Nowik was a Russian armored and deck cruiser from the beginning of the 20th century. The keel was officially laid in February 1900, the launch took place in August of the same year, and entry into service in the Russian Navy in May 1901. The total length of the ship at the time of launching was 110 m, overall width 12.2 m, with a draft of 5 meters. The full displacement, on the other hand, was about 3,200 tons, and the maximum speed was up to 25 knots. The deck armament at the time of launching included: 6 120 mm guns, 6 47 mm guns, and 2 37 mm rapid-fire guns.
Nowik was built at the German Schichau shipyard in Gdańsk (then Danzig) to the order of the Russian Navy (hereinafter: MW). From the very beginning of its construction, it was assumed that the new cruiser would be a relatively small unit and not too heavily armed, but with a large maximum speed. Nowik was to play the role of a reconnaissance and reconnaissance unit operating in front of its own main forces. The command of the Russian MW also assumed that Nowik would operate mainly in the Far East. The new cruiser reached this area (exactly to the Port Arthur base) in the first half of 1903. Novik took a very intensive part in the Japanese-Russian war (1904-1905), becoming one of the most famous Russian ships of this conflict. Among other things, he took part in the Battle of the Yellow Sea (August 1904). During this war, the unit was self-sunk by the crew, but in 1906 its wreckage was lifted from the bottom by the Japanese and after a major renovation, retooling and renamed Suzuya, it was incorporated into the Imperial Japanese Navy. She served there until 1913.