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How Did Russia Respond To NATO Expansion?

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The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was founded in 1949 as a means of collective security for the West to defend against the Soviet Union and Eastern Bloc. With the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, NATO seemed to have lost a main reason for existing. As former Eastern Bloc nations expressed interest in participating in NATO operations or even joining, Russia became steadily uneasy. When evaluating their response to NATO expansion in the 1990’s, did Russia act in an offensive or defensive manner? J.L. Black presents a plethora of primary accounts of the years encompassing NATO expansion to give the reader an idea exactly what the Russian government was thinking at the time. It seems clear that NATO expansion caused …show more content…

The trend that is common here is that Russia is constantly isolated. They consistently find themselves in a compromising strategic position with insufficient allies. With NATO taking advantage of the Soviet collapse, Russia lost a lot of influence with former Soviet states as they joined NATO sub-organizations. This is a clear infringement on the Russian sphere of influence. Russia has only one option: reach out to the non-Western world in an attempt to find a counterbalance to NATO and the West. In 1955, the Warsaw Treaty Organization was formed, seemingly as a counter balance to NATO. But Black points out that this collective security agreement was not signed until 6 years after the formation of NATO, and was actually made in reaction to West Germany’s inclusion in NATO (119). This mimics Russia’s reaching out to nations such as China, India, Pakistan, Iran, and Iraq following the NATO expansion of the 1990’s. This continuance of a policy of multi-polarity supports the claim that any strategic move Russia makes is in reaction to NATO expansion eastward. Some may say that Russia went further than just gaining security with these nations as it provided them with the assistance in developing nuclear energy programs, provided weapons, and practiced join military tactics. But this is all necessary when one

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