Brief political biography of Boris Yeltsin. Boris Nikolaevich Yeltsin, the first President of Russia

Soviet party and state, as well as Russian politician. Chairman of the Supreme Council of the RSFSR (1990-1991), President of the Russian Federation (1991-1999).

Boris Nikolaevich Yeltsin was born on February 1, 1931 in the village of Butkinsky district of the Ural region (now) in the family of Nikolai Ignatievich Yeltsin (1906-1978). In 1935, the family moved to the Perm region to build the Berezniki potash plant.

In 1945-1949, B.N. Yeltsin studied at secondary school No. 1 (now named after) in. In 1950-1955, he studied at the construction department of the Ural Polytechnic Institute, after which he received the specialty "civil engineer".

In 1955-1968, B. N. Yeltsin worked as a foreman, foreman, chief engineer of the construction department of the Yuzhgorstroy trust, chief engineer, head of the Sverdlovsk house-building plant. In 1961 he joined the CPSU. In 1968-1976, Boris N. Yeltsin headed the construction department of the Sverdlovsk Regional Party Committee. In 1975 he was elected secretary of the Sverdlovsk Regional Committee of the CPSU, responsible for the industrial development of the region.

In 1976-1985 B. N. Yeltsin served as the first secretary of the Sverdlovsk regional committee of the CPSU. In 1978-1989 he was a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR (he was a member of the Council of the Union). In 1984-1985 and 1986-1988 he was a member of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.

In 1981, at the XXVI Congress of the CPSU, B. N. Yeltsin was elected a member of the Central Committee of the CPSU (he remained until 1990). In the same year, he headed the construction department of the Central Committee of the CPSU. Since June 1985, he was the Secretary of the Central Committee of the Party for Construction.

In 1985-1987 B. N. Yeltsin served as First Secretary of the Moscow City Committee of the CPSU. Having come to this post, he fired many senior officials of the CPSU MGK and the first secretaries of the district committees. Gained fame through personal inspections of stores and warehouses using public transport. Organized food fairs. IN recent months work in the CIM began to publicly criticize the leadership of the party.

In November 1987, Boris N. Yeltsin was removed from the post of First Secretary of the Moscow City Committee. In February 1988, he was removed from the list of candidates for membership in the Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPSU. In 1987-1989, he served as Deputy Chairman of the Gosstroy of the USSR.

In March 1989, B. N. Yeltsin was elected a people's deputy of the USSR and returned to "big politics". In 1989-1990, he headed the USSR Supreme Soviet Committee on Construction and Architecture.

On May 29, 1990, at the First Congress of People's Deputies of the RSFSR, Boris N. Yeltsin was elected Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR with the active support of the Democratic Russia bloc. He held this post until June 1991. July 12, 1990 at the XXVIII Congress of the CPSU left the party.

On June 12, 1991, in the course of nationwide direct open elections, B. N. Yeltsin was elected the first President of the RSFSR. In this post, Yeltsin also served as Chairman of the Constitutional Commission, Chairman of the Emergency Commission on Food and Chairman of the Supreme Consultative Coordinating Council.

In August 1991, when a coup attempt was attempted, democratic forces united around B. N. Yeltsin. In September 1991, he signed a decree suspending the activities of the Communist Party of the RSFSR.

In December 1991, B. N. Yeltsin, together with the leaders of Ukraine and Belarus, signed the Agreement on the Commonwealth of Independent States (Belovezhskaya Agreement), which led to the liquidation of the USSR.

