Gorshkov's naval diplomacy and political strategy

Sea Power of the State was written for an internal Soviet audience, although it was also published abroad. It appeared in 1976, about twenty years into Gorshkov's tenure, when he still needed political cover for continued naval construction. A strong fleet promised worldwide influence through presence and the threat of force. His claim that the Soviet Army indirectly saved Britain in the Atlantic made the argument difficult for Army leaders to attack without weakening their own Great Patriotic War narrative. He even placed the point deep in the book, where a skimming critic might miss it. History, diplomacy, and institutional politics worked together in his campaign for ships.