The Warsaw Pact, established in 1955 as a response to NATO, was significant during the Cold War as it solidified the division of Europe into Eastern and Western blocs. Comprising the Soviet Union and seven Eastern European satellite states, the Pact facilitated military cooperation among communist nations, serving both as a deterrent against Western aggression and a means of asserting Soviet dominance in Eastern Europe. It also represented the ideological and military solidarity of communism. The Pact contributed to the intensified arms race, shaping geopolitics until it dissolved in 1991, marking the end of the Cold War.