Gorshkov had extensive combat experience, but the principal purpose of this book was conflict management. Its immediate audience was the Soviet leadership, and its argument emphasizes deterrence and presence as reasons to sustain a balanced fleet. Capital ships matter in battle and because deploying a visible high-status asset changes the political weight of a naval presence. The book extends Gorshkov's influence beyond officers whose careers he had already shaped by giving later leaders a written rationale for his force structure. His intended legacy was a navy and a way of explaining why that navy should remain balanced.
Notable Point · 52:30-53:55
Gorshkov writes for deterrence and conflict management
The Sea Power of the State turns wartime experience into a political case for the peacetime leverage and durable legacy of a balanced navy.