The light artillery cruiser of project 68bis "Mikhail Kutuzov" (hull number S-385) was laid down at the Black Sea Shipbuilding Plant in Mykolaiv (now Ukraine) on February 22, 1951. The hull was launched on November 29 of the same year.

On August 9, 1954, the naval flag of the USSR was raised on the cruiser, which is considered its birthday. On January 31, 1955, it joined the combat ships of the Black Sea Fleet and was based in Sevastopol. Until October 1988, the cruiser was part of the first line of constant readiness ships, after which it was modernized and transferred to reserve category 3, meaning it was decommissioned. It remained in this state until August 28, 1998, when it was removed from the combat ships and became part of the Black Sea Fleet museum. On August 23, 2001, the cruiser "Mikhail Kutuzov" was towed from Sevastopol to Novorossiysk.

On August 25, 2001, the cruiser arrived in Novorossiysk and was permanently moored at the Marine Terminal.

In May 1955, the first shipborne helicopters Ka-15 and Mi-1 were tested aboard the cruiser. On October 29, 1955, the battleship "Novorossiysk" exploded in Sevastopol, and an emergency rescue party of 35 people was sent from the cruiser "Mikhail Kutuzov", 27 of whom perished.

In the summer of 1957, the cruiser made a passage from Sevastopol to Leningrad and back to participate in the celebration of Navy Day on the Neva, covering 4,500 miles. On September 14, 1958, the Eternal Flame from Sevastopol was delivered to Novorossiysk aboard the cruiser and lit at Heroes' Square.

In June 1964, "Mikhail Kutuzov" along with other ships went to the Mediterranean Sea for combat service. On March 31, 1969, it became the flagship of the 30th division of surface ships of the Black Sea Fleet. In 1970, the cruiser participated in the fleet-wide exercises "Ocean".

From 1968 to 1973, "Mikhail Kutuzov" repeatedly provided military assistance to Arab countries in the war against Israel. Long voyages became a school for many sailors, and the cruiser’s deck raised 17 admirals and 78 captains of the 1st rank. More than 700 sailors were awarded orders and medals of the USSR.

The cruiser visited the ports of Yugoslavia, Albania, Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Romania, and Bulgaria, covering over 220,000 miles during 15 long voyages. In the 60s to 80s, the Komsomol organization of Novorossiysk took patronage over it, and many conscripts received a ticket to life aboard.

In 1994, the veterans' council of the cruiser proposed to preserve it as a museum and a monument to shipbuilding of the 1950s. In 1996, UNESCO included the cruiser in the catalog of historical museums. However, the decision to scrap it was canceled thanks to the intervention of the Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, Yevgeny Primakov, who ordered it to remain in the fleet as a museum.

On July 14, 1999, a directive was issued to organize a branch of the Black Sea Fleet museum on the cruiser. At the end of 1999, it was decided to transfer it to Novorossiysk, and in the spring of 2000, it was prepared for the transition. On August 23, 2001, the cruiser left Sevastopol and arrived in Novorossiysk on August 25, becoming a symbol of the city.

By order of the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation on February 6, 2012, the cruiser "Mikhail Kutuzov" was included in the staff of the Central Naval Museum. In Novorossiysk, it found a second life, becoming the first museum ship in the Black Sea Fleet and a keeper of combat traditions.