Fully laden, the vessels drew 6.3 metres (20.7 ft) of water and had a displacement of 3,350 tonnes (3,300 long tons).

Their three 1,800-horsepower (1,300 kW) 10-cylinder 13D100 two-stroke opposed-piston diesel engines were coupled to generators that powered electric propulsion motors driving two propellers in the stern and a third one in the bow.

[3] Pyotr Pakhtusov also featured an experimental bow washing system to increase the icebreaking capability of the vessel.

[3] The first of two Project 97D icebreakers was laid down at Admiralty Shipyard in Leningrad on 21 May 1966, launched on 8 August 1966, and delivered on 30 December 1966.

[1][3][5] In 1997, Pyotr Pakhtusov was renamed Prabhavi and reflagged to Saint Vincent and the Grenadines for its final voyage to Alang, India, for scrapping.