DATE=12/31/1999
TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT
TITLE=YELTSIN RESIGNATION
NUMBER=5-45160
BYLINE=PETER HEINLEIN
DATELINE=MOSCOW
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: Boris Yeltsin presided over monumental events
during his nearly nine years as president of Russia.
V-O-A Moscow correspondent Peter Heinlein reviews the
Yeltsin presidency, and considers what may lie ahead
in the post-Yeltsin years.
TEXT: It was August 20th, 1991 when a bold, confident
Boris Yeltsin, the newly elected president of Russia,
leapt onto a Soviet army tank and into the history
books.
/// Yeltsin act in Russian, then fade to
///
Mr. Yeltsin's booming voice seemed to galvanize
Russians. His defiance that day dealt a crushing blow
to an attempted coup by Communist hard-liners.
What followed was nothing less than the collapse of an
empire. Four months later, the Soviet Union
disintegrated and Boris Yeltsin emerged as leader of a
newly independent, non-Communist Russia.
But his two terms in office were marked by failure,
broken dreams, and constantly falling living standards
for the vast majority of Russians. It was a humbled
Boris Yeltsin who went before the people this New
Year's Eve to say he was sorry.
/// Yeltsin act in Russian, then fade to
///
"I want to ask your forgiveness," he said. "Because
many of our dreams have not come true, because some
things that seemed so simple have turned out to be so
tormentingly difficult."
Boris Yeltsin will be credited with a number of
significant achievements, not the least of which is
the dismantling of Communism. He helped introduce
many basics of democracy. He guaranteed freedom of
speech, multi-party elections, and opened up trade and
travel. He created a private sector, encouraged
foreign investment and assured independence for former
Soviet republics.
But despite those sweeping departures from his Soviet
predecessors, Mr. Yeltsin failed to push through
lasting economic reforms and ultimately presided over
a deeply polarized society of haves and have-nots.
Organized crime and corruption flourished. A few got
fabulously rich, while failed reforms wiped out the
savings of millions and left the government unable to
pay pensions and wages for its employees.
Mr. Yeltsin once said the greatest disappointment of
his presidency was the failed war in Chechnya from
1994 to 1996. The 21-month conflict quickly turned
into a military fiasco, leaving tens of thousands of
people dead and ending with Russia's humiliating
withdrawal from the region.
In the last months of his presidency, he seemed
determined to correct that failure. He ordered troops
back into the region last August. But again,
casualties are mounting, most of them civilians, and
military analysts say the conflict is likely to be
long, drawn out and costly.
Mr. Yeltsin's second term was marked by frequent
illness and increasingly erratic behavior. He
suffered a heart attack between rounds of the
presidential election in 1996, then underwent multiple
bypass surgery and was away for the Kremlin for
months.
After his return, Mr. Yeltsin repeatedly reshuffled
his government, firing four prime ministers in less
than two years before finally settling on his chosen
successor, Vladimir Putin.
/// Opt ///
Signs of mental fatigue became evident in 1997, when
he stunned the world with an impromptu announcement at
a summit with NATO leaders in Paris. He said, "Russia
will remove all warheads from nuclear missiles
targeted at NATO states." It was left to his advisers
to backtrack, explaining that he meant only that the
subject was up for negotiation.
/// End Opt ///
In his final days in office, he became little more
than a figurehead, turning over most powers to Prime
Minister Putin.
/// Opt ///
As the news spread of Mr. Yeltsin's resignation, most
Muscovites seemed unconcerned.
/// Alexander Alexandrovich Act in
Russian, then fade to ///
"Nothing will change for the better." Those were the
words of 43-year old Alexander Alexandrovich, who
said, "We have to survive for ourselves."
Others, however, such as 38-year old Valentina
Konstantinovna, expressed concern that the rise to
power of Mr. Putin, a former K-G-B spy, could herald a
return to a police state.
/// Valentina Konstantinova Act in
Russian, then fade to //
She says "I hope we won't repeat what we used to have,
a cult of personality like Stalin and Lenin."
/// End Opt ///
The 68-year-old Mr. Yeltsin's retirement could mean
the passing of the torch to a younger generation of
Russian leaders. Mr. Putin, at 47, is more than 20
years younger. Mr. Putin's approval ratings have
soared since he took office in August, mostly on the
strength of the enormously popular war in Chechnya.
He will be the overwhelming favorite to win the
presidency in elections which - because of Mr.
Yeltsin's resignation - will be moved forward from
June to March. But having led the country into this
second Chechen conflict, Mr. Putin now faces the much
more difficult task of finding a suitable way out.
(Signed)
NEB/PFH/GE/JP
31-Dec-1999 11:37 AM EDT (31-Dec-1999 1637 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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