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Asatellite state ordependent state is acountry that is formally independent but under heavypolitical,economic, andmilitary influence or control from another country.[1] The term was coined by analogy to planetary objectsorbiting a larger object, such as smaller moons revolving around larger planets, and is used mainly to refer toCentral andEastern European member states of theWarsaw Pact during theCold War,[2] as well as toMongolia andTuva between 1924 and 1990,[3] all of which were economically, culturally, and politicallydominated by theSoviet Union. While primarily referring to the Soviet-controlled states in Central and Eastern Europe or Asia, in some contexts the term also refers to other countries underSoviet hegemony during the Cold War, such asNorth Korea (especially in the years surrounding theKorean War of 1950–1953),Cuba (particularly after it joined theComecon in 1972), and some countries in the American sphere of influence, such asSouth Vietnam (particularly during theVietnam War). In Western usage, the term has seldom been applied to states other than those in the Soviet orbit. In Soviet usage, the term applied to states in the orbit ofNazi Germany,Fascist Italy, andImperial Japan, whereas in the West the term to refer to those has typically beenclient states.[citation needed]
TheOxford English Dictionary traces the concept of satellite states in English back as early as 1780.[4] In times ofwar or political tension, satellite states sometimes served asbuffers between an enemy country and the nation exerting control over the satellites.[5]
When theMongolian Revolution of 1921 broke out, Mongolian revolutionaries expelled the RussianWhite Guards (during theRussian Civil War of 1917–1923 following theOctober Revolution of 1917) from Mongolia, with the assistance of the SovietRed Army. The revolution also officially ended Manchurian sovereignty over Mongolia, which had existed since 1691.[6] Although thetheocraticBogd Khanate of Mongolia still nominally continued, with successive series of violent struggles, Soviet influence grew stronger. In 1924, after theBogd Khan died oflaryngeal cancer[7] or, as some sources suggest, at the hands of Soviet spies,[8] theMongolian People's Republic was proclaimed on November 26, 1924. A nominally independent and sovereign country, it has been described as being a satellite state of the Soviet Union in the years from 1924until 1990. This is supported by the fact that the Mongolian PR collapsed less than two months after thedissolution of the Soviet Union.[3][9]
During the Russian Civil War, Red Army troops occupiedTuva in January 1920, which had also been part of theQing Empire of China and aprotectorate ofImperial Russia. TheTuvan People's Republic was proclaimed a nominally independent state in 1921, although it was tightly controlled by Moscow and is considered a satellite state of the Soviet Union until 1944, when the USSR annexed it into theRussian SFSR.[9]
Another early Soviet satellite state inAsia was the short-livedFar Eastern Republic in Siberia.[9]
At the end ofWorld War II, most Eastern and Central European countries were occupied by the Soviet Union,[10] and along with the Soviet Union made up what is called theSoviet empire. Soviet forces remained in these countries after the war's end.[11] Through a series of coalition governments includingcommunist parties, and then a forced liquidation of coalition members opposed by the Soviets,Stalinist systems were established in each country.[11] Stalinists gained control of existing governments, police, press and radio outlets in these countries.[11] Soviet satellite states of the Cold War included:[11][12][13][14]
People's Republic of Albania (1946–1961)
Polish People's Republic (1947–1989)
People's Republic of Bulgaria (1946–1990)
Romanian People's Republic (1947–1965)
Czechoslovak Socialist Republic (1948–1989)
German Democratic Republic (1949–1990)
Hungarian People's Republic (1949–1989)
Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia (1945–1948)
Mongolian People's Republic (1924–1990)
Democratic People's Republic of Korea (1948–1956)
Democratic Republic of Afghanistan (1978–1991)Albania, Romania, and Yugoslavia ceased to be satellites before therevolutions of 1989.[15] TheFederal People's Republic of Yugoslavia is considered an early Soviet satellite,[11][12] as it broke from Soviet orbit in the 1948Tito–Stalin split, with theCominform offices being moved fromBelgrade toBucharest, and Yugoslavia subsequently formed theNon-Aligned Movement. ThePeople's Socialist Republic of Albania, under the leadership ofEnver Hoxha, broke ties with the Soviet Union in theAlbanian–Soviet split following the Sovietde-Stalinisation process,[16] and removed itself from Soviet influence in 1961.[15] Romania'sde-satellization process started in 1956 and ended by 1965,[17] with serious economic disagreements with Moscow resulting in a final rejection of Soviet hegemony in 1964.[18]
From 1945 to 1948North Korea was underSoviet Civil Administration, following this provisional governments were established under theProvisional People's Committee of North Korea andPeople's Committee of North Korea resulting in the establishment of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in 1948. Some scholars consider North Korea a satellite state under the Soviet Union from 1948 until the 1958August faction incident.[19]
The short-livedEast Turkestan Republic (1944–1949) was a Soviet satellite untilit was absorbed into thePeople's Republic of China. Between 1945 and theIran crisis of 1946 theAzerbaijan People's Government andRepublic of Mahabad existed as satellite states in Soviet-occupied Iran. TheDemocratic Republic of Afghanistan was a satellite regime of the Soviet Union from 1978 to 1991. Between 1979 and 1989, Afghanistan was also underSoviet military occupation.[20][21][22]
Some commentators have expressed concern thatUnited States military and diplomatic interventions in theBalkans, in theMiddle East, and elsewhere might lead, or perhaps have already led, to the existence of American satellite states.[23][24]William Pfaff warned that a permanent American presence inIraq would "turn Iraq into an American satellite state".[25] In the Asia-Pacific, John Pilger accused ex Australian Prime Minister John Howard of turning the country into America's 51st state[26] andSouth Korea has regularly been described byNorth Korea for being a "puppet state" of the United States.[27]
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