Title: Boris Yeltsin – Russiapedia Leaders Prominent Russians
Headings: Prominent Russians:
Boris Yeltsin

Prominent Russians: Boris Yeltsin
February 1, 1931 – April 23, 2007

Content: Yeltsin sent in troops, pledging to crush the resistance in days, but the botched operation grew into a bloody war. By the 1996 presidential election, Yeltsin’s career seemed doomed. His popularity ratings dropped to an all-time low while the newly-revived Communist Party enjoyed a surge in support. Boris Yeltsin (AFP Photo)
Surprising many, Yeltsin put on an energetic campaign, promising to abandon some of his most unpopular economic reforms and to end the Chechen war. Facing a fierce competition from the Communists leader Gennady Zyuganov, Yeltsin narrowly won the ballot in the second round in June. In August a peace with Chechnya was negotiated. Despite this astonishing political comeback, Yeltsin was a spent force. Later that year, he underwent an emergency heart bypass surgery that left him in hospital for months. Bouts of ill-health, a disastrous financial crisis in 1998 and hectic government reshuffles that followed took their toll. On New Year’s Eve 1999, Yeltsin surprised his country and the world by announcing his resignation, leaving the power in the hands of the little-known Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.