The Soviet Cold War Navy

Abstract

The Soviet Union was in dire straits following the conclusion of the Great Patriotic War. The economy was in shambles, human losses were nearly incalculable, agriculture was disrupted, basic industry needed to retool, and numerous ports were destroyed. It would appear that the navy would not be held in high esteem; however, Stalin, as always, basked in the glory of Soviet arms, including the navy. Official propaganda informed the public that the Soviet Union was a genuine naval power. Stalin engaged in the charade and delighted in the naval triumphs at Leningrad, Sevastopol, and in the Caucasus and the Pacific. The record was exaggerated in order to bolster naval morale and to support the necessity of naval expansion in a hostile and threatening postwar world.