ABSTRACT
Many times mentioned, Jerzy Nowak raised three important questions in connection with the functioning of the Warsaw Pact, which a historian dealing with the history of the organization can try to answer. After 1985, the organization represented several initiatives which partly contributed to easing tensions between the Cold War blocs. Jerzy Nowak claims that the organization always represented an alliance only on the outside, while the only cohesive element was Moscow's imperial will. Vojtech Mastny concludes from the story of the Warsaw Pact that even an alliance impressive on the outside can collapse without firing a single shot as long as there is no will and money to sustain it. From today's point of view, the end of the Warsaw Pact shows that two strong internal links are needed to maintain a functional multilateral alliance, providing it with due legitimacy and coherence.