From November 1991 to May 1993 B. N. Yeltsin headed the Government of Russia. In October 1991, he spoke at the V Congress of People's Deputies with a program of radical economic reforms, which was based on the methods of " shock therapy”, developed by E. T. Gaidar. The reform program provided for the speedy introduction of free prices for goods, the liberalization of domestic and foreign trade, widespread privatization, and the reduction of social spending. The purpose of the reforms was to form a layer of private owners and increase production efficiency, create a market economy and a democratic society. The first results of the reforms were a rise in prices, an even greater decline in the income of the population, the depreciation of deposits in savings banks, and the depreciation of the ruble. Most of the population was below the poverty line. In the summer of 1992, a check (voucher) privatization was carried out, which did not give the expected result. The continuation of "shock therapy" led to the impoverishment of the population, the ruin of light and food industries and the agricultural complex. Radical reforms caused discontent among the population and wide opposition in the Supreme Council.

A serious conflict between the executive and legislative branches led to a new political crisis and the October 1993 coup. President Boris N. Yeltsin announced the termination of the powers of the Congress of People's Deputies and the Supreme Soviet. The Supreme Council refused to obey, swearing in as head of state A. V. Rutskoi. The use of the army at a decisive moment allowed B. N. Yeltsin to suppress the putsch (October 4-5, 1993). Using the current situation, he liquidated the system of Soviets of People's Deputies. The country became a presidential republic, which was enshrined in the new Constitution of 1993.

The priority areas of foreign policy during Boris Yeltsin's tenure were the establishment of cooperation with Western countries, and primarily with the United States, as well as building relations with the newly independent states of the near abroad.

On July 3, 1996, in the course of direct popular elections in two rounds, Boris N. Yeltsin was re-elected President of the Russian Federation for a second term. His further reign did not lead to changes in the economic and social spheres. Chechen War(1994-1996) also did not contribute to the stabilization of society. Growing dissatisfaction with the President's policies led him to early resignation.

On December 31, 1999, Boris N. Yeltsin voluntarily terminated the exercise of the powers of the President of the Russian Federation. On April 5, 2000, he was awarded certificates of a pensioner and a labor veteran.

B. N. Yeltsin died in

Boris Nikolaevich Yeltsin's date of birth is February 1, 1931. Yeltsin lived a bright and eventful life, with his political actions had a huge impact on changing the obsolete Russian foundations. He even managed to make his death an unforgettable event for millions of people, not only in Russia, but all over the world. It is he who must be thanked for starting work on the formation of such a monumental power as the Russian Federation, which allowed it to take a step on a par with the most prominent world countries and proudly maintain the status of a leader. In our today's article, we will trace the biography of the first president of the Russian Federation.

Family influence on Yeltsin's early years

In 1931, no one could have imagined that the birth of a boy in a simple peasant family would mark the beginning of a new stage in the development of Russia. Yeltsin's biography during his life was supplemented by many significant moments, each of which influenced the further formation of his personality.

Despite the fact that Boris was born in the village of Butka (Sverdlovsk region, Talitsky district), his childhood years were spent in the Perm region, in Berezniki. Yeltsin's father, Nikolai Ignatievich, came from kulaks and actively supported the overthrown tsarist government, constantly speaking out with anti-Soviet propaganda, for which he was imprisoned in 1934, served his term and was released. Although the conclusion was short-lived, Boris was never able to get close to his father. Mother - Claudia Vasilyevna Yeltsina (before Starygin's marriage) - was much closer to him. She, in fact, took upon herself all the family hardships, combining the fulfillment of parental duty with the daily work of tailoring.

Yeltsin actively helped his parents in his youth. The arrest of the father was a heavy blow to the family budget. After the communists came to power and mass repressions began in the country, my father, who was imprisoned at that time, had to work hard. After his release, he stayed to work at a local factory, and the family's affairs gradually improved. Since Boris was the oldest in the family, he had to grow up early, taking on some of the worries aimed at earning money and caring for his younger brother and sister.

Despite this, Yeltsin's characterization was far from positive. Beginning with early age, Boris began to show his character. Even during baptism, he managed to slip out of the hands of the priest who performed the ceremony and fall into the font. At school, he fought for the rights of classmates with a teacher who forced children to resort to physical labor more often than they were supposed to, namely to plow their garden, and beat children for not following orders.

