Gorshkov’s Revolution: Soviet Naval Transformation and the Missile/Nuclear Age

For the first time, CIA intelligence files reveal how Admiral Sergey Gorshkov transformed the Soviet Navy from a coastal defense force into America’s greatest maritime threat during the Cold War. These declassified documents expose the strategic thinking behind Moscow’s naval revolution between 1955 and 1975. Intelligence analysts tracked Gorshkov’s ambitious vision as he convinced Soviet leadership to abandon traditional naval doctrine and embrace missile warfare, nuclear submarines, and global power projection. The files detail classified Soviet strategic planning documents, including their doctrine for utilizing naval forces in nuclear conflict. Volume 1 of this ten-volume series presents the foundational intelligence that shaped Western understanding of Soviet naval capabilities during the most dangerous decades of superpower rivalry. From intercepted communications to strategic assessments, these documents chronicle how Gorshkov’s theories evolved into operational reality, forcing NATO to completely recalculate the naval balance of power. The intelligence community’s most closely guarded analyses of Soviet naval strategy are finally available to historians, defense professionals, and anyone seeking to understand how maritime warfare was revolutionized during the atomic age. Discover what American intelligence knew about the Soviet naval threat as it unfolded.