The ship had to be built abroad as no Russian shipyard had mastered the techniques required to build iron-hulled armored vessels.

After the end of the Russian Civil War, the ship was reacquired by the Soviets in 1922 and used to transport and store coal, a role she performed until discarded in the late 1950s.

The ship was designed as a coast defense vessel to protect the approaches to Saint Petersburg and was referred to as a "self-propelled armored floating battery".

No Russian shipyard could build iron-hulled, ironclad warships, therefore Pervenets was ordered from Great Britain.

[2] The ship did not steer well and had "an unpredictable habit of suddenly lurching to one side or another", probably as a result of poor water flow to the rudder.

During sea trials on 28 July 1863, the engine produced a total of 1,067 indicated horsepower (796 kW) and gave the ship a maximum speed of 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph).

Unfortunately, it proved to be incapable of penetrating 4.5 inches (114 mm) of wrought iron armor at a distance of only 200 yards (183 m) during trials in 1859–60.

[7] Pervenets was ordered from the Thames Iron Works in Blackwall, London on 18 November 1861 because it was an experienced builder of iron-hulled ships and had begun construction of the broadside ironclad HMS Minotaur a few months earlier.

While running sea trials on 6 August 1863 at Woolwich, Pervenets accidentally rammed the training ship HMS Warspite, although little damage was inflicted.

Escorted by the steam frigate General Admiral, she left for Russia two days later with a British crew.

[10][11] To alleviate the cramped conditions of the steersmen, the ship's wheel was transferred from the gun deck to a platform that spanned her bulwarks in front of the mizzenmast in 1871.

These increased the engine's power to 1,300 indicated horsepower (970 kW) and Pervenets reached 8.5 knots on sea trials.