In 1930, the Soviet government reinstated funding for building ocean-going ships and intended to construct six destroyer leaders. To design these ships, the Central Design Bureau of Special Shipbuilding was founded. The ships were named after capital cities of the Soviet republics and major naval bases of the country. As the Soviet Union entered World War II, destroyer Leningrad deployed mines and participated in the Battle of Tallinn of 1941, the Soviet evacuation of Tallinn, the evacuation of Hanko Naval Base, and the defense of Leningrad.