'Leningrad', which was commissioned in late 1968; there were no further vessels built, reportedly due to the poor handling of the ships in rough seas.

They were designed primarily as anti-submarine warfare (ASW) vessels, and her weapons and sensor suite was optimized against the nuclear submarine threat.

The aim of the ships was to counter NATO Polaris submarines and act as a flagship for anti-submarine warfare.

The design evolved into a larger vessel capable of operating up to 14 helicopters with self defence armament.

[4] Shipboard ASW armament included a twin SUW-N-1 launcher capable of delivering a FRAS-1 projectile carrying a 450-millimetre (18 in) torpedo (or a 5 kiloton nuclear warhead); a pair of RBU-6000 ASW mortars; and a set of torpedo tubes.

Moreover, instead of serving as part of the nation's force projection, the Soviet doctrine called for the warships to serve in a strategic role that included defending the Soviet ballistic missile submarine bastions against incursions by Western attack submarines.