She was refloated and repaired in time to join the rest of the 1st Pacific Squadron when they attempted to reach Vladivostok through the Japanese blockade on 10 August.

Japan had previously forced China to sign over the port and its surrounding territory as part of the treaty that concluded the First Sino-Japanese War of 1894–95, but the Triple Intervention of France, Russia, and Germany forced them to return the port in exchange for a sizeable increase in the indemnity paid by the Chinese.

Japan invested much of the indemnity money in expanding its fleet, while Russia began a major building programme ("For the Needs of the Far East") to defend its newly acquired port.

[2] Preliminary design work on a battleship intended to equal the latest Japanese ships began in late 1897 and early 1898 by the Naval Technical Committee; the displacement was limited to 12,000 long tons (12,193 t) for economic reasons.

The Naval Ministry intended to conduct an international design competition with the ships being built abroad as the Baltic shipyards were at full capacity.

[3] Cramp's contacts kept him informed of the Russians' intentions and he sailed to Saint Petersburg to offer his services and design expertise in March 1898.

The new ship had four fewer 6-inch (152 mm) guns, but twice the coal capacity for improved range and a longer, slightly narrower hull for more speed.

[5] Retvizan had a pair of three-cylinder vertical triple-expansion steam engines with a total designed output of 16,000 indicated horsepower (11,931 kW).

Twenty-four Niclausse-type boilers provided steam to the engines at a working pressure of 18 standard atmospheres (1,824 kPa; 265 psi).

She carried a normal load of 1,016 long tons (1,032 t) of coal that gave her a range of 4,900 nautical miles (9,100 km; 5,600 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph), and a maximum load of 2,000 long tons (2,032 t) that increased her range to 8,000 nautical miles (15,000 km; 9,200 mi) at the same speed.

The main armament consisted of two pairs of 12-inch 40-calibre guns mounted in French-style electrically operated centre-pivot twin turrets fore and aft.

The gunnery officer consulted his references to get the range and calculated the proper elevation and deflection required to hit the target.

Armour plates 2 inches (51 mm) thick protected the ends of the ship to a height equal to that of the main and upper belts combined.

Fore and aft of the citadel the deck thickened to 3 inches (76 mm) to the ends of the ship and reinforced the ram bow.

[11] Named after the Swedish ship of the line Rättvisan (Justice) which was captured by the Russians at the Battle of Viborg Bay in 1790,[16] Retvizan was ordered on 2 May 1898 for delivery in thirty months.

The detailed sketch design was forwarded at the end of 1898 to Saint Petersburg for approval and work commenced on the ship around that time, although she was not officially laid down until 29 July 1899 as yard number 300.

After her arrival she was fitted with radio equipment and took part in a naval review in Reval staged for the state visit of Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany in August.

Later that month she tested an experimental system for coaling at sea; it was deemed successful, but her equipment was removed before she sailed for the Pacific.

Retvizan departed on 13 November 1902 in company with the battleship Pobeda and the cruisers Diana, Pallada and Bogatyr; she arrived at Port Arthur on 4 May 1903.

[16] The Pacific Squadron began mooring in the outer harbour at night as tensions with Japan increased, in order to react more quickly to any Japanese attempt to land troops in Korea.

Japan had begun negotiations to reduce the tensions in 1901, but the Russian government was slow and uncertain in its replies because it had not yet decided exactly how to resolve the problems.

She was not refloated until 8 March, but played an important role in the meantime in defeating a Japanese attempt to seal the entrance with block ships on 23–24 February.

The impact knocked one 12-inch shell off its loading tray, crushing two other sailors and also setting fire to the canvas covering the gun ports.

[24] At approximately 18:40 hours on 10 August, during the final phase of the battle, the Russian flagship Tsesarevich was hit by 12-inch shells which killed Admiral Vitgeft and his immediate staff.

As the Russian squadron was now disorganized, Tōgō's battleships were running low on ammunition and some ships' main guns were disabled, he turned the battle over to his cruisers and destroyers.

[23] During the battle, Retvizan received 18 hits from large-calibre shells, and suffered 6 sailors killed and another 42 men wounded, including Schensnovich.

[26] She was subsequently besieged in Port Arthur and sunk in shallow water by thirteen 28-centimetre (11 in) howitzer shells on 6 December 1904 after the Imperial Japanese Army gained control of the heights surrounding the harbour.

[27] Schensnovich was the senior surviving naval officer and signed the capitulation of Port Arthur for the Imperial Russian Navy on 2 January 1905.

Afterwards she and Asama headed south in search of the German East Asia Squadron, but never located it;[28] the ship was recalled home in February 1915.

[29] On 1 September 1921 she was reclassified as a 1st class coast defence ship and disarmed at Sasebo in April 1922 in accordance with the Washington Naval Treaty.