[Soviet AH] - How important was Asia?

[Droman]

See above. While I know something of the Virgin Lands projects pioneered by Kruschev, the clashes with Japanese soldiers in the Far East. the increased ability to drill and mine in Siberia and something of the repression of Pan-Turkism, that's really about it. Was Soviet Asia in anyway important to Soviet survival and wargoals in WW2? Was Soviet Asia a crucial factor in NATO or Western estimations of the Soviet Union during the Cold War? Did it matter for example, that the Soviets had access to the Far East Sea, or were the Baltic and Black Seas seen as more important?

 

[Dunning Kruger]

Kazakhstan was where many of their missile fields were located. In fact, I read one account that they invaded Afghanistan so that the US could not place Pershing missiles there, which would be a first strike threat against their missile fields. YMMV on that.

Western Siberia is where they discovered oil in the late 60s, thereby converting their economy from a relatively diversified ag and heavy industrial economy to a petro economy, which ultimately doomed them.

By the mid-80s, the Pacific fleet was actually the largest of fleet within the Soviet navy. In the event of hostilities, the navy battle would have actually been larger than the long focused North Atlantic showdown.

The Sea of Okhotsk was an SLBM bastion and, in the event of the big one in the 80s, is where they would have launched SLBM strikes from against the US.