Arclite01,
The answer is very simple. Air carriers are the means of an aggressor (or, more mild, of an offensive side) generally speaking. I.e., you move the air force closer to the theater, which is relatively far from your borders.
USSR doctrine was always based on the defence concept (believe it or not, it's up to you). Especially overseas operations were never planned. Only in the late years of the USSR some old but still hot (or semi-mad) heads in the lead of the communist party had gone crazy on the idea of copying everything that the US had. In space, a vivid example was Buran (similar to Space Shuttle). Billions were invested, only one (though a very successfull) flight performed, and then - "dismissed".
Also, right words were said about prestige, etc. In reality, only subs really matter for Russia and they are in a good shape.