The term "Soviet bloc" refers to a group of countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia that were aligned with the Soviet Union during the Cold War. This alliance included nations like Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, East Germany, and Romania, which were influenced by communist ideology and often governed by communist parties. These countries formed a political and military alliance, primarily through the Warsaw Pact, established in 1955 as a counterbalance to the NATO alliance. The Soviet bloc existed until the late 1980s and early 1990s, when many of these nations transitioned to democratic governments and market economies, leading to the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991.