Having entered the period of youth, Boris got into a fight, where his nose was broken with a shaft, but, as it turned out, this was not all the trouble that awaited Yeltsin. Having an ebullient temperament and being a very difficult teenager, he was able to steal a grenade from a nearby military warehouse and decided to study its contents, not having come up with anything better than breaking it with a stone. As a result of such actions, an explosion occurred in which he lost two fingers on right hand and gained another negative experience, because with such an injury he was not allowed to serve in the army.

Studying at the institute and choosing a profession

A turbulent childhood did not prevent him from entering the Faculty of Civil Engineering. The choice fell on the Ural Polytechnic Institute, in which Yeltsin Boris Nikolaevich acquired his first specialty as a civil engineer, which did not prevent him from further mastering many more working professions, some of which were noted in work book. During his youth, he was able to climb the career ladder from a foreman to the head of the Sverdlovsk house-building plant, which characterized him as an extremely purposeful person. Boris met his future wife Naina at the same university. The couple began to communicate closely, and soon after graduation they signed.

In his student years, Boris was actively involved in sports, and in particular volleyball, thanks to which he managed to get the title of master of sports, which he was very proud of.

Married life

Naina Yeltsina (Girina) was born on March 14, 1932 in the village of Titovka (Orenburg region) and lived in a happy marriage with Boris from 1956 to 2007, during which she gave birth to two daughters - Elena and Tatyana.

Her family was very large (4 brothers and a sister) and deeply religious, so the upbringing of children was given special attention. The years of Yeltsin's life were marked by both ups and downs, but all the time of her marriage, Naina was always next to her husband, acutely experiencing all his ups and downs, providing her husband with a reliable rear. Even people who do not welcome the activities of Boris Yeltsin have always paid tribute to the tact and sincerity of his wife.

At the age of 25, Naina decides to make the first changes in her life, changes her name and, accordingly, her passport. At birth, her parents gave her the name Anastasia, however, when the girl entered the service, she was constantly hurt by the official appeal “Anastasia Iosifovna”, to which she could not and did not want to get used to.

A rich biography of Yeltsin had a certain influence on her. Having married, she not only did not quit her job, but also continued to improve her professional skills. After graduating from the institute, she received the specialty of a civil engineer and worked until her retirement at the Vodokanalproject Institute, located in the city of Sverdlovsk. Making her way up the career ladder, she, like her husband, starting from the bottom, was able to achieve the appointment of the head of the institute group.

Awards received:

• Oliver International Prize.
• National Prize of Russia "Olympia". Awarded for outstanding achievements of contemporaries in politics, business, science, art and culture.

Active activity

Work in construction served as the basis for the complex technique of commanding people, which, climbing the career ladder, Yeltsin often used. Years of hard work have made significant adjustments in his life. Accustomed to the construction site to the frequent use of alcohol, he treated him like something ordinary. In particular, this was most noticeable in his behavior on vacation. After joining the party, he repeatedly went on vacation to various sanatoriums, where he often entertained party comrades by drinking a glass of vodka like compote. Despite this, starting from the age of 37, Yeltsin has been engaged in party work, having received the status of head of a department with a subsequent promotion to secretary of the regional party committee.

In his youth, Yeltsin tried to spend the dates of all Russian holidays in the city of Sverdlovsk, arranging informal meetings with the working people. He could unexpectedly come to a store, a food base or an enterprise and arrange an unscheduled inspection there, because thanks to his position, he, in fact, became the first head of the largest industrial region of the USSR, gradually gaining people's trust as a politician who does everything for his people.

Rapid rise to fame

The swiftness with which Yeltsin's biography was changing could not go unnoticed by the then leader of the USSR, Mikhail Gorbachev, who began to carefully look at the stages of his political career.

