Admiral Nakhimov was the third ship of her class of ten Project 1134A Berkut A (NATO reporting name Kresta II-class) cruisers, designed by Vasily Anikeyev.

[1][3] Admiral Nakhimov was propelled by two TV-12 steam geared turbines powered by four high pressure boilers which created 75,000 kilowatts (100,577 hp), giving her a maximum speed of 34 knots (63 km/h; 39 mph).

Between 19 and 24 October she participated in the Duet and Ladoga anti-submarine search exercises of the Northern Fleet in the Norwegian Sea and the northeast Atlantic with the missile cruiser Sevastopol and the destroyer Byvalvyy.

On 1 December, while anchored at Sallum, two sailors deserted, resulting in the transfer of Chirov and her political officer after the cruiser returned to Severomorsk.

Evaluated as satisfactory in an April Ministry of Defense inspection, Admiral Nakhimov participated in the Laguna anti-submarine tracking exercise in the North Atlantic alongside sister Kresta II-class cruiser Kronstadt between 12 May and 3 June, tracking a probable NATO submarine after steaming into the Norwegian Sea from 14 May until the latter entered Norwegian territorial waters.

Chief Inspector of the Ministry of Defense Marshal of the Soviet Union Kirill Moskalenko and his deputy, Colonel General Pavel Yefimov, visited the ship on 12 April 1974.

[7] The cruiser operated in the Mediterranean and the Central Atlantic between 17 June and 8 December, participating in the evacuation of Soviet citizens from Limassol during the Cyprus crisis in July alongside destroyer Krasny Kavkaz, landing ship SDK-82, and motor vessel Bashkiriya.

Admiral Nakhimov shadowed a United States Navy force centered around USS Nimitz between 17 August and 6 September 1975.

[10] From 24 February 1981 to 8 May 1982, she was repaired and modernized at the Kronstadt Marine Plant as part of the Leningrad Naval Base's 95th Separate Battalion of Ships undergoing construction or overhaul.

Between 26 May and 22 December 1983 she made another cruise to the South Atlantic, visiting Conakry and being temporarily based at Luanda as part of the 30th Operational Brigade between 4 July and 13 November.

During July and August 1985 she escorted the battlecruiser Frunze to Cape Finisterre during the latter's voyage to the Pacific Fleet, with the destroyers Admiral Spiridonov and Osmotritelnyy.