Russian cruiser Pamiat Merkuria The Pamiat ' Merkuria ( " Memory of Mercury " ) was a protected cruiser built for the Imperial Russian Navy . She saw service during World War I in the Black Sea , survived the Russian Civil War in a damaged state and was repaired by the Soviets , renamed as " Komintern " , and put into service as a training cruiser . Service history . " Pamiat ' Merkuria " was originally named " Kagul " and didn ' t receive her name until 25 March 1907 . This has caused much confusion between her and her sister " Ochakov " regarding construction data . The data presented here is taken from Russian - language sources . World War I . On 18 November 1914 " Pamiat ' Merkuria " was escorting five pre - dreadnought battleship s of the Black Sea Fleet off Cape Sarych when they encountered the German battlecruiser and the light cruiser . The Germans sheered off after an early hit on one of " Goeben ' s " casemate s that started an ammunition fire . In January 1915 " Pamiat ' Merkuria " and her sister " Kagul " twice encountered " Breslau " and the Turkish protected cruiser " Hamidiye " , also spelled " Hamidieh " , but the Turkish ships escaped both times without either side inflicting any damage . On 10 May 1915 the Black Sea Fleet bombarded the Turkish forts defending the Bosporus . Two cruisers , the " Pamiat ' Merkuria " and her sister " Kagul " were posted further out as pickets . " Pamiat ' Merkuria " was spotted by the " Goeben " which was returning from a patrol off Eregli , miles east of the Bosporus . " Goeben " immediately set off in pursuit while " Pamiat ' Merkuria " headed at full speed for the main body , dodging shells from the German battlecruiser . The Russian pre - dreadnoughts quickly hit " Goeben " three times , and the battlecruiser broke off the engagement using her superior speed . " Pamiat ' Merkuria " wasn ' t damaged during the battle . Her guns were exchanged for sixteen / 55 guns during her refit from December 1916 to April 1917 . She was dispatched to Constanta on 1 November 1917 to destroy the oil depot abandoned by the Romanians before it was captured by the Germans . A false submarine alarm caused her to abandon the bombardment before she inflicted any damage . But on 4 November " Pamiat ' Merkuria " returned and fired 231 shells , destroying 15 of the 37 oil tanks . Russian Civil War . " Pamiat ' Merkuria " was captured by the Germans on 1 May 1918 after having been seized by the Bolsheviks in December 1917 and hulked by them in March 1918 . During all time of the Hetmanat , the cruiser was in Ukrainian service . She ended up in the hands of the Whites in November 1918 . She was disarmed in February 1919 and had her engines sabotaged in April 1919 by order of the British when the Whites temporarily lost control of Sevastopol . She was further damaged by the explosion of a mine when the Whites abandoned the Crimea in 1920 . Once she fell into Soviet hands she spent several years under repair , which required parts and material from her sisters that were in even worse shape , including machinery from the " Bogatyr " , before they were scrapped . She was given the proper revolutionary name of " Komintern " , after the , on 31 December 1922 and was recommissioned in June 1923 as a training cruiser .