Being the first secretary of the regional committee in the city of Sverdlovsk, Boris Yeltsin began to analyze the affairs that his predecessor was conducting, and among the papers he found an order from 1975, which he never bothered to fulfill. It contained an instruction to demolish the house of the merchant Ipatiev as soon as possible, in the basement of which, during the revolution organized by the Bolsheviks, seeking to overthrow the royal foundations, the last Russian Tsar Nicholas II and his family were killed. Yeltsin immediately ordered the demolition of the building. His decisive leadership style and diligence did not go unnoticed by the higher authorities. Gorbachev issues a decree on his transfer to Moscow, and from that day on, Yeltsin's political career begins to rapidly go up. According to the recommendations given by the deputy Yegor Ligachev, Yeltsin was appointed to a responsible position - the First Secretary of the Moscow City Committee of the CPSU, where he successfully began to restore order among corrupt officials.

It was after his appointment that the black market in Moscow, operating according to a system that had been debugged over the years, staggered. Spontaneous food fairs began to appear in the city, allowing people to purchase fresh collective farm fruits and vegetables directly from trucks, without any extra charge.

Life of daughters

Yeltsin's biography had an indirect impact on the fate of his daughters. They were brought up with a clear understanding that the family is the main thing in life. Boris and Naina tried to devote as much time as possible to the children, necessarily holding joint celebrations of birthdays and the New Year.

As a result of such upbringing, Yeltsin's eldest daughter - Elena (in the marriage of Okulov) - repeated the fate of her mother. Devoting all her free time to her family, she tried as far as possible to avoid fame, a certain proportion of which was imposed on her by the birth in the family of such famous person. Yeltsin's youngest daughter, Tatyana, on the contrary, although she did not achieve such outstanding successes as her father, she followed in his footsteps, leaving her mark on history. She began her career as an employee of the President's Office in 1996, eventually becoming a key adviser to her father. She was married twice and is raising wonderful children with whom Naina Yeltsina loves to spend time. Unfortunately, one of them - Gleb - was diagnosed with Down syndrome. However, Yeltsin's character was also reflected in his grandchildren. Even despite the fact that this is a rather unpleasant disease, Gleb manages to fully enjoy life.

Yeltsin, who rose to power in the 1990s, had to establish himself as a strong political leader, in creating the image of which Tatyana played an important role. It is worth noting that her appointment to such a high post at one time caused a lot of controversy, because private entrepreneurs, according to the current legislation, could not hold a political position, but the fact of the appointment remained a fact.

Restoration of the country after the collapse of the USSR

After his appointment as a candidate member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPSU in 1986, it was Yeltsin Boris Nikolayevich who began an active struggle against the sluggish policy of perestroika, thanks to which he earned his first enemies among the members of the Central Committee, under whose pressure Yeltsin's opinion changed dramatically, and he was appointed to position of First Secretary of the City Committee of the capital. Since 1988, his dissatisfaction with the lack of will of the members of the Politburo has only intensified. Most of all goes to the same Ligachev, who recommended Yeltsin for this position.

In 1989, he successfully manages to combine the position of a deputy of the Moscow District and membership in the Supreme Soviet of the USSR until 1990, when he first becomes a people's deputy of the RSFSR, and then the Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR, whose position, after the approval of the declaration of sovereignty of the RSFSR by the parliament, became in the country more meaningful. It was during this period that conflict relations with Mikhail Gorbachev reached their peak, as a result of which he left the CPSU.

Most of the people reacted negatively to the collapse of such a great state as Soviet Union, having completely lost confidence in Gorbachev, which Yeltsin took advantage of. The year 1991 was marked by the fact that the people for the first time chose their own president, who became Boris Yeltsin. For the first time, people were able to choose their own leader, because before that the party dealt with these issues, and people were simply informed about the change in leader.

Political activity

The first President Yeltsin, immediately after his appointment, begins an active purge of the ranks. In August 1991, he arrested Gorbachev in the Crimea and put him under house arrest. Then, before the new year 1992, Yeltsin, having agreed with the first persons of Ukraine and Belarus, signed the Belovezhskaya agreement, as a result of which the CIS appeared.

