New naval series. A new book by a leading naval historian. All about the development of one of the main classes of warships over three centuries - from King James Stuart’s decree “On Cruisers and Convoys,” dated 1708, and the sailing frigates of the 19th century to the Russian missile cruisers of Project 1104, which received the honorary nickname “aircraft carrier killers.” The past century is rightfully considered the “cruising century.” The most versatile ships of any navy, they not only fought for control of ocean communications, but also protected their battleships from torpedo attacks and were even included in battle squadrons. And even though armored cruisers were dubbed “battleships for the poor,” they decided the outcome of the Battle of Tsushima, and during the First World War they fought in literally all oceans, while the vaunted dreadnoughts were locked within the inland seas. The role of cruisers increased even more by the beginning of World War II - there were too few battleships left, and cruisers turned into the backbone of the fleet: they carried out the bloodiest campaign in the history of naval warfare - the Battle of the Solomon Islands in 1942. And today cruisers are the largest, most powerful , the most expensive and most versatile ships after aircraft carriers, and with the advent of cruise missiles they became deadly even for these “masters of the oceans.”