A fleet that could not expect to win a major naval war still needed to influence conditions before fighting began. Larger Soviet ships could perform a presence mission and impress the governments receiving them. Their principal audience lay in South America, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, where states were still open to competing influences. British and American newspaper reactions were less central because those countries were already opponents. Ship size and visible capability therefore mattered to the political work of winning influence during peace.
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Gorshkov designed ships to win influence before war
Large Soviet ships could impress governments in politically contested regions and improve Moscow's position before war, giving visible size and capability a purpose beyond combat.