Post-Stalin leaders often approached strategy from an army-centered perspective or treated the Soviet Union's continental scale as evidence that naval power mattered little. Its large land borders and natural resources suggested that a well-managed economy might become nearly self-sufficient. That view overlooked a modern state's dependence on innovation and knowledge developed elsewhere. Cruisers and other deployable naval forces therefore mattered for access, influence, and participation in the wider system that sustained technological and strategic power, as well as for battle.
Notable Point · 45:15-47:21
A land-power lens can hide the Soviet need for sea power
The Soviet Union's huge land borders and resources made naval power look optional, but technological exchange and influence still depended on engagement beyond those borders.