The second principle – the concept of limits – acted as a brake on the war of nerves. Stalin did not want war with the West; he did not believe that the Soviet Union was ready for war. If the Soviet Union pursued a conciliatory and accommodating policy towards the West, it would appear weak, and its weakness would invite pressure and an aggressive Western policy. That was why he thought it necessary to conduct the war of nerves. But in the war of nerves it was crucial not to go too far, for fear of precipitating a real war. Hence the importance of limits. Soviet awareness of limits was evident
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