This ship was laid down in August 1891 to be a successor to a long and proud line of sailing ships which bore such name in the Russian Navy. The best known among them was an 120-gun battle-of-the-line ship "TriSvyatitelya", flagship of Rear-Admiral Novosilsky whose squadron with others under the command of Admiral P. S. Nakhimov participated in the naval battle at Sinop 30 November 1855, which resulted in a complete defeat and destruction of a large Turkish fleet. Therefore it was not a surprise at all, in view of the tremendous popularity and a hero aura surrounding Admiral Nakhimov in Russia, who fell mortally wounded a year later in the defense of Sevastopol, that the name of one of his ships be given to the best battleship of the Black Sea Fleet at the time. Also that during her christening and launching ceremonies, among the numerous dignitaries, a group of pensioned and elderly veteran-sailors of the old ship was present.

Completed and commissioned in 1897/98, she was the most strongly armour protected warship in the world at her commissioning and, although possessing a low freeboard as was customary at that era, still had proved to be an extremely well designed and built ship.

During her career since her completion, she was the flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet at one period, until larger and better battleships implemented that force, as described in the proceeding articles. Around 1912 she underwent an extensive modernization, which altered her appearance to a certain extent. This included installation of the pole masts instead of the heavy fighting tops on them and considerable increase in the strength of her secondary artillery.

In World War I she took an active part in all the naval operations in the Black Sea region as part of the battleship force, including several encounters with German and Turkish warships and the bombardment of the Bosphorus, but after the October 1917 revolution became a part of the Soviet Navy. Most of the pre-dreadnought type battleships in the Black Sea, including "Tri Svyatitelya", were on a reserve status and moored at Sevastopol in April 1918, when they were captured by the Austro-German forces in breach of the treaty of Brest-Litovsk concluded by them with Soviet Russia, and were recaptured by the White anti-communist forces in December 1918. Also all of them were taken over from those units by their Allies, the Anglo-French naval personnel, and had their machinery destroyed by explosive charges on 25 April 1919, treacherously set off by the British sailors before they were turned over again to Gen.Wrangel's Anti-Communist White Government early in 1920.

Recaptured by the Red Army units upon their entry into Sevastopol in November 1920 in practically worthless condition, "Tri Svyatitelya" was scrapped with the rest of the hulks in 1922. .