Three separated fleets, three different design problems

The Baltic required ships able to confront a serious German navy in constricted waters. The Black Sea called for a regional force able to operate around the Dardanelles, where a compact twenty-one-knot battleship could still be useful. Vladivostok's distance and weak industrial base made capital ships harder to justify unless the Pacific force adopted an offensive cruising mission. Maritime geography had to shape procurement across three disconnected theaters.