Russian battleship Imperator Aleksandr II Imperator Aleksandr II ( " Император Александр II " ) was a battleship built for the Imperial Russian Navy in the 1880s . She was an artillery training ship assigned to the Baltic Fleet by the time of the Russo - Japanese War of 1905 and was not sent to the Pacific as was most of the rest of the Baltic Fleet . She was inactive at Kronstadt during World War I , but her crew was active in the revolutionary movement . She was turned over to the Kronstadt port authority on 21 April 1921 before she was sold for scrap on 22 August 1922 . She was towed to Germany during the autumn of 1922 , but was not stricken from the Navy List until 21 November 1925 . Description . " Imperator Aleksandr II " was named after the Emperor Alexander II of Russia . She was built by the New Admiralty Yard at Saint Petersburg . She was laid down in June 1885 , launched in July 1887 , and completed in June 1891 , although her trials lasted until the spring of 1892 . She was long at the waterline and long overall . She had a beam of and a draft of . She displaced at load , over more than her designed displacement of . " Imperator Aleksandr II " had two three - cylinder vertical compound steam engines driving screw propellers . Twelve cylindrical boilers provided steam to the engines . Her engines were built by Baltic Works and had a total designed output of . On trials , the powerplant produced , and a top speed of . She carried of coal that provided a range of at a speed of and at a speed of . The main armament of the " Imperator Aleksandr II " class ships was a pair of Obukhov Model 1877 30 - calibre guns mounted in a twin barbette mount forward . The four Obukhov Model 1877 35 - calibre guns were on center - pivot mounts in casemate s at the corners of the citadel , the hull being recessed to increase their arcs of fire ahead or behind . The eight Model 1877 35 - calibre guns were mounted on broadside pivot mounts . Four were fitted between the 9 - inch guns and could traverse a total of 100° . The others were mounted at each end of the ship where they could fire directly ahead or astern . The ten Hotchkiss revolving cannon were mounted in hull embrasures of the ship , between the nine and six - inch guns to defend against torpedo boat s . Four Hotchkiss revolving cannon were mounted in each fighting top . " Imperator Aleksandr II " carried five above - water torpedo tube s . Two in the bow , one on each side of the stempost , one tube on each broadside and a tube in the stern . Smaller torpedo tube s could be mounted in four of the ship ' s cutters . 36 mines could also be carried . History . " Imperator Aleksandr II " served in the Baltic Fleet and represented Russia , along with the cruiser , at the opening of the Kiel Canal in June 1895 . She ran aground in Vyborg Bay later that year , but sustained little damage . She joined the Mediterranean Squadron in August 1896 and supported Russian interests during the Cretan Revolt of 1897 . She returned to Kronstadt in September 1901 . She was reboilered in December 1903 and modified in 1904 to serve as an artillery school ship . Her crew refused to suppress the mutinous garrison of Fort Konstantin defending Kronstadt in August 1906 . She was assigned to the Artillery Training Detachment in 1907 . She spent most of World War I in Kronstadt where her crew was active in the revolutionary movement . She was renamed " Zarya Svobody " ( " Заря Свободы — Dawn of Freedom " ) in May 1917 . She was turned over to the Kronstadt port authority on 21 April 1921 before she was sold for scrap on 22 August 1922 . She was towed to Germany during the autumn of 1922 , but was not stricken from the Navy List until 21 November 1925 . Conway ' s says that she was reconstructed in France between 1902 and 1904 , with her torpedo tubes removed and her six and nine - inch guns exchanged for five 45 calibre guns and eight six - inch 45 calibre guns . Her revolver cannon were also exchanged for ten three - pounder guns . Arbazov confirms that the torpedo tubes were removed and says that she had her nine - inch guns replaced by five 8 - inch , the fifth being placed at the stern , the old six - inch guns were exchanged for newer , more powerful models , and four 47 - mm and four 120 - mm guns were added on the upper deck , presumably replacing the old revolver cannon .