173 
“C” “The economic might and defense (oboronnaya) power of Soviet Union 
insures the security of all countries of the Socialist community and is altering 
the fundamental correlation of forces in the world arena in favor of revolutionary 
progress and universal peace . . .”’ 
‘Among the main means of supporting the high defensive (oborono-) capability 
of the homeland, we must cite above all the strategic rocket forces and the 
navy, which in practice embodies in itself many of the means of armed combat 
which the other branches of the armed services have at their disposal. To a 
large extent, aviation, the ground forces and the other branches of our glorious 
armed forces are a means of deterring the aggressive acts of the imperialist 
(72/12/15/3-4: 114/2/2-3) 
There are three points to be drawn from this quotation: (1) deterrence (sderzhivanie) 
is in some way distinguished from oborona in this context: (2) the SRF and the 
navy are already the main means of oborona, whereas we know from “A” that the 
navy’s “nuclear deterrence’ capability was still only emerging at this date; and (3) 
the navy incorporates many of the capabilities of the other three branches, which 
means that Gorshkov can not be referring only to SSBN. 
There remains the apparent anomaly of referring to the role of aviation and the 
ground forces as being that of ‘‘deterrence’’. This disappears when we recognize that 
in this chapter Gorshkov is talking about the greater effectiveness of the navy vis- 
a-vis other forces “‘to vividly demonstrate the economic and military might of a country 
beyond its borders in peacetime.” (72/12/16/2: 115/1/2)? He acknowledges that in 
recent years the arsenal of such instruments has been increased but he points out 
that in contrast to missile weaponry combat aircraft and military equipment which 
can only threaten, warships appearing off foreign shores represent a real threat of 
immediate operations. (72/12/16/3—-4: 115/1/3-4) In other words, Gorshkovy is talking 
about an overseas military-presence, and not just navies. He is writing in 1971-72, 
and the passage quoted must refer to forces which are stationed overseas, primarily 
in Egypt. Hence the use of the term ‘Aviation’ (Aviatsiva), which encompasses all 
branches (including air defense) and is not limited to air force units. This also explains 
why aviation precedes the ground forces, which is contrary to protocol, but reflects 
their relative importance in this particular role. 
Drawing together the evidence from the quotations “A,” ‘‘B” and “C,” we can 
now say that: 
a. The SRF and some part of the Soviet Navy (but excluding the SSBN force), 
are linked together in the military-political role of oborona. 
b. As Gorshkov uses the term in these passages, the role includes deterring 
imperialist expansionism in other parts of the world, as distinct from deterring 
the enemy’s nuclear attack on Russia. 
c. The role involves something more, which may be reflected in the readiness 
to use force in the defense (zashchita) of the Soviet Union’s state interests and 
the security of socialist countries. 
THE SOVIET NAVY LINKED WITH THE STRATEGIC ROCKET FORCES—THREE 
The Soviet Navy and the SRF are again linked with oborona in the concluding 
section of the chapter on “Navies . . . in Peacetime.”” The passage follows closely 
after several paragraphs discussing the aggressive policies of the U.S. Navy. It is necessa- 
ry to quote the passage in full, since selected excerpts tend to be misinterpreted. 
“T)”’ “In realistically appraising the growing threat to the security of our country, 
the CPSU Central Committee and the Soviet Government have seen that the 
way out of the situation which has been created lies in opposing the forces of 
aggression on the world oceans with strategic counterforces of defense (kontrosily 
oborony) whose foundation comprises the strategic rocket forces and an ocean- 
going fleet.” 
“The creation at the will of the party of a new Soviet Navy, and its emergence 
on the ocean expanses have fundamentally altered the correlation of forces and. 
the situation in this sphere of confrontation. The Soviet armed forces have acquired, 
in the shape of our modern navy, a powerful instrument of defense (oborona) 
on the ocean axes, a formidable force for the deterrence of aggression, which 
is constantly ready to deliver punishing retributory blows and to disrupt the plans 
of the aggressors. And the navy, along with other branches of the Soviet armed 
forces, is successfully filling its main mission—the defense (oborona) of the country 
against attacks by aggressors from the ocean axes. The ships of our navy are 
a threat to no one, but they are always ready to give a deserved rebuff to any 
aggressor who dares to infringe on the security of the homeland.” 
3In fact, Gorshkov tells us in the introduction to the series that this is one of his main reasons for 
writing these articles. (72/2/23/3—4: 3/2/1-2) 
