Why the new state still needed naval specialists

Early Soviet political appointees could supervise the navy for the party, but they could not personally supply every specialist skill needed at sea. Ships still required navigators, engineers, maintainers, and experienced officers inherited from the old service. A capable engineer needed enough theoretical and practical knowledge to diagnose an engine by mentally taking it apart and rebuilding it. Political loyalty or mass recruitment could not replace that expertise quickly. Naval officers also met foreigners when their ships left harbour, making competent professionals look politically dangerous to a suspicious regime. Dependence and distrust shaped the navy long before the Great Purge reached its peak.