The keel was expected to have been laid down in 2010 but this was delayed until July 2012 because of a price dispute between the Russian MOD and the United Shipbuilding Corporation.

Knyaz Vladimir and its sister ships will eventually replace the Soviet-era Delta and Typhoon-class submarines in the Russian Navy.

[6] On 22 October 2019, Aleksandr Moiseyev, commander in chief of the Northern Fleet, stated that Knyaz Vladimir is expected to complete its sea trials by the end of the year.

[8][9] According to TASS' defense industry sources, commissioning of the Knyaz Vladimir has been delayed until the first quarter of 2020 due to a number of detected deficiencies.

On 26 March 2021, an unprecedented operation took place in the Arctic Ocean, as Knyaz Vladimir, and two Delta IV-class ballistic missile submarines (SSBN) together armed with 48 SLBMs[13] surfaced simultaneously from under the ice with precision in a limited space with a radius of 300 meters for the first time in the history of the Russian Navy and former Soviet navy and in the world.