This research paper investigates the differences in the various responses of 10 Eastern European countries to the first financial crisis shock in 2008-2009. While 2009 was a difficult year for all economies, some countries performed better than others: while Latvia decreased its GDP by 18% in a single year, the economy of Poland increased by 1.3% during the same period. While trying to explain the differences in economic performance during the crisis, we look at a large number of possible factors, such as government budget balance, government debt, current account balance, competition in domestic banking, and average growth in the year preceding the crisis.