what were the satellites in cold war? and how did they provide a buffer for the soviet union?

Answer 1

East Germany & Poland & Czeckoslovakia & Hungary were the biggest and most reliable, Romania and Bulgaria were also under Soviet Russia's thumb, and though nominally 'independent nations,' they were thouroughly Sovietized and by virtue of Geography they shielded Soviet Russian from an attack from Western Europe,

Lativia & Estonia & Lithuania were part of the Soviet Unon and do not count as such, but they also served as a physical barrier from an attack from 'The West.'


In a crude view of warfare - - - The Soviets imagined that if the West wanted to attack Mother Russia they would be forced to do so by wading through an ocean of East German & Polish & Hungarian & Slavic Corpses - - - - Conversely the Western Europeans & Americans imagined an attack from the East as being masses of Germans & Poles & Hungarians & Slavs driven forward by their Soviet masters.
Peace....

Answer 2

Sputnik was the first satellite.

"With the launch of the first Soviet ICBM in 1957, space becomes a Cold War frontier. That October, the Soviet Union shocks the world by launching Earth's first artificial satellite. The space race is on. America's first attempt to catch up fails publicly and dramatically. The West is stunned again in 1961 when Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin becomes the first person to orbit the Earth. The United States will have to meet the challenge."


NOTE: It has been pointed out to me that I misunderstood your question. I am so sorry.

Here is information that is more pertinent than what I wrote before. It comes from Wikipedia.

"Satellite state is a political term that refers to a country which is formally independent but which is under the domination of another, larger power. The term was coined by analogy to stellar objects orbiting a larger object, such as planets revolving around the sun, and is used mainly to refer to Central and Eastern European countries of the Warsaw Pact during the Cold War. It implied that the countries in question were "satellites" under the hegemony of the Soviet Union. Other countries in the Soviet sphere of influence during the Cold War - such as North Korea (especially in the decades surrounding the Korean War) and Cuba (particularly after joining the Comecon) and Israel under US influence - were often labelled satellite states. The term has seldom been used to refer to states other than those in the Soviet orbit."

Answer 3

..Well if I understand your question and I could be wrong...you seem to be talking about after the World War Two,,,The Russians,under the Soviet Union, felt they had the right to occupy the countries there forces went through to get to Berlin Germany and kill Hiliter....they would never again wanted to suffer a another invasion by a foreign country so the satellites were nations occupied by the Soviet Union to prevent such a attack. In a event a invasion did happen; the satellites countries provided enough time to slow the invader down and send in renforcements. I have provided a like to show what I mean, When you click the web page refernce;go to the section marked maps and you will see the answer for your question.