 All four ships were officially laid down on 19 December 1912 , but work did not begin until March – April 1913 . After a progress review on 4 June 1914 , launching of the first pair of ships was delayed until October 1914 . When World War I began , the hull of Izmail , the most advanced ship , was judged 43 percent complete , with the others lagging considerably behind . The war caused more delays , including problems obtaining imported components , and the ships were competing for scarce resources with other production deemed necessary for the war . Three of the four ships were launched in 1915 , but it was clear that Russian industry would not be able to complete them during the war , mostly because the turrets were seriously delayed . They were reclassified as 2nd rank projects by the Main Administration of Shipbuilding in 1916 . 
