The Soviet surface fleet lacked the range, numbers, and capability to challenge the blockade around Cuba. Submarines suited wartime attack, but visible deterrence required a boat to surface and surrender its protection from concealment. Only fourteen of thirty planned Sverdlov-class cruisers were completed, and construction had stopped rather than continuing to build the force. The Kynda-class missile cruisers began construction in 1960 and reached service in 1962 in small numbers, while the United States could deploy full battle groups. Gorshkov used the crisis to argue for a continuing sequence of larger, more capable surface ships with differing roles.
Chapter · 3:19:20-3:25:30
The Cuban crisis strengthened Gorshkov's case for surface ships
Submarines made military sense in 1962, but their inability to conduct visible deterrence or challenge the blockade helped justify a larger Soviet surface fleet.