After the Izmail-class battlecruisers were laid down, the Naval General Staff commenced the development of a new generation of battleships. The requirements for the new ships were formulated between 1913 and 1914, but the development was halted when World War I broke out. The project was resumed only in 1916. A project variant proposed a warship with nine main guns housed in triple-gun turrets, a 275 mm-thick armored belt with a 100 mm-thick bulkhead behind it, 152 mm secondary guns, and a 30-knot speed. Work on the project was halted in 1917.