History of Europe

Who started the Warsaw Pact and why?

The Warsaw Pact was established on May 14, 1955, and was initially signed by the Soviet Union and seven of its Eastern European satellites: Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, and Romania. The Pact was created as a response to the formation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which was formed in 1949. The Warsaw Pact provided a formal framework for military cooperation and economic support among its member states, and was seen as a way for Moscow to maintain control over its sphere of influence in Eastern and Central Europe during the Cold War.