Yeltsin's reign could not be called calm. It was he who had to actively resist the Supreme Council, which disagreed with his decisions. As a result, disagreements grow to such an extent that Yeltsin has to bring tanks into Moscow in order to dissolve parliament.

Despite the fact that he had strong support from the people, one significant slip crossed out all the merits. In 1994, Yeltsin approved the entry of the Russian military into Chechnya. As a result of hostilities, many Russians die, and the people begin to show the first signs of dissatisfaction with the new government.

A few years after these events, Yeltsin decides to run for a second term and overtakes his main rival from the Communists - Zyuganov. However, the election campaign did not go unnoticed for Yeltsin. It took him more than a year after the ceremony of his elevation to the presidency to restore his health.

Change of power in the country

Yeltsin's rule enters its final stage in the late 1990s. As a result of the crisis in Russia and the rapid collapse of the ruble, his rating is falling. Yeltsin decides to take a step unexpected for everyone: he quietly retires, leaving behind a successor in the person of Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, who guarantees Boris Nikolaevich a calm and quiet old age.

Despite leaving the main post, Yeltsin does not cease to participate in the political life of the country until Putin, by special decree, officially prohibits him from attending such events, worrying about his state of health. However, even such strict precautions could not prevent a sad outcome.

Curious moments from life

Despite the fact that Boris's life was quite difficult, there were a lot of positive moments in it. Only he could afford informal communication with the top officials of the countries, being tipsy, which, although it was considered a lack of tact, was warmly received by most European leaders, who had the most positive impressions of Yeltsin. While visiting Germany, he liked the performance of the orchestra so much that he tried to conduct it himself. And, of course, one cannot fail to note the unsurpassed game on spoons. It is noteworthy that this talent would not have fallen into the category of funny moments in the life of Boris Yeltsin if he had not used the heads of his subordinates for the game.

Political figures such as Angela Merkel, George W. Bush, Jacques Chirac, Tony Blair, Bill Clinton forever remembered Yeltsin as a cheerful and cheerful person, thanks to whom Russia finally had a chance to rise from its knees after the collapse of the USSR and the subsequent crisis behind him. It was they who were the first to express their condolences to Naina Yeltsina on the day of the funeral.

On April 23, 2008, sculptor Georgy Frangulyan presented a monument to Boris Yeltsin at the Novodevichy Cemetery. The memorial is made in the colors of the Russian flag, under which an Orthodox cross is engraved. The materials used were white marble, Byzantine mosaic sky-colored and red porphyry.

Death and funeral

The lived years of Yeltsin's life allow us to judge him as a person with great willpower and a craving for life. Despite the fact that his political activity cannot be assessed unequivocally, it was he who had the honor of putting Russia on the path of improvement.

Yeltsin's death occurred on April 23, 2007, at 15.45, in the Central Clinical Hospital. The cause was cardiac arrest as a result of progressive cardiovascular multiple organ failure, that is, a malfunction internal organs during serious heart disease. It is worth noting that throughout his reign, he, as a true leader, was always aimed at winning, even if this required stepping over certain moral or legislative foundations. At the same time, the character of this great man remains inexplicable. Striving for absolute power and overcoming many obstacles for this, he voluntarily renounces it, handing over the reins of power to Vladimir Putin, who not only was able to improve the state created by Yeltsin, but also made significant progress in all sectors.

Immediately prior to his hospitalization, Yeltsin suffered an acute form of a cold that severely damaged his already poor health. Even despite the fact that he went to the clinic almost two weeks before his death, the best doctors in the country could not do anything. In the last week, he didn’t even get out of bed, and on the tragic day, the heart of the former head stopped twice, and the first time the doctors pulled him literally from the next world, and the second time nothing could be done.

