Weapons of the Colonization Era
MacArthur system control ship
Kynda missile cruiser
In the '30s the Russian offworld holdings were coming under threat not just from feral drones but from encroaching Chinese hegemony. The aging Gangut system battleships could provide adequate protection against the former and the fast new Borodinos were the match of anything flying but required Sol-system spaceyards and were limited in numbers anyhow. A ship specifically made to counter the Chinese superiority in numbers was required, one that could also be build with a minimal reliance upon homeworld factories. The resulting ship was the Kynda missile cruiser.
With a 'main battery' of long-range missiles, the Kynda was somewhat unusual in eschewing any substantial gun armament but as a consequence was (on paper) extremely effective in its designed role of unleashing a crippling alpha strike of ordnance. A newly developed scattering field bubble provided surprising resilience against return fire both before and after the Kynda launched its missiles, though the shield needed to be dropped in order to unleash its deadly payload.
These traits which made it such an effective threat in the '40s saw it sidelined during the 50s, once the Breakdown struck. A war against China became much less likely and defense against resurgent drones became a priority. Ill-suited for this role the Kyndas saw little service. The development and adoption of leapmissiles gave them a new lease on life, but unfortunately they lacked the powerful sensors required for precise targeting and consequently they were forced to be paired with a modern sensor craft. Nonetheless, these half-century old cruisers have once again returned to the center stage.
Borodino' battleship
The Borodino Class Battle Cruiser was designed as a replacement to the aging Gangut system battleships, taking advantage of two decades of technological progress. Faster and better-armed than the Ganguts, the Borodinos were also far more future-proofed, with excess power generation sufficing for the future installation of the shield systems under development at the time. Unlike the MacArthurs and Drakes that were its contemporaries however, the Borodinos had little in the way of support craft or facilities. With a relatively small number of worlds to manage Russia had little need for ubiquitous marine landing forces. The Borodinos were all about space control.
Despite their apparent advantages, the Borodinos proved troublesome in service. Their powerful fusion drives were seen as cranky and unlike their equivalent in European and Pacific service, they had no provision for spin gravity. However when they worked, they worked well. Their 28cm railcannons and missile batteries provided excellent firepower and the addition of a scattering field bubble in the '40s gave them defenses to match.
Unsurprisingly the Borodinos had mixed success during the Breakdown. They gave stellar performance during the Novy Rostina campaign against feral hybrids and in the Port Alexi suppression against the Black Banner exhuman front but at the same time they were the white elephants of the Russian fleet, unpopular with their crews for long deployments. Substantive refits in the 80s and 90s augmented their missile armament with the now-familiar cylindridal external bins. The Duma has not officially funded a replacement, though voices are getting louder that the entire Russian fleet needs a top-to-bottom refresh.