Gorshkov's design laboratory at Leningrad

The class was an experimental opening for a new commander, a way to discover what could be built, which technology was ready, and which missions the ships could perform. A proposed enlarged Shaddock cruiser did not reach construction before attention shifted to the Kresta design, making Project 58 part of a visible development chain. Groznyy entered service in 1962, Admiral Fokin and Admiral Golovko followed in 1964, and Varyag completed in 1965. That staggered schedule left time for equipment and fit decisions to change after the first ship had been rushed into service. All four came from Leningrad's Zhdanov yard, a facility rebuilt and enlarged after the Second World War with machinery taken from Germany. The yard's continuing production of destroyers, cruisers, frigates, and corvettes shows why industrial capacity was as important to Gorshkov's program as the concept embodied in any one ship.