ABSTRACT
Gorbachev and his pro-reform entourage encouraged substantial changes in the Soviet approach to the development of the Warsaw Pact armies during the second half of the 1980s, reaching the opinion that the real balance of military forces was not so crucial. The motivation was twofold. The Soviet leader found that he could not end the Cold War without making substantial concessions, disproving the suspicion of the West and improving the image of the Soviet Union and its allies in the eyes of the world public. The second factor was economic. Gorbachev was fully aware that the United States could destroy the East economically in the arms race as the Warsaw Pact countries failed to keep pace with armament programs. The disagreement between Gorbachev's circle and the dogmatically minded Soviet generals became evident in the late 1980s. One concrete impact on the practical functioning of the Warsaw Pact was that its military framework came under greater scrutiny of political power.