According to the wishes of the relatives, the body of Boris Nikolaevich remained intact, and the pathologist did not perform an autopsy, however, this did not mitigate the fact that Yeltsin's funeral became a real tragedy. And the point here is not only in a loving family that sincerely experienced his death, but also in a tragedy for the entire Russian people. This day will forever be remembered by the inhabitants of Russia as a day of great mourning, declared by a special decree of the new President of the Russian Federation.

Yeltsin's funeral took place on April 25, 2007. The tragic ceremony was covered by all the main Russian TV channels, so that those who could not come to Moscow to say goodbye to him had the opportunity to watch what was happening at least from the other side of the screen and say goodbye to this outstanding person.

The ceremony was attended by many former and current heads of state. Those who could not appear in person expressed their condolences to Yeltsin's relatives. When the coffin with the body of the former head of state was lowered into the ground, an artillery salute was fired, marking a tribute to the memory of the president, who will always be remembered in Russia.

Boris Nikolaevich Yeltsin. Born February 1, 1931 in Butka (Butkinsky district, Ural region) - died April 23, 2007 in Moscow. Soviet party and Russian politician and statesman, the first president of the Russian Federation (from July 10, 1991 to December 31, 1999). From November 6, 1991 to June 15, 1992, he headed the Government of the RSFSR.

Born in the village of Butka, Ural Region (now in the Talitsky District Sverdlovsk region) in a family of dispossessed peasants. So Yeltsin himself writes in his memoirs. But this disputes the village of Basmanovskoye, which may be Yeltsin's birthplace. According to the biographer of the first president, Boris Minaev, the Yeltsins really lived in the village of Basmanovo, which is located near the village of Butka, “but the “maternity hospital,” that is, the village hospital, was located in Butka,” where Boris Yeltsin was born.

Boris Yeltsin's father, Nikolai Yeltsin, a builder, was repressed. He served his sentence on the construction of the Volga-Don Canal, after his release in 1937 he worked as a foreman at the construction site of a chemical plant in Berezniki, and a few years later became the head of the construction department at the plant.

B. Yeltsin's mother - Claudia Starygina from the peasants, a dressmaker.

Yeltsin spent his childhood in the city of Berezniki, Perm Region, where he graduated from school (modern school No. 1 named after A. S. Pushkin). According to Yeltsin's biography and media reports, he did well in his studies, was the head of the class, but had complaints about his behavior, was pugnacious. After graduating from the seventh grade, Yeltsin spoke out against the class teacher, who beat the children and forced them to work at her home. For this, he was expelled from school with a “wolf ticket”, but, by contacting the city committee of the party, he managed to get the opportunity to continue his studies at another school.

Yeltsin's left hand was missing two fingers and a third phalanx. According to Yeltsin, he lost them during the explosion of a grenade, which he tried to open.

In 1950 he entered the Ural Polytechnic Institute. S. M. Kirov at the Faculty of Civil Engineering, in 1955 he graduated from it with the qualification of "engineer-builder" with a degree in "Industrial and civil construction". Theme of the thesis: "Television tower". In his student years, he was seriously involved in volleyball, played for the city's national team, and became a master of sports.

In 1955, he was assigned to the Uraltyazhtrubstroy trust, where he mastered several construction specialties in a year, then worked on the construction of various objects as a foreman, head of the site. In 1957, he became a foreman in the construction department of the trust. In 1961 he joined the CPSU. In 1963 he was appointed chief engineer of the Sverdlovsk house-building plant. Since 1966 - director of the Sverdlovsk DSK.

In 1963, at the XXIV conference of the party organization of the Kirovsky district of the city of Sverdlovsk, he was unanimously elected a delegate to the city conference of the CPSU. At the XXV regional conference he was elected a member of the Kirov district committee of the CPSU and a delegate to the Sverdlovsk regional conference of the CPSU.

In 1968 he was transferred to party work in the Sverdlovsk regional committee of the CPSU, where he headed the construction department. In 1975 he was elected secretary of the Sverdlovsk regional committee of the CPSU, responsible for the industrial development of the region.

