In July 1904, the Imperial Russian Navy held a design competition that solicited tenders from several foreign and domestic shipyards to design a new armored cruiser. Maximum displacement was limited to , more than twice that of the preceding of armored cruisers. Vickers won the competition to build the ship in June 1905, and the company offered several proposals, including a vessel armed with a dozen guns, though the Russians opted for a slightly smaller vessel displacing around that carried four of the 254 mm guns and twelve guns, along with a defensive armament of twenty guns.