How did the spirit of reform under gorbachev in the soviet union spillover into eastern europe?

The reforms caused excitement among other Eastern European nations. The policies of glasnost, or openness, and perestroika, or restructuring, were the catalyst for the changes. There is still much debate as to whether or not he hastened the end of the Cold War and fall of the USSR with these or if he saw them as inevitable and helped to quicken the end. 

Interpreting the results of his experiment : )