Admiral Ushakov is the lead ship of the Project 1144 Orlan of battlecruisers. Originally built for the Soviet Navy as Kirov and passed onto the succeeding Russian Navy, it and its three sister ships are the largest and heaviest surface combatant warships built by them. It was laid down on 26 March 1974 at the Baltic Shipyard in Leningrad, launched on 27 December 1977, and commissioned on 30 December 1980.
In May 1992 all four ships of the class were renamed, and Kirov was given the name Admiral Ushakov.
