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Coiler12 -> RE: Alternate History Question--the Great Soviet Garage Sale (that never happened) (3/27/2015 3:51:17 PM)
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There's a lot of very good logistical and political reasons why it didn't happen.
-There was more modern equipment also available at low prices.
-First off, a warship needs a much bigger crew than even a group of planes, and one of better-trained specialists across the board rather than just pilots (which many Russian 'contractors' did fly). Even more so for submarines, and planes need a lot as well.
-The oldest and nominally cheapest stuff is going to be in the worst condition.
-The Gulf War. Seeing older/export Soviet equipment getting blasted apart was not exactly making people want to acquire more of it, no matter how nominally cheap. (And remember, it's going to be a lot more expensive now that they pay Moscow for support rather than vice versa).
-Even at the height of Soviet economic aid, the allied navies still didn't want/get more than the basic naval vessels, indicating a lack of interest in them.
-Low oil prices and the post-Soviet economic issues are going to mean a general lack of funds to get them. (Cuba is utter toast economically, Libya has low oil prices, Syria already has more ex-Soviet gear than it could handle without foreign support).
Of course, if direct plausibility isn't the most important, one can go ahead, it's just that there are good reasons why it didn't happen historically.
One slightly more plausible option, rather than buying hordes of clunkers, is to go the Liaoning route. Take a stalled modern project like the Neustrashimyys, and pay to have them completed and exported. Being more modern means (at least somewhat) fewer issues than old wrecks, and is more attractive.
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