Just like the other examples you mention this is intrinsically a subjective interpretation It doesn t matter how widely it is viewed like this it is not an objective truth And towards the later period it is completely untenable since Honecker didn t follow Gorbachev not to mention the final 1989 90 period Yet the article deals with the whole existence of the state so for that reason alone it would be wrong But even for the earlier period it is just POV It s like putting Banana republic in the infobox of Honduras The infobox is for universally recognized categories In international law East Germany was a fully recognized sovereign state so putting satellite state there gives a completely false impression as if it was some dependent state like a colony protectorate or trust territory