The cruiser Bayan (Russian: Баян) was the lead ship in the Bayan-class of armored cruisers in the Imperial Russian Navy. It was built in Toulon, France by the Compagnie des Forges et Chantiers de la Méditerranée à la Seine. Its name means "bard" or "storyteller" in Russian. The Bayan was scuttled during the Russo-Japanese War, and then raised by the Japanese and commissioned as the Aso. She was eventually sunk as a target off Izu Ōshima in 1932.