During the Russo-Japanese war, "Admiral Nakhimov" was assigned to the Second Pacific Squadron, under the overall command of Admiral Zinovy Rozhestvensky, which was created from the Russian Baltic Fleet to relieve the Japanese blockade of Port Arthur. She departed the Baltic in October 1904, and as "Admiral Nakhimov" was more powerful than the other Russian cruisers, she was included into the 2nd Battleship Group of the Squadron, consisting of three obsolete battleships.