Q&A: Did Russia plan British-built coastal-defence ships?

Did Russia plan to order coastal-defence ships or monitors from the United Kingdom during the First World War?

It considered the idea but did not carry it through, partly because delivering the ships to their theater was problematic.

Russian planners considered ordering coastal-defence ships or monitors from the United Kingdom during the First World War. The idea did not produce a delivered force. Uncertainty over how the ships would reach their intended theater formed part of the problem. The brief answer does not establish a finalized design, but it shows how wartime access and delivery routes can defeat a foreign order.