The Bayan class marked a departure from the previous Russian armored cruisers, as they were smaller ships designed to serve as scouts for the fleet rather than as commerce raiders.
Authorized in the 1896–1902 building program, the design was outsourced to a French shipyard, Forges et Chantiers de la Méditerranée, because Russian shipyards were already at full capacity.
Negotiations began in March 1897, and a contract was signed in May 1898 for one ship with delivery in 36 months.

The Navy was reasonably pleased with the first ship, Bayan, and decided to order another cruiser after the start of the Russo-Japanese War in February 1904.
Russian shipyards were still unavailable, so the Navy decided to simply order a repeat with minor modifications based on war experience.
This was an attempt to minimize the work load on the Naval Technical Committee (Morskoi tekhnicheskii komitet), but they proved to require more attention than planned and a contract was not signed until 20 April 1905.
The contract specified that all drawings would be turned over to allow for the construction of two identical ships in St. Petersburg, using newly available slipways.
These changes generally added weight and the armor was reduced in thickness to compensate, although the change from Harvey armor to more resistant Krupp armor meant that there was little actual loss in protection.
The Bayan class marked a departure from the previous Russian armored cruisers, as they were smaller ships designed to serve as scouts for the fleet rather than as commerce raiders. Authorized in the 1896–1902 building program, the design was outsourced to a French shipyard, Forges et Chantiers de la Méditerranée, because Russian shipyards were already at full capacity. Negotiations began in March 1897, and a contract was signed in May 1898 for one ship with delivery in 36 months.
The Navy was reasonably pleased with the first ship, Bayan, and decided to order another cruiser after the start of the Russo-Japanese War in February 1904. Russian shipyards were still unavailable, so the Navy decided to simply order a repeat with minor modifications based on war experience. This was an attempt to minimize the work load on the Naval Technical Committee (Morskoi tekhnicheskii komitet), but they proved to require more attention than planned and a contract was not signed until 20 April 1905. The contract specified that all drawings would be turned over to allow for the construction of two identical ships in St. Petersburg, using newly available slipways. These changes generally added weight and the armor was reduced in thickness to compensate, although the change from Harvey armor to more resistant Krupp armor meant that there was little actual loss in protection.
Bayan-class cruiser