I doubt it. The Soviet Union doesn't exist anymore, so no need to protect them.
It is another country, or a domestic organization, that is being protected.
You are both misunderstanding my point.
The CIA/deepstate (1st level conspirators) killed Kennedy and needed hundreds or thousands of 2nd level conspirators to help cover it up.
The only way to do this is to convince the conspirators that they are doing it for a good reason.
They created the FALSE narrative amongst the 2nd level conspirators that the Soviets did it. They created the Oswald backstory to make the narrative more convincing.
The 2nd level conspirators went to their grave thinking they were the good guys who saved humanity from annihilation. When associates, friends and family (3rd level conspirators (the people in my links)) asked questions or wanted to look into it, they were told with a wink and a nod to leave it alone and that the Ruskies were to blame.
These are the intelligence folks and bureaucrats who are now telling people that it was the Russians.
The complexity of the operation required too many people for them to all be in on the true operation.
My secondary argument is that the “lab leak” theory of COVID is analogous to the “USSR” theory of Kennedy. They are the stories told to bureaucrats to help convince them to participate in the coverup of a truly heinous act of treason.