The Soviet Union lost its control over Eastern Europe partly because of Gorbachev's reforms and the Soviet Union's own internal problems, but mainly because the people behind the Iron Curtain had had enough of the communist regime that controlled their countries and wanted the freedom, democracy and quality of life that other people had in the west. Yes, the fact that the USSR was struggling with its own internal affairs, such as the economy, high rates of unemployment and food shortages across the country, and that President Gorbachev had to focus more on his own country rather than the Eastern European satellite states, did help trigger the eventual collapse of Soviet control in Eastern Europe, however; these are not the only reasons why