Slava was laid down in 1976 in Shipyard 445 of the 61 Kommunara Shipbuilding Plant in Mykolaiv, Ukrainian SSR, launched in 1979, and commissioned into the Soviet Navy on 30 January 1983.

Stormy weather and choppy seas resulted in some meetings being cancelled or rescheduled, and gave rise to the moniker the "Seasick Summit" among international media.

Moskva visited Malta's Grand Harbour in October 2004, and the Ensemble of the Black Sea Fleet performed at a concert at the Mediterranean Conference Centre in Valletta for the occasion.

[18] On 3 December 2009, Moskva was laid up for a month at floating dry dock PD-30 in Sevastopol for a scheduled interim overhaul which comprised replacement of cooling and other machinery, reclamation work at the bottom and outboard fittings, propulsion shafts and screws, clearing and painting of bottom and above-water parts of the ship's hull.

[12][failed verification] In April 2010 it was reported that Moskva would join other navy units in the Indian Ocean to conduct exercises.

[24] On 25 November 2015, after the 2015 Russian Sukhoi Su-24 shootdown, it was reported that Moskva, armed with the S-300F surface-to-air missile system,[25] would be deployed near the coastal Syria-Turkey border.

[28] Upon return from her deployment in January 2016, Moskva was to undergo a refit and upgrade but due to lack of funds her future remained uncertain as of July 2018.

[31][better source needed] In February 2020, Russian Orthodox officials said that a very rare and important Christian relic purported to be a part of the True Cross on which Jesus was crucified was to be placed aboard the ship.

[40][41] She was the most powerful surface vessel in the Black Sea region at the time,[42] and Ukraine's only threat against it were a limited number of Neptune missiles.

Moskva mainly stayed behind other Russian warships, providing air cover for military demonstrations of amphibious landings with Odesa as the apparent target.

[48] A radar image showed the ship was about 80 nautical miles (150 km) south of Odesa around 19:00 local time (GMT+3), shortly after the damage occurred.

[50] The Russian Ministry of Defence said a fire caused a munitions explosion, and the ship sank in stormy seas while being towed to port.