Question

Why did Stalin want to create a “buffer zone”?
to end the United States’ influence in Eastern Europe
to protect the USSR’s western border from another invasion
to separate East and West Germany
to establish a new system of government in the USSR

Answer 1

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Answer 2

The idea of a buffer zone long predates Stalin in Russian strategic thinking. The Russians have never relied on fortifications in war, but much like the British on their island, they have relied on their unique geography to defeat their foes. Not only is the Russian heartland distant from any conceivable foe, making attack difficult, but its approaches are not very fertile compared to the traditional attack areas of Western Europe (Belgium, the Po Valley, etc.), so an attacking army can't easily live off the land. Last but not at all least, it has General Winter. General Winter, more than any other factor, drove both Napoleon and Hitler down to defeat. Distance, time, and General Winter also helped preserve the Russian homeland against the Mongols, centuries before, because their horse-centered armies had difficulty staying in the field once the snow started and the fodder grew scarce.

The idea of a buffer zone around the Russian heartland is simply an extension of this old Russian idea, adapted to the fact that motorized armies can move a lot faster than marching ones, and can bring their food and ammunition with them. The one time Stalin tried to fight the way less territory-rich nations like France often fought, putting his best armies right on the frontier and digging in, almost led to his defeat when the Nazi invasion surrounded and captured them in short order. (Of course, that's also what happened to France in WWII, but Paris is awfully close to the German border if you're riding in a Panzer.)

So, after the war, as everyone is noting, Stalin sought to extend his effective buffer zone west, coopting several potential allies-of-his-enemies in the process (East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland, etc.)

Answer 3

he created this because he wanted russia to never be able to be invaded again, expanding the zone so it would be virtually impossible to get past them and still have enough power to withstand the red army