MAP ACTIVITY Map 31.1 Events in Eastern Europe, 1989–2002 The overthrow of Communist governments throughout Eastern Europe and the splintering of the Soviet Union into more than a dozen separate nations were among the most momentous changes in world history since World War II. READING THE MAP: Which country was the first to overthrow its Communist government? Which was the last? In which nations did elections usher in a change in government? CONNECTIONS: What problems did Mikhail Gorbachev try to solve, and how did he try to solve them? What policy launched by Ronald Reagan contributed to Soviet dilemmas? (See “Ronald Reagan Confronts an ‘Evil Empire’” in chapter 30.) Did it create any problems in the United States?