Laid down in 1900[1] in Saint Petersburg, Russia, at the Nevsky Works,[1] Steregushchiy was shipped in pieces to the Imperial Russian Navy base at Port Arthur, China, and assembled there.

The Japanese opened gunfire on the Russian destroyers, preventing them from getting close enough to launch torpedoes, and they received orders to return to Port Arthur.

25–26 February] 1904, the 2nd Destroyer Detachment, consisting of Steregushchiy and Reshitel‘nyi, conducted a reconnaissance of either the Elliot Islands in the Yellow Sea or the inner harbor at Thornton Haven on the coast of China,[2] or perhaps both (sources are unclear).

[3] As they approached Port Arthur from the south-southeast they encountered another Japanese force consisting of the protected cruiser Chitose and the destroyers Akebono, Sazanami, Shinonome, and Usugumo.

[3] As the Japanese moved to cut them off from Port Arthur, Steregushchiy and Reshitel‘nyi turned to starboard and made for the shelter of Russian minefields off Dalniy.

Reshitel‘nyi also suffered a shell hit which knocked out one of her boilers, but she managed to keep her speed up and reach waters within range of Russian coastal artillery at daybreak.

[3] As Reshitel‘nyi again altered course toward Port Arthur, where she arrived safely, the coastal artillery opened fire on the Japanese and discouraged them from continuing the chase.

At around the same time, however, the Russian armored cruiser Bayan and protected cruiser Novik approached under the personal command of the commander of the Russian First Pacific Squadron, Vice admiral Stepan Osipovich Makarov, and the Japanese abandoned their towing attempt, rescued Steregushchiy′s four surviving crew members – Khirinsky, Osinin, Novikov, and Acting Boatswain Fyodor Yuryev – and withdrew to avoid combat.

The sculptor Konstantin Vasilievich Isenberg[7] and the architect Aleksandr Ivanovich von Gauguin designed the monument, Professor V. N. Sokolovsky made the calculations for its foundation, and V. Z. Gavrilov cast the sculpture.

The school's anthem, "Pesnya o 'Steregushchem'" (Песня о „Стерегущем», English "Song of the Guardian"), with music by Viktor Mezentsev and lyrics by Vasily Zolotorev, was first performed on 10 March 2004.

The popular song "Gibel' „Steregushchego“" ("Гибель „Стерегущего“", English "The Death of the Guardian"), performed by the singer Zhanna Bichevskaya, is about the sinking of Steregushchiy.