Defensive doctrine favors battleships and destroyers over cruisers

Soviet naval doctrine in this period is defensive: secure the Black Sea, Baltic, northern waters, and Pacific approaches instead of breaking into distant oceans. Building treaty battleships across four fleets would consume so much industrial capacity that cruiser construction could be squeezed out. The likely force would center on capital ships and numerous destroyers, with some submarines and perhaps a carrier. Destroyers fit both the defensive mission and the yards' ability to produce useful numbers more quickly than major cruisers. A treaty allowance does not translate into a balanced fleet when industrial choices favor a few categories.