- What role did the Warsaw Pact Organization play in ensuring international security?

Why was it created?

“It was created to prevent a war.

This is the first and main message.

And it was created "in opposition" to the previously created NATO bloc.

He was, of course, a threat to Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union.

- How effective was the Warsaw Pact Organization?

“She was a powerful stabilizing factor.

Both in the world and in Europe, first of all, of course.

It balanced the forces of the USSR and its allies with the NATO bloc.

- What did the Soviet Union gain from its activities under the Warsaw Pact, and what did its European participants (Bulgaria, Hungary, East Germany, Poland, Romania, Czechoslovakia)?

- First of all, cooperation between the USSR and the countries of Eastern Europe brought economic and political results.

And only then - the results in the field of defense.

The Warsaw Pact Organization as a political structure has done a lot to unite these states.

To help them economically, politically, ideologically.

And to interact on all these issues.

Well, on this basis, cooperation in the armed forces then took place.

Everything created must be protected, right?

- What was the cooperation between the armed forces of different countries participating in the Internal Affairs Directorate expressed in?

- First of all, this is weapons.

The Soviet Union did everything to help the states that were part of the Warsaw Pact in organizing the armed forces and equipping them with weapons and equipment.

And the second is personnel training.

A large number of officers from the Warsaw Pact countries were trained in our academies and schools.

And joint exercises were conducted, of course.

All of this strengthened our fraternal alliance, and all of this strengthened our armed forces, our security.

  • First Deputy Chiefs of the General Staff of the USSR Armed Forces Colonel-General Vladimir Lobov

  • RIA News

  • © Dorofey Getmanenko

- What, in your opinion, were the political changes of the 1980s connected with in Poland, Czechoslovakia and other countries of Eastern Europe?

- This is a very difficult question, you cannot immediately answer it.

Historical dynamics led to the fact that the NATO bloc was strengthened, and the Warsaw Pact, to some extent, became weaker ...

Some problems in our relations with Eastern European countries have developed historically.

For example, we had certain frictions with Poland.

After the revolution (October Revolution of 1917. -

RT

) we even fought with the Poles, you know ... There were losses, there were prisoners.

There were some historical moments with Hungary, Czechoslovakia, but with Poland it was the most difficult ... This later affected the political situation in the 1980s.

- What was the attitude of the servicemen of the Warsaw Pact member countries to the changes in their countries, what was their position?

- There were representatives from each state in the Warsaw Pact Organization, they worked for us.

Then, when all this happened, reluctantly, they went to their states.

Naturally, they were worried.

Naturally, there was pressure on them.

This was especially pronounced in Poland and Germany.

Needless to say, it was a difficult time.

- When did it become clear that the Warsaw Pact Organization would cease to exist?

- When I was appointed Chief of Staff of the Warsaw Pact, the first call was Czechoslovakia.

The chief of staff from Czechoslovakia reports that things are bad there.

The Minister of Defense was removed, the Chief of the General Staff was removed.

And the politicians did not consult with anyone, you know.

So the collapse went from here.

And then he was strengthened by Mr. Havel (Vaclav Havel, President of Czechoslovakia since 1989. -

RT

).

He also spoke at a meeting of the Warsaw Pact countries with a proposal to eliminate the ATS.

  • "West-81", operational and strategic exercises of the army and navy of the USSR and the countries of the Warsaw Pact.

    Airborne troops at the field review of troops

  • RIA News

  • © V. Kiselev

- Was everyone shocked?

- Yes, we were shocked, of course ... There is a meeting, the last to speak is the representative of Hungary.

Three questions had to be dealt with at this meeting.

Suddenly Havel raises his hand and says: “I am proposing something completely different.

I propose to discuss the question of liquidating the military organization of the Warsaw Pact. "

A dumb scene.

So the collapse went.

- It turns out that no one wanted to somehow stop this process?

- One only was against it.

You must know that by this time the entire military leadership in all states had already changed.

One Romanian just got up and said: “I am categorically opposed to liquidating the Warsaw Pact.

Because he is a stable factor in strengthening peace. "

Like this.

- What was the position of the leadership of the Soviet Union, in particular, Mikhail Gorbachev, regarding the termination of the existence of the Department of Internal Affairs?

- Probably, this question is better to ask him himself ... He did something and good, but as far as our topic is concerned, I cannot say a kind word about him.

The question of the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact was associated with the collapse of the Soviet Union, which had already begun by that time.

Gorbachev wanted to be president and became.

And what was happening with the country, with other states - he absolutely did not touch.

  • "West-81", operational and strategic exercises of the army and navy of the USSR and the countries of the Warsaw Pact

  • RIA News

  • © V. Kiselev

- And how did the Soviet military, including those in Eastern Europe at that time, react to the disintegration of the OVD?

- Well, how can a military man react to such events?

Naturally, they reacted painfully.

For the military, it was a blow.

- Can you tell us in more detail how the liquidation of the structures of command and control of the troops of the Warsaw Pact took place?

- It all started with the liquidation of the GDR.

The first to be recalled from the Warsaw Pact was a representative of the National People's Army of Germany.

And when I came as chief of staff, he was gone.

Well, then other countries began to withdraw from the Warsaw Pact.

They began to recall their representatives.

And, in the end, the chief of staff and representatives of the states remained, who helped their comrades in leaving the Soviet Union.

- How did the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact Organization change the countries that were part of it?

- The countries have remained as they were.

Another issue is that the political system has changed, the economic system has changed.

Naturally, the armed forces began to change in these states.

How the "reform affairs" went on in these countries is already a topic for another conversation.

  • Withdrawal of the Western Group of Forces from Germany (August 30-31, 1994).

    The official visit of the President of the Russian Federation Boris Yeltsin to Germany to participate in the farewell parade in Treptower Park in Berlin is timed to this date.

    Russian servicemen leave the territory of East Germany

  • RIA News

  • © Yuri Somov

- How did you react to the disintegration of the OVD in the West, in the leadership of NATO, in the United States?

“Well, they were triumphant because they thought they were winners.

It's clear.

- Today there is a lot of talk about the fact that when we agreed to the unification of Germany, the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact, certain verbal agreements were concluded that impose serious restrictions on NATO, but they were never implemented?

- Unfortunately, this is so.

We talked, diplomats negotiated the simultaneous dissolution of the Warsaw Pact and the NATO bloc.

Simultaneous.

But that did not happen.

We hurried in this regard.

And they, as we see, still exist.

  • General of the Army, former Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the USSR Vladimir Lobov

  • RIA News

  • © Alexander Natruskin

- How was the withdrawal of our troops from Eastern Europe?

What was the fate of our servicemen withdrawn from the countries of Eastern Europe?

- What belonged to the Warsaw Pact was removed from there on time, and was concentrated on the territory of our country.

The withdrawal from Germany was untimely.

It was necessary to wait a little longer, if there was such a need for this matter.

You see, each officer has his own family, his own dreams ... And when they were taken out into an open field, somewhere near Voronezh ... There are no apartments ... Of course, there were indignations among the officers, their families.

In general, it was a big trauma for both families and officers.

Then measures were taken, everything began to calm down.

New housing was built, a new barracks fund.

And life went on.

- Is it possible in the future to create a military bloc, reminiscent of the Warsaw Pact Organization, in which Russia would participate?

- Difficult question. Today Russia is taking serious steps to stabilize the situation in the former republics of the Soviet Union. The President took on this huge burden. The Minister of Defense helps him, the General Staff ... Well, life will show the rest.