Title: Milestones: 1993–2000 - Office of the Historian
Headings: Bill Clinton, Boris Yeltsin, and U.S.-Russian Relations
Milestones: 1993–2000
Bill Clinton, Boris Yeltsin, and U.S.-Russian Relations

Content: In his inaugural address,  Clinton saluted the service of his predecessor, George H.W.  Bush, in the peaceful resolution of the conflict between the  superpowers. He also acknowledged that, even without the Soviet Union, the world  was still threatened by “ancient hatreds and new plagues.” Planning to focus on  domestic affairs, Clinton intended to leave the day-to-day management of foreign  policy—including dealing with the “ancient hatreds and new plagues” of the  former Soviet sphere of influence—to senior members of his national security  team. He also recruited Strobe Talbott, a journalist and  Russian expert, to assume a portfolio for the region, first as  Ambassador-at-Large and then, from February 1994, as Deputy Secretary of State. By appointing Talbott, a close friend since both had served as Rhodes scholars  in the late 1960s, Clinton wanted to demonstrate his personal commitment to  Russia in the emerging post-Cold War world. Such calculations were soon  overtaken by events, however, as the challenges of managing relations between  two former adversaries proved too much for his subordinates to handle on their  own. “ By the spring of his first year in office,” Talbott later recalled,  “Clinton had become the U.S. government’s principal Russia hand, and so he  remained for the duration of his presidency.” Presidents Yeltsin and Clinton, October 23, 1995, during the summit  meeting at Hyde Park, New York. ( William J. Clinton Presidential  Library)
Like many of his predecessors, Bill Clinton tended to view relations with other  countries through the prism of personality. In this case, Russia was personified  by its President, Boris Yeltsin.