The term satellite nation was first used to describe certain nations in the Cold War. These were nations that were aligned with, but also under the influence and pressure of, the Soviet Union. The satellite nations of the Cold War were Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, and East Germany. Countries in the West (like the U.S.) began using the term 'satellite nation' to describe these countries, because they were held in the orbit by the gravitational pull of the Soviet Union
