Armoured corvettes and Russia's cruiser problem

The armoured corvette is a transition form from older categories to the cruiser, although navies later classified such ships differently. General Admiral appears as the first armoured cruiser and makes Russia's requirement concrete. A vast land power still relied on sea logistics and external maritime trade because of its geography. Much of the central railway was single track and ill suited to high-volume movement, while overseas trade supplied goods and supported economic growth. Those constraints help explain why armoured cruisers made sense for Russian geostrategy.