The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was founded in 1949 as a means of collective security for the West to defend itself against the Soviet Union and the Eastern Bloc. With the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, NATO seemed to have lost one of its main reasons for existing. As former Eastern Bloc countries expressed interest in participating in, or even joining, NATO operations, Russia became increasingly concerned. In assessing its response to NATO expansion in the 1990s, did Russia act offensively or defensively? JL Black presents a plethora of primary accounts from the years surrounding NATO expansion to give the reader an idea of ​​exactly what the Russian government was thinking at the time. It seems clear that NATO expansion has caused Russia to act defensively in order to protect its own strategic interests. Looking at Russian history, Black points out that Russians have always faced the problem of enclosure by the West. This is what prompted Russia to reach out to “fringe” countries for collective security support. Black also shows how, during the Kosovo crisis, NATO exceeded its limits in the extent to which it could resolve the problem. Finally, the expansion of NATO was the cause of an increase in Russian military spending in the late 1990s. Historically, Russia has often found itself in a difficult strategic situation. Due to its massive size, its borders are always at risk of being invaded by the countries around it. In the early 1700s, it was the Ottomans and Swedes who encroached on Russian borders. This was to be followed by an invasion by Napoleon, defeat in the Crimean War, and resistance to Russian expansion in the Balkans in the late 1800s (JL Black, Russia Faces NATO Expansio......mid paper... ...uses like China and India to create a new Asian bloc to counterbalance the West Even if their support for these nations definitely harms the security of the West, Russia had. no other choice after NATO took all the former Soviet republics under its wing undermining Russian influence NATO also overstepped its bounds during the Kosovo crisis, leaving Russia troubled by the fact that. its once formidable influence on the UN Security Council was negated by NATO's unilateral moves Finally, the military reform of the late 1990s was intended to have a deterrent effect on NATO. NATO expansion Looking historically at Russia, they want collective security and fear that NATO expansion will take away their sphere of influence in Europe and also leave them locked in a corner of the world. card, which constrains them. that they adopt a defensive position.