The ship's construction was greatly delayed by design changes as a result of the Russo-Japanese War and labor unrest after the 1905 Revolution, and she took nearly six years to build.

[1] Imperator Pavel I was equipped with two 4-cylinder vertical triple-expansion steam engines with a total designed output of 17,600 indicated horsepower (13,100 kW).

She carried a normal load of 800 long tons (810 t) of coal that provided a range of 1,300 nautical miles (2,400 km; 1,500 mi) at a speed of 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) and a maximum load of 1,500 long tons (1,500 t) that gave 2,400 nautical miles (4,400 km; 2,800 mi) at the same speed.

[2] The main armament of the Andrei Pervozvanny class consisted of two pairs of 12-inch (305 mm) Model 1895 guns mounted in twin-gun turrets fore and aft of the superstructure.

[3] Based on the Russian experience at the Battle of Tsushima, the sides of the ship's hull were completely protected by Krupp cemented armor.

[5] Imperator Pavel I joined the Baltic Fleet on completion and she made a port visit to Copenhagen in September 1912.

[6] She did little else for the rest of the war as the Russian naval strategy in the Baltic was defensive; the four Gangut-class dreadnoughts and the two Andrei Pervozvanny-class predreadnoughts were to defend the entrance to the Gulf of Finland.

[6] Disgruntled sailors aboard Imperator Pavel I instigated the general mutiny of the Baltic Fleet in Helsinki on 16 March 1917, after they received word of the February Revolution in Saint Petersburg, and the ship was renamed Respublika (Republic) on 29 April.