The work on the design of future long-range active anti-aircraft and anti-submarine ship - as it was initially determined - was conducted by the Leningrad CKB-17 in close cooperation with OKB-938 led by N.I. Kamov. The author of the ship's design, which was given the number 1123 and the code 'Kondor', was A.S. Sawiczew, and from 1967 - A.W. Marinich.

The main task of the ship was to search and destroy American nuclear submarines carrying 'Polaris' ballistic missiles in the Antarctic Ocean and Barents Sea.