Why did the USSR fail to keep control over Eastern Europe?

Under Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev, the Soviet Union underwent various different changes, especially in the Soviet policies towards Eastern Europe. When he became the last Soviet president, he brought with him new ideas and a new way of thinking. Gorbachev was a fresh face that brought hope. Gorbachev used new tactics to solve old problems. He introduced new policies, reorganized their economic spending and improved foreign affairs. These three factors led to the Soviet Union's collapse …

…the Soviet Union had lost control in all Eastern European countries. The Soviet Union gave up their claim of soil. The USSR could no longer continue to pay or find the resources to continue building its empire. And empire they felt they no longer needed. Gorbachev made huge strides while he was in power. The Soviet Union's loss of control in Eastern Europe played a major role in the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.