The cruiser-centered pattern established by Project 68 continued into the later Russian Navy and is offered as a useful comparison for examining Chinese naval development. A fleet intended to shape the peace can make different procurement choices from one designed chiefly for a decisive wartime contest. Presence and coalition building before a conflict may help a materially weaker force win by changing the diplomatic and operational conditions in advance. A stronger navy can waste its advantage if it assumes those peacetime contests do not matter. The intended political effects of a fleet therefore belong alongside its wartime capabilities when interpreting force structure.
Notable Point · 38:41-40:43
Cruiser-centered fleets may be designed to shape the peace
The Soviet and later Russian cruiser pattern offers a warning against judging every fleet through Western expectations of wartime combat.