Why Vikramaditya was not the right starting point for Kiev

Should the Kiev class have been built from the outset in the form later used for Vikramaditya?

Probably not. Vikramaditya is capable, but that arrangement did not fit the Soviet doctrine behind the Kiev class.

The later Vikramaditya arrangement is judged a capable ship, yet it would have been a poor starting point for the Kiev class. Soviet doctrine assigned its aviation ships a different role, so a design suited to one service would not automatically suit another. The comparison separates the quality of a ship from its fit with the doctrine that produced it.