The Soviets didn't have the type of Air Force that the Western Powers did. That said, they weren't very shy about hitting cities with artillery, or sacking them the old-fashioned way.

One thing people forget about naval warfare is that the ocean is really big. Technologies like radar only really came into their own during WWII, and a huge part of every admiral's job was actually finding the enemy fleet. It's one of the reasons why the Allies' code breaking advantage was so important.

Furthermore, the U-boat was a strategic weapon that was generally used to raid merchant shipping. If surface vessels could find U-boats, they were generally capable of winning the tactical engagement. Especially because the Western vessels often operated in flotillas that included weapons specifically designed to counter submersibles.

Edit: spelling.