The Svetlana class cruiser was the first and only class of light cruiser

Light cruiser

A light cruiser is a type of small- or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck...

s built for the Imperial Russian Navy

Imperial Russian Navy

The Imperial Russian Navy refers to the Tsarist fleets prior to the February Revolution.-First Romanovs:Under Tsar Mikhail Feodorovich, construction of the first three-masted ship, actually built within Russia, was completed in 1636. It was built in Balakhna by Danish shipbuilders from Holstein...

. Eight were laid down as part of the 1912–16 shipbuilding program. They were intended to act as scouts for Gangut

Gangut class battleship

The Gangut-class battleships were the first dreadnoughts begun for the Imperial Russian Navy before World War I. They had a convoluted design history involving several British companies, evolving requirements, an international design competition, and foreign protests...

 and Imperatritsa Maria

Imperatritsa Mariya class battleship

The Imperatritsa Mariya-class battleships were the first dreadnoughts built for the Black Sea Fleet of the Imperial Russian Navy. All three ships were built in Nikolayev during World War I; two of the ships were built by the Rossud Dockyard and the third was built by the Associated Factories and...

-class dreadnought

Dreadnought

The dreadnought was the predominant type of 20th-century battleship. The first of the kind, the Royal Navy's had such an impact when launched in 1906 that similar battleships built after her were referred to as "dreadnoughts", and earlier battleships became known as pre-dreadnoughts...

s and to lead destroyer

Destroyer

In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...

 flotilla

Flotilla

A flotilla , or naval flotilla, is a formation of small warships that may be part of a larger fleet. A flotilla is usually composed of a homogeneous group of the same class of warship, such as frigates, destroyers, torpedo boats, submarines, gunboats, or minesweepers...

s.

Construction was interrupted by World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, the Russian Revolution

Russian Revolution

Russian Revolution can refer to:* Russian Revolution , a series of strikes and uprisings against Nicholas II, resulting in the creation of State Duma.* Russian Revolution...

 and the Russian Civil War

Russian Civil War

The Russian Civil War was a multi-party war that occurred within the former Russian Empire after the Russian provisional government collapsed to the Soviets, under the domination of the Bolshevik party. Soviet forces first assumed power in Petrograd The Russian Civil War (1917–1923) was a...

. Three ships were completed by the Soviet Union

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

 as cruisers, two were converted to oil tanker

Oil tanker

An oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanker, is a merchant ship designed for the bulk transport of oil. There are two basic types of oil tankers: the crude tanker and the product tanker. Crude tankers move large quantities of unrefined crude oil from its point of extraction to refineries...

s, and the remaining three were scrapped.

Original program

Svetlana, the first true light cruiser of the Imperial Russian Navy, was largely based on pre-war cruiser designs. Six of 15 guns were placed in casemate

Casemate

A casemate, sometimes rendered casement, is a fortified gun emplacement or armored structure from which guns are fired. originally a vaulted chamber in a fortress.-Origin of the term:...

s. Despite good experience with 152-mm Canet guns

Canet guns

The Canet guns were a series of weapon systems developed by the French engineer Gustave Canet , who was design engineer for Schneider et Cie of Le Creusot.-320 mm naval guns:...

, navy standard since 1892, Svetlana employed smaller and inferior 130 mm/55 B7 Pattern 1913

130 mm/55 B7 Pattern 1913

The 130mm/55 B7 Pattern 1913 naval gun was a 5.1-inch naval gun used predominantly on ships of the Imperial Russian Navy and later by the Soviet Navy. It was manufactured mainly by the Obukhov State Plant in St. Petersburg, as well as under licence by Vickers Limited in Great Britain...

 guns.

The concept was formulated in 1912 by Alexei Krylov

Alexei Krylov

Aleksey Nikolaevich Krylov was a Russian naval engineer, applied mathematician and memoirist.-Biography:Alexei Nikolaevich Krylov was born on August 3 O.S., 1863 to the family of an Army Artillery officer in a village Akhmatovo near town Alatyr of the Simbirsk Gubernia in Russia...

. Hull was designed by colonel Sasinovsky and refined by John Brown and Company shipyards in Clydebank

Clydebank

Clydebank is a town in West Dunbartonshire, in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. Situated on the north bank of the River Clyde, Clydebank borders Dumbarton, the town with which it was combined to form West Dunbartonshire, as well as the town of Milngavie in East Dunbartonshire, and the Yoker and...

 who ran a series of scale model tests. Superstructure was initially designed to resemble both Gangut class battleships and Novik class destroyers

Derzky class destroyer

The Derzky- or Bespokoiny-class destroyers were built for the Imperial Russian Navy just before World War I. Nine ships were built for the Black Sea Fleet These ships were a derivative of the Novik, but were slightly smaller...

; tripod masts with raised rangefinders were added in 1920s. Specifications were continuously changed throughout World War I, adding two flying boat

Flying boat

A flying boat is a fixed-winged seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a float plane as it uses a purpose-designed fuselage which can float, granting the aircraft buoyancy. Flying boats may be stabilized by under-wing floats or by wing-like projections from the fuselage...

s, roll dampers etc.

Original name	In Soviet service	Laid down	Launched	Commissioned	Fate
Baltic Fleet Baltic Fleet The Twice Red Banner Baltic Fleet - is the Russian Navy's presence in the Baltic Sea. In previous historical periods, it has been part of the navy of Imperial Russia and later the Soviet Union. The Fleet gained the 'Twice Red Banner' appellation during the Soviet period, indicating two awards of...  Group
Svetlana, Светлана	Profintern, Krasny Krym Soviet cruiser Krasnyi Krym Krasnyi Krym was a light cruiser of the Soviet Navy. She was laid down in 1913 as Svetlana for the Imperial Russian Navy, the lead ship of the . She was built by the Russo-Baltic Yard in Tallinn, Estonia and launched in 1915. Her hull was evacuated to Petrograd when the Germans approached the port... , Профинтерн, Красный Крым	11.11.1913	28.11.1915	01.07.1928	Converted to a blockship 18.03.1958, scrapped 1959
Admiral Butakov, Адмирал Бутаков		23.07.1916	1917		Cancelled, scrapped in early 1950s
Admiral Spiridov, Адмирал Спиридов	completed as tanker	16.11.1913	27.08.1916	1926	1941
Admiral Greig, Адмирал Грейг	completed as tanker	24.11.1913	26.11.1916	1926	Beached by a storm and broke in two 23.12.1937 in Tuapse Tuapse Tuapse is a town in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, situated on the northeast shore of the Black Sea, south of Gelendzhik and north of Sochi. It serves as the administrative center of Tuapsinsky District, although administratively it is separate from it... harbor, scrapped.