Foreign technology and Soviet naval industry

The second five-year plan sought faster, more effective railways and an industrial foundation for later military expansion. An earlier fleet program would bring part of that naval investment forward. Propaganda about national achievement could conceal reliance on imported machinery, including engines acquired through Italian, French, and British licensing chains. Foreign dependence did not eliminate Soviet design work: the Kirov-class cruisers were capable ships and a useful basis for further construction. Their thin armor still exposed a weakness that a larger fleet program would have to address.