The Soviet Union sought Lützow, other cruisers, capital-ship plans, naval artillery, and related technology after the European war had begun. Germany agreed to sell Lützow at 150 million Reichsmarks, about twice the vessel's cost, and transferred the hull with only the forward turrets installed and much of the superstructure incomplete. The Soviets designated the completion effort Project 83, while the ship's design information also informed the projected Project 82 cruisers. Plans for German instructors, Soviet trainees, manuals, and engineering support reveal that the transaction involved knowledge transfer as well as hardware, until the German invasion ended cooperation.
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Germany sold Lützow and cruiser technology to the Soviet Union
The incomplete cruiser formed part of a wider 1939-40 Soviet purchase effort involving warships, artillery, plans, technical manuals, and contested training arrangements.