Alexei seems to have become aware of some these deficiencies. He decided to have more battleships of a single type and to have them designed abroad to meet the needs of the Russian navy. However, though he was an admirer of the British navy, the new battleships were conceived in France and had a poor design. The new "Borodino"-class battleships had tumblehome hulls and were unstable, having a high center of gravity. The drawbacks proved to be fatal for the Russian navy.