By order of Yeltsin, a twenty-three-story, tallest building in the city of the regional committee of the CPSU was built in Sverdlovsk, which received the nicknames "White House", "Wisdom Tooth" and "Party Member" in the city.

He organized the construction of a highway connecting Sverdlovsk with the north of the region, as well as the resettlement of residents from barracks to new houses. He organized the execution of the decision of the Politburo on the demolition of the Ipatievs' house (the place of execution of the royal family in 1918), which was not carried out by his predecessor Ya. Significantly improved the supply of food to the Sverdlovsk region, intensified the construction of poultry farms and farms. Under Yeltsin's leadership, milk coupons were abolished.

In 1980, he actively supported the initiative to create the MZhK, and the construction of experimental settlements in the villages of Baltym and Patrushi. The Baltym cultural and sports complex became a source of pride, the building of which was recognized as "unparalleled in construction practice." Being at party work in Sverdlovsk, Boris Yeltsin received the military rank of colonel.

In 1978-1989 - Deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR (member of the Council of the Union). From 1984 to 1988 - Member of the Presidium of the USSR Armed Forces. In addition, in 1981, at the XXVI Congress of the CPSU, he was elected a member of the Central Committee of the CPSU and was a member of it until he left the party in 1990.

After the Eighth Congress of People's Deputies, at which the resolution on the stabilization of the constitutional order was canceled and decisions were made that undermined the independence of the government and the Central Bank, on March 20, 1993, Yeltsin, speaking on television with an appeal to the people, announced that he had signed a decree on the introduction of " special management regime. The next day the Supreme Council appealed to Constitutional Court, calling Yeltsin's appeal "an attack on the constitutional foundations of Russian statehood." The Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, not yet having a signed decree, recognized Yeltsin's actions related to the televised address as unconstitutional, and saw grounds for removing him from office. The Supreme Soviet convened the IX (Extraordinary) Congress of People's Deputies. However, as it turned out a few days later, in fact, another decree was signed that did not contain gross violations of the Constitution. On March 28, the Congress attempted to remove Yeltsin from the presidency. Speaking at a rally on Vasilyevsky Spusk in Moscow, Yeltsin vowed not to carry out the decision of the Congress, if it is nevertheless adopted. However, only 617 deputies out of 1033 voted for impeachment, with the required 689 votes.

The day after the impeachment attempt failed, the Congress of People's Deputies scheduled an all-Russian referendum on April 25 on four issues - on confidence in President Yeltsin, on approval of his socio-economic policy, on early presidential elections and on early elections of people's deputies. Boris Yeltsin urged his supporters to vote "all four yes", while the supporters themselves tended to vote "yes-yes-no-yes". According to the results of the referendum on confidence, he received 58.7% of the vote, while 53.0% voted for economic reforms. On the issues of early elections of the president and people's deputies, 49.5% and 67.2% of those who took part in the voting voted "for", respectively, however, no legally significant decisions were made on these issues (because, according to the laws in force, for this " more than half of all eligible voters had to vote in favour). The controversial results of the referendum were interpreted by Yeltsin and his entourage in their favor.

After the referendum, Yeltsin focused his efforts on drafting and adopting a new constitution. On April 30, the presidential draft Constitution was published in the Izvestia newspaper, on May 18 the start of the work of the Constitutional Conference was announced, and on June 5 the Constitutional Conference met for the first time in Moscow. After the referendum, Yeltsin practically stopped all business contacts with the leadership of the Supreme Council, although for some time he continued to sign some of the laws adopted by him, and also lost confidence in Vice President Alexander Rutskoi and released him from all assignments, and on September 1 he was temporarily removed from office on suspicion in corruption, which was not subsequently confirmed.

