Skrydlov was born in Pskov to the family of a career naval officer in the Imperial Russian Navy, and graduated from the Sea Cadet Corps in 1862.

He rose to prominence during the Russo-Turkish War (1877–78), where he commanded the small river minelayer Shutka on the Danube, which successful sank an Ottoman monitor on 8 June 1877.

Promoted to rear admiral on 30 August 1893, Skrydlov was placed in charge of Russian torpedo warfare operations from 1894 to 1898,[1] and commanded detachments of ships in the Baltic in 1895 and 1896.

After the death of Admiral Stepan Makarov in combat during the Russo-Japanese War, Skrydlov was reappointed commander of the Russian Pacific Squadron on 1 April 1904.

However, due to the Japanese blockade of Port Arthur, he was unable to reach his command, and returned from Vladivostok to St Petersburg on 20 December 1904 to accept an appointment to the Admiralty Board.