A counterfactual: Soviet carriers before the Second World War

How might two Soviet carriers in service by the late 1930s affect the world and the navy's continued use of carriers after the Second World War?

They would probably serve as northern and Pacific fleet flagships, extending reconnaissance and layered regional defence. Continued carrier operation after the war would depend on their wartime employment.

The scenario assumes Stalin backs carriers earlier, producing two treaty-sized ships of about 27,000 tons with another pair potentially under construction. One would probably be built in the Black Sea and the other at Leningrad. Northern and Pacific employment would make use of ship-support infrastructure where constructing a network of airfields was difficult. A carrier kept in the Black Sea could dominate locally and affect relations with the Turkish Navy, which operated a battlecruiser. Even with carriers, the expected Soviet strategy remains defensive: draw an approaching enemy into increasingly strong layers of resistance. The hypothetical force would still be too small to inspire confidence in an offensive into the North Atlantic.