Boris Yeltsin was the first president of the Russian Federation, serving from 1991 to 1999 and overseeing the turbulent transition from the Soviet system to a market-oriented Russia. He remains a deeply controversial figure, viewed by some as a democrat and liberator and by others as the architect of chaos and hardship in the 1990s.

Who Boris Yeltsin Was

  • Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin was born on February 1, 1931, in the Sverdlovsk region (Urals) and died on April 23, 2007, in Moscow.
  • He rose through the Communist Party ranks, becoming party leader in Sverdlovsk and later a prominent reformer in Moscow under Mikhail Gorbachev.
  • In 1991 he became the first popularly elected head of state in Russian history, as president of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, and then president of post-Soviet Russia after the USSR dissolved.

Key Moments in Power

  • Yeltsin played a decisive role in defeating the August 1991 coup by hardline communists, famously standing on a tank in Moscow and rallying resistance.
  • He pushed through radical “shock therapy” economic reforms to dismantle the command economy and build a market system, leading to rapid privatization and rise of powerful oligarchs.
  • His tenure included the violent 1993 confrontation with parliament and the First Chechen War (1994–1996), both of which badly damaged his domestic popularity.

Legacy and How He’s Remembered

  • Supporters credit him with breaking Soviet authoritarian structures, introducing multi‑party elections, private property, and greater freedom of speech in Russia.
  • Critics highlight hyperinflation, mass poverty, corruption, and state capture by oligarchs in the 1990s, seeing him as reckless and irresponsible.
  • In many contemporary Russian and online discussions, he is often described in harsh terms (e.g., “worst of the worst”, “reckless fool”), though a smaller camp still praises him for ending communist rule and enabling later reforms.

Mini Story: From Reform Star to Exhausted Leader

  • In the late 1980s, Yeltsin was a heroic rebel to many urban Russians: a high-ranking party official who dared to criticize privileges and bureaucracy, riding the wave of perestroika and democratization.
  • After taking power, he tried to remake the economy almost overnight; the initial euphoria gave way to lines in shops, collapsing savings, and visible inequality as insiders acquired vast assets.
  • By the late 1990s, weakened by health issues and political battles, he resigned unexpectedly on December 31, 1999, handing power to Vladimir Putin and apologizing to the nation in his farewell address.

Quick Facts (HTML Table)

[1] [7][1] [7][1] [3][1] [3] [1][3][7]
Fact Details
Full name Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin
Born February 1, 1931, Butka, Sverdlovsk region, USSR
Died April 23, 2007, Moscow, Russia
Role First President of the Russian Federation (1991–1999)
Historic first First popularly elected Russian head of state
Known for Defeating 1991 coup, leading dissolution of USSR, shock economic reforms, Chechen War

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.