The correct answer is D) Eastern Europe.
<em>After World War II, Stalin said that the Soviet Union needed a “buffer zone” to protect it from attack. </em>
This consideration was the motive for the USSR expanding its control in Eastern Europe. Joseph Stalin, leader of the Soviet Union, considered that the best option for Russia was to expand its influence and control the best region was the countries of Eastern Europe. These countries were East Germany, Poland, Ukraine, Czechoslovakia, and Bulgaria. With these countries under his control, Stalin thought that the Soviet Union had a “buffer zone”to protect the USSR from any attack.