Stalin was an idiot, he knew the forces were there on the border, he knew Hitler hated him, it was just his own paranoia that kept him from joining the dots.Eh, no, actually it probably prolonged the war and helped the Axis as it meant they caught the Soviets with their pants down by leading Stalin to conclude the Germans were preparing for a sustained Mediterranean war and that the Germans would wait until 1942 (with of course the only people who'd say otherwise being brave or suicidal or both) while also ordering his troops to stand down on the alert, the same factor handicapping them yet again.