She supported Soviet troops during the Siege of Sevastopol, the Kerch-Feodosiya Operation and the amphibious landings at Novorossiysk at the end of January 1943.

[6] Molotov was the first Soviet ship to carry radar, a Redut-K air warning system,[6] which she used for the entire war.

As the only ship in the Soviet Navy with radar, Molotov remained in Sevastopol for the initial period of Operation Barbarossa to provide air warning.

[2] The advance of German troops into the Crimea in late October 1941 forced her to transfer to Tuapse where she continued to provide air warning.

The ship spent most of the next month under repair, although her bow could not be straightened; the residual damage reduced her speed by several knots.

She made a number of bombardment sorties in support of Soviet troops on the Kerch Peninsula until 20 March when she returned to Poti for more permanent repairs.

On 12 June Molotov transported 2998 men of the 138th Rifle Brigade to Sevastopol, shelling German positions while unloading.

[2] The loss of three destroyers to German air attack on 6 October 1943 resulted in Stalin's order that forbade the deployment of large naval units without his express permission; this meant the end of Molotov's active participation in the war.

In addition she lost her torpedo tubes, anti-submarine weapons, boat cranes and all remaining aircraft equipment.

[15] She was renamed Slava on 3 August 1957 after Vyacheslav Molotov was purged from the government after an unsuccessful coup against Nikita Khrushchev that same year.

She returned to the Mediterranean between September and December 1970, where the ship assisted the Kotlin-class destroyer Bravyi after the latter's collision with the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal on 9 November 1970.