Battle of Tsushima (1905).

After completion all ships were reclassified as destroyers; they participated in World War I in the Baltic Sea for patrol, cruiser and minelaying purposes.

They were built in Saint Petersburg, transported in pieces by railway to Vladivostok, launched and commissioned Classified as torpedo boats until 1907.

Designed with an unusually long hull to increase the number of guns and torpedo launchers that could be fitted, far in excess of most destroyers of the time.