The Borodino-class battlecruisers were a group of four battlecruisers ordered by the Imperial Russian Navy before World War I for service with the Baltic Fleet. Construction of the ships was delayed by a lack of capacity among domestic factories and the need to order some components from abroad. The start of the war in 1914 slowed their construction still further. All of the ships were launched in 1915–1916, but it became evident that Russian industry would not be able to complete them during the war. The Russian Revolution of 1917 halted all work on the ships. Although some consideration was given to finishing the hulls that were nearest to completion, they were all eventually sold for scrap by the Soviet Union. The Soviet Navy proposed to convert Izmail (pictured), the ship closest to completion, to an aircraft carrier in 1925, but the plan was cancelled after political manoeuvring by the Red Army led to funding not being available. (This article is part of a featured topic: Battlecruisers of the world.)