Bye-bye Boris
Boris Yeltsin, the first post-Commie President of Russia, has died today aged 76.
The Bobby Robson lookalike, president from 1991 to 1999, is widely credited with managing the peaceful transition from Communism to democracy, following the demise of the Soviet Union.
A heavy drinker, with a history of heart trouble, he bowed out of the Kremlin to make way for Vladimir Putin eight years ago.
He will be sorely missed by his fellow countrymen.
Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin (1931-2007)
posted by Shamik Das at 5:29 PM
9 Comments:
BIZLEADSNET TAG: boris yeltsin and the demise of communism
24 April, 2007 05:32
The one downside of the demise of Communism is that without the free-market reforms there would've been no Abramovich!
24 April, 2007 17:40
No post about yeltsin would be complete without the dancing video:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Q5FIoocja4k
24 April, 2007 21:07
Quality! The Clinton vid is also class!!!
24 April, 2007 23:06
"He will be sorely missed by his fellow countrymen."
But seriously.
:)
28 April, 2007 21:39
"managing the peaceful transition from Communism to democracy"
It was mayhem, anarchy. Far from peaceful. Read some books on the post-Soviet Union by David Remnick or David Hoffman. It was hell. The guy was a dreadful President.
28 April, 2007 21:43
Ewan, as with everything it's all relative, and compared to some of his predecessors and indeed to his successor, I honestly don't think Yeltsin was that bad a President.
01 May, 2007 16:19
As a Russian joke tells you, Yeltsin, within seven years, managed to do something that the communists failed to do within 70 years—he made communism look good.
10 May, 2007 20:34
Stalin?
11 May, 2007 16:01
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