Boris Yeltsin
Boris Yeltsin was the first president of the Russian Federation, serving from 1991 to 1999.
He rose to prominence as a reformist who opposed the Soviet system, famously standing on a tank during the 1991 coup attempt against Gorbachev.
His presidency oversaw Russia's chaotic transition from communism, marked by economic upheaval, privatization, and the Chechen wars.
He resigned on New Year's Eve 1999, naming Vladimir Putin his successor.
Elected leader of nation
- statesmanRespected political leader
- commanderPerson with authority over others
- executiveSenior organizational leader
- authorityPower to enforce obedience
governance · administration · figurehead · patriarch · sovereign · Russian Federation · successor · Putin
Russia's capital city
- KremlinMoscow's fortified government seat
- SovietOf the USSR
- FederationNamed union of states
- SlavicOf certain Eastern Europeans
Soviet reform initiative
- privatizationState sells public assets
- democratizationTransition toward popular rule
- liberalizationReducing state economic controls
- market economyCommerce-based economic system
shock therapy · deregulation · decentralization · glasnost · transition · IMF · austerity · economic transformation
Addiction to drinking
- coupAbrupt seizure of power
- scandalDisgraceful public affair
- erraticLacking regularity or consistency
- unpredictableCannot be anticipated
corruption · cronyism · nepotism · devaluation · impeachment · default · instability · authoritarian
Openly resisting control
- populistAdvocate for ordinary citizens
- boldCourageous and daring
- commandingExerting strong authority
- dynamicActive and changing
forceful · energetic · rallying · dramatic · theatrical · unpredictable · gestures · public spectacle
president
Elected leader of nation
- statesmanRespected political leader
- commanderPerson with authority over others
- executiveSenior organizational leader
authority · governance · administration · figurehead · patriarch · sovereign · Russian Federation · successor · Putin · power transfer
Moscow
Russia's capital city
- KremlinMoscow's fortified government seat
- SovietOf the USSR
- FederationNamed union of states
Slavic · Siberia · Cyrillic · post-Soviet · Commonwealth
perestroika
Soviet reform initiative
- privatizationState sells public assets
- democratizationTransition toward popular rule
- liberalizationReducing state economic controls
market economy · shock therapy · deregulation · decentralization · glasnost · transition · IMF · austerity · economic transformation · restructuring
alcoholism
Addiction to drinking
unpredictable · corruption · cronyism · nepotism · devaluation · impeachment · default · instability · authoritarian · polarizing
defiant
Openly resisting control
- populistAdvocate for ordinary citizens
- boldCourageous and daring
- commandingExerting strong authority
dynamic · forceful · energetic · rallying · dramatic · theatrical · unpredictable · gestures · public spectacle · confrontational
- World LeadersChurchill, Winston Churchill, Eisenhower, Gorbachev, Thatcher
- 1996Dolly the sheep, Independence Day, Twister, Mission Impossible, Jerry Maguire
- Post-Cold WarUSSR dissolution, Soviet collapse, German reunification, Eastern Bloc, peace dividend
- Post-CommunistRussia, Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic, Romania
- Soviet collapseGorbachev, glasnost, perestroika, USSR, Soviet Union
- Post-Communismpostcommunism, Soviet collapse, Berlin Wall fall, democratization, market reforms
Boris YeltsinJoseph Stalin
Boris YeltsinMikhail Gorbachev
Lenin · Stalin · Brezhnev · apparatchiks