This structure has a very controversial reputation among our compatriots. In the Soviet period, she was associated exclusively with war crimes and the bloodied hands of her soldiers. Today, this idea is also partly present, but on the whole it has softened. In today's society there are different sentiments regarding NATO. But what exactly is NATO? What is the definition of this concept? Let's figure it out, take a look at the prerequisites for the emergence of this association and the basic principles of its activities.
NATO. Deciphering the concept
Actually, it is not surprising that in the media of the Soviet state this association was presented in this light. After all, even its emergence had an initially anti-Soviet character. NATO - the decoding of which is as follows: North Atlantic Treaty Organization - was created as a regional bloc to protect the states of Europe and America from Soviet interference. The leadership of the Union, which did not consider itself an aggressor at all and hadsomewhat different ideas about the instigators and culprits of the unfolding Cold War, of course, perceived this as direct aggression against themselves. Thus, NATO (deciphering the term) means the unification of the countries of the North Atlantic into a military bloc.
Preconditions for occurrence
Even at the final stage of the Second World War in the political circles of the Western allies, talk began to circulate that the Soviet Union could become their next rival. Indeed, the common victory did not bring together, but, on the contrary, divided yesterday's allies. In the absence of a common goal (and the threat in the person of Hitler's Germany made us forget all differences), the east and west turned into principal rivals more and more rapidly.
Today's historians associate the formal beginning of the Cold War with Winston Churchill's famous speech in Fulton. The beginning of the Cold War was already manifested in the establishment of pro-socialist regimes in a number of states in Eastern and Central Europe.
Peak of disagreement manifested itself during the Berlin crisis. The threat of a military clash forced the Western states to rally in the face of the "communist threat". And already in April 1949, NATO arose. The organization was founded by signing an agreement on mutual assistance of twelve states: Portugal, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Italy, Denmark, Norway, Iceland, France, Canada, Great Britain and the USA. Later, many other states joined them, includingincluding former Soviet republics: Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. NATO, whose abbreviation stands for protection, declared its main goal to be mutual guarantees of the security and freedom of all its members in North America and Europe. In order to achieve its goals, the organization uses its own political influence, as well as military potential. By the way, six years later, the socialist states created their own alliance, but this is not the topic of this article.
