The Poti class was the NATO reporting name for a group of anti-submarine warfare (ASW) corvettes built for the Soviet Navy.

These ships were the first Soviet warships powered by gas turbine engines; two propellers were mounted in tunnels to give a very shallow draught.

Designated Maly Protivo Lodochny Korabl (Russian: Small Anti-submarine Ship) by the Soviet Navy, Project 204 (NATO reporting name Poti class) was the first class of corvettes not based on the traditional World War II anti-submarine (ASW) design constructed by the Soviets.

[2] In Soviet service, the corvettes were armed with a single turret mounted forward comprising twin 57-millimetre (2.2 in)/80 dual-purpose guns.

[4] The guns had 85 degree elevation and could fire a 2.8-kilogram (6.2 lb) shell to a range of 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) up to 120 rounds per minute.

[3][4] The torpedoes had active/passive homing up to 8 nmi (15 km; 9.2 mi) and had a speed of 40 knots (74 km/h; 46 mph) and carried a 100–150 kg (220–330 lb) warhead.

[6] Post World War II, Romania fell into the Soviet Union's sphere of influence and joined the Warsaw Pact.

However, by the beginning of 1964 Romania began to diverge from Soviet direction and as a result, saw limited military support afterwards, with the rift between the two countries widening in 1968 after the invasion of Czechoslovakia.