What was the significance of the satellite nations?

Question

i know that they were countries dominated by the soviet union, but how was that significant?
help?

Answer 1

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The satellite countries of Eastern Europe were significant to the Soviet Union for several reasons: They were formerly Nazi occupied, or Nazi supporting countries that had participated in the invasion of the USSR - so there was an element of reparations or revenge. They were, at the WWII allied conferences at Tehran, Yalta and Potsdam put in the Soviet Sphere of influence.
For the Soviet Union the satellite countries represented the "inevitability" of Marxism-Leninism and showed that this ideology would, one day, become the dominant ideology in the World.
But their real significance for the Soviet Union was that Russia had always desired a secure border. In Tsarist times the border had expanded from a small area around Moscow all the way to the Pacific Ocean. As Russia grew, so did her fears of unsecure borders - there are no mountains, deserts or mighty rivers to demarcate where Russia ended and her neighbours began. So, in order to secure Russia, she absorbed her neighbours - who, in turn feel the need to absorb their neighbours. The Soviet domination of Eastern Europe was another example of this part of the Russian psyche.
See:
Russia, A History - Geoffrey Freeze
Russia, People and Empire 1552 - 1917 - Geoffrey Hoskings

Answer 2

Without having a definite proof to give you, my guesses would be natural resources and power. Places like Ukraine and Khazakstan are large countries (Khazakstan is the 9th largest country in the world on its own) with vast natural resources, and some of the Caucausus countries are resource-rich as well. But during the birth of the USSR, i would venture to say it was more of a power-grab than neccessarily NEEDING the satellite nations. Russia (and the USSR in its turn) is a huge country of smaller countries essentially, with many different pockets of people, all with different customs, religions and languages, all of which outsiders could consider "Russian". I suppose in many cases it made sense to absorb the satellite nations if for no other reason than expanding Russian cultural borders.