Due to the close connections between the Russian Imperial Family and the Danish Royal Family, established mainly through Empress Maria Feodorovna (born as Dagmar, daughter to King Christian IX of Denmark), the sympathic wife to Emperor Alexander III, not only the political ties between Russia and Denmark were strengthened. The suffering Danish economy was boosted by significant orders from Imperial Russia and thanks to the enthusiasm of Empress Maria a number of Danish companies became purveyors to the Imperial Russian Court; one of them being a shipyard with an outstanding worldwide reputation - Burmeister & Wain.
Aktieselskabet Burmeister & Wain's Maskin og Skibsbyggeri at Copenhagen was a succesfull shipyard and enginebuilder founded in 1846. Earlier it build, amongst others, the former Danish Royal Yacht "Dannebrog" and the cruiser "Manchuria" for the Imperial Russian Navy. Based on their reputation Burmeister & Wain were granted the order for "Standart" which truly was considered a prestige project; never before did the shipyard embark on such a financial and technical challenging entreprise. The yard for instance could not even dock a ship the size of "Standart" and it was only because Copenhagen's Free Port Company, the Copenhagen Port Authorities and the Danish Ministry of Navy Affairs contributed financially in the building of the dock that the order for "Standart" could be accepted.
The ship and the engines were the largest ever built by Burmeister & Wain and hence new tooling machines, equipment, etc. had to be bought. During the construction of "Standart" all of this severely put a strain on the company's financial situation, not even to mention the six month period of no construction activities as explained in the Construction section. Initially the quotation, personally calculated by the director of the firm, David Halley, was based on the experiences when building "Manchuria" but with the increasing financial pressure he was constantly in a state of stress which wrecked his health and contributed to his sudden death March 10, 1895 - only a few weeks before the day of the launch of "Standart". Another contributory reason for his sudden death must have been the stress placed upon him by the Russian officers at the shipyard; the extravagant demands for luxurious equipment and furnishings were not covered financially in the initial quotation.
A new and very capable director was found in the person of Commodore K.C. Nielsen, the director of the Danish Navy Dockyard. Nielsen had an outstanding reputation and thanks to his high naval rank and standing he was easily introduced and accepted by the St. Petersburg society, circles close to the Imperial Court and Emperor Nicholas II. Nielsen's major contribution to the survival of Burmeister & Wain lay in the fact that he persuaded initially the completion of a technical outstanding yacht and later managed to arrange an agreement on the financial difficulties encountered when building Standart; Emperor Nicholas II, being extremely satisfied with the new yacht, personally arranged for payment of all costs which had been a burden to Burmeister & Wain.