 Construction began on Tsesarevich , named after the title of the heir to the Russian throne , on 18 May 1899 at the Forges et Chantiers de la Méditerranée shipyard in La Seyne @-@ sur @-@ Mer , France . The ship was laid down on 8 July 1899 and launched on 23 February 1901 . Construction was supervised by Captain Ivan Grigorovich , who became the ship 's first captain . Tsesarevich entered service in August 1903 and was assigned to the Far East . She arrived in Port Arthur on 2 December 1903 . Upon completion , the Tsesarevich was the Russian Navy 's best battleship at the beginning of the Russo @-@ Japanese War . 
