"vladimir monomakh" departed kronstadt for the mediterranean on 6 november 1889 where she remained for the next year. she joined the official escort for the tsarevich nicholas ii’s visit to the far east. the tsarevich travelled aboard the and "vladimir monomakh" provided protection. the two ships reached singapore on 2 march 1891, and reached vladivostok on 23 may. once at vladivostok, captain oskar stark was appointed commander of the ship and "vladimir monomakh" was overhauled through august. she wintered over again at nagasaki, departing for europe on 23 april 1892 and reached kronstadt in august, where the ship was given a thorough refit beginning on 22 september. the heavy sailing rig was replaced by three signal masts, her funnels were fixed in place, and her boilers were also upgraded. "vladimir monomakh" was reclassified as a 1st class cruiser on 13 february 1892.