They were built in the 1950s and were based on Soviet, German, and Italian designs and concepts developed prior to the Second World War.

They were modified to improve their sea keeping capabilities, allowing them to run at high speed in the rough waters of the North Atlantic.

The basic hull was more modern and had better armor protection than the vast majority of the post Second World War gun cruiser designs built and deployed by peer nations.

They also carried an extensive suite of modern radar equipment and anti-aircraft artillery.

The Soviets originally planned to build 40 ships in the class, which would be supported by the Stalingrad-class battlecruisers and aircraft carriers.

The cruisers had a range of 9,000 nautical miles (17,000 km; 10,000 mi) at 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph).

[1] Sverdlov-class cruisers main armament included twelve 152 mm (6 in)/57 cal B-38 guns mounted in four triple Mk5-bis turrets.

[1] The ship was built at Baltic Shipyard in Leningrad and was launched on 25 June 1953 and commissioned into the Northern Fleet on 31 December 1954.

On 7 September, after crossing the Northern Sea Route from Severomorsk to the Far East, he was transferred to Pacific Fleet.

Arriving in Port Louis, the ship's crew from February 15 to March 1, 1975, together with the PM-125, provided assistance to its population, which suffered from the consequences of the tropical hurricane Gervaise, for two weeks.