These ships were designed to replace the Project 205 (NATO: Osa Class) missile boats. The Tarantul Missile Corvette (Raketnyy Kater RK) are smaller and less capable than the previous Nanuchka Class, though several knots faster. They feature the small hull and basic arrangement of the Pauk Class anti-submarine corvettes with a different propulsion system. They may be considered a better armed successors to the Osa Class missile boats.

In the Tarantul, both the single 76 mm main gun and the two 30 mm Gatling-type guns are used for air defence, together with a comprehensive electronic warfare suite. The corvettes were are built by the several shipyards. A version of these ships for coastal anti submarine warfare and patrol was developed as the Pauk class corvette or Project 12412. The first version was based on the Pauk Class hull, though with a significantly increased weight. Equipped with four P-15M Termit (NATO: SS-N-2 Styx) ship-to-ship missiles (either the 40 km range P-15 Termit missile or the later P-20 variant with 80 km range) and the associated radar targeting system.

Missile Corvette R-54 laid down 21 April 1981 at the Sredne-Nevskiy Shipyard, Pontonny (yard No.200), launched 18 December 1982, commissioned 30 December 1983.

From 06 December 1984 to 12 August 1997, the corvette was part of the 295th division of small rocket ships of the 41st brigade of missile boats of the Black Sea Fleet.

10 September 1987 missile corvette was renamed to "Krasnodarsky komsomolets", from 16 March 1992 renamed to R-54.

12 September 1997, the missile boat was transferred under the Agreement with Russian Black Sea Fleet to the Ukrainian Naval Forces, reclassified into a missile corvette, having received the name Nikopol (U155), and from 10.04.2002 - Pridniprovye.

20 March 2014, the missile corvette Pridniprovye, being in Streletskaya bay of Sevastopol, lowered the Ukrainian flag and raised the Russian flag.

21 March 2014 was transferred under tugs to the Quarantine Bay of Sevastopol, where it is in storage at the present time.