Russian cruiser Varyag (1899)

Varyag c. 1904
History
Russian Empire
NameVaryag
BuilderWilliam Cramp & Sons, Philadelphia
Yard number301
Laid downOctober 1898
Launched31 October 1899
Commissioned2 January 1901 O.S.: (14 January 1901 N.S.)
FateScuttled, 9 February 1904
Empire of Japan
NameSoya
Acquiredby Japan as prize of war
Commissioned9 July 1907
FateReturned to Russia, 5 April 1916
Russian Empire
NameVaryag
Acquired5 April 1916
Out of serviceseized by Great Britain February 1918
FateRan aground 1920, scrapped 1925 Firth of Clyde
General characteristics
TypeProtected cruiser
Displacement6,500 long tons (6,604 t)
Length129.6 m (425 ft 2 in) w/l
Beam15.8 m (51 ft 10 in)
Draught6.3 m (20 ft 8 in)
Installed power
Propulsion2 shafts; triple-expansion steam engines
Speed23 knots (43 km/h; 26 mph)
Complement570
Armament

Varyag (Russian: Варя́г) sometimes also spelled Variag, was a Russian protected cruiser. Varyag became famous for her crew's stoicism at the Battle of Chemulpo Bay. She was acquired as a prize of war during the Russo-Japanese War by the Imperial Japanese Navy, who renamed her Soya and was later returned to the Russian Imperial Navy during World War I.