Gorshkov shared the Soviet Union's highest naval rank with Ivan Isakov and Nikolai Kuznetsov, whose careers offer a contrasting use of the title. Isakov's and Kuznetsov's promotions accompanied movement away from active command, making the title resemble a dignified exit mechanism. Gorshkov received it in 1967 and continued serving until December 1985. Rather than removing him, the rank amplified his standing and became inseparable from his unusually durable control of the navy.
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A retirement rank instead entrenched Gorshkov's authority
Where Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union had helped ease predecessors aside, Gorshkov used the promotion to remain in command for another eighteen years.