Maskirovka and the attempt to keep war limited

Keeping the war conventional would give the Soviet leadership an incentive to finish it quickly. Diplomats and sympathetic commentators would portray Norway as the aggressor and invoke Norwegian provocation or threats. That account would provide political cover for Soviet operations and complicate an allied response. In this scenario, maskirovka extends into a diplomatic and informational effort to control how the conflict is understood. The Russian term predates its familiar use in Red Storm Rising.