On the evening of September 21, 1993, Boris Yeltsin, in a televised address to the people, announced that he had signed Decree No. 1400 "On the gradual constitutional reform in the Russian Federation" ordering to terminate the activities of the Congress of People's Deputies and the Supreme Council, and to schedule elections for December 11-12 to a new representative body of power, the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, which is being created. The Constitutional Court, which met on the night of September 21-22, found in the decree a violation of a number of articles of the Constitution in force at that time, and established the existence of grounds for removing the president from office. The Supreme Council, on the basis of Articles 121. 6 and 121. 11 of the Constitution (Basic Law) of the Russian Federation - Russia (RSFSR), adopted resolutions on the termination of the powers of President Yeltsin from 20:00 on September 21, 1993 after the signing of Decree No. 1400, and on their transfer to Vice President Alexander Rutskoi. However, Boris Yeltsin de facto continued to exercise the powers of the President of Russia.

On September 22, by order of Yeltsin, the building of the Supreme Council was blocked by the police and disconnected from water and electricity. Thus, the deputies found themselves in a state of siege.

The Supreme Soviet announced the convening of the 10th (Extraordinary) Congress of People's Deputies on September 22. According to the speaker of the Supreme Council Ruslan Khasbulatov, those executive authorities that obeyed Yeltsin detained deputies from the regions and prevented their arrival in other ways. In reality, the Congress was able to open only on the evening of September 23. Yeltsin's supporters argue that the quorum, which required 689 deputies, was not reached at the Congress. According to the leadership of the Armed Forces, 639 deputies were present, the presidential side spoke only about 493. Then it was decided to deprive those who did not come to the White House of deputy status, after which a quorum was announced. According to other data, 689 people arrived at the congress. The congress approved the resolution of the Parliament on the termination of the powers of President Yeltsin.

On September 24, at a meeting of the X Extraordinary (Extraordinary) Congress of People's Deputies, Resolution No. 5807-1 "On the political situation in the Russian Federation" was adopted. In it, the actions of former President Yeltsin were assessed as a coup d'état, all legal acts signed by him from 20:00 on September 21 were declared illegal, and the most dismissed president was asked "not to aggravate his guilt before the people and the law and voluntarily stop his unconstitutional actions" .

The Congress of People's Deputies, at the proposal of the regions and Chairman of the Constitutional Court Valery Zorkin, adopted a resolution "On early elections of people's deputies of the Russian Federation and the President of the Russian Federation", in which it decided, in particular, to hold these elections no later than March 1994, subject to the normal constitutional activity of the bodies representative, executive and judiciary, as well as ensuring pluralism of opinions in the media mass media. The Supreme Council was instructed to prepare the relevant regulations ensuring the holding of simultaneous early elections. Also, the parliament itself had to set the date for the elections.

On September 27, in an interview with the Ostankino television company, Yeltsin said that he would not go against the simultaneous early elections of the president and people's deputies and would not make any compromises with any authorities.

The confrontation between Yeltsin, his loyal law enforcement forces and supporters of the Supreme Soviet escalated into armed clashes. On October 3, Yeltsin declared a state of emergency. Supporters of the Supreme Council stormed one of the buildings of the Moscow City Hall on Krasnopresnenskaya Embankment (the former building of the CMEA), from where the soldiers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs fired on the demonstrators who approached the parliament building. Then the supporters of the Supreme Council, headed by Albert Makashov, went to the Ostankino television center in order to provide them with air. For reasons not yet fully clarified, the fighters of the pro-government Vityaz detachment, who were in the building of the television center, opened fire on supporters of the parliament. Yeltsin, at the suggestion of Gennady Zakharov, Deputy Head of the Security Service of the President of the Russian Federation, ordered the storming of the building of the Supreme Council with the use of tanks. Early morning On October 4, troops were brought into Moscow, followed by the shelling of the House of Soviets from tanks, and after 17 hours, the surrender of its defenders. In the course of these events, according to the investigation, 123 people died on both sides, 384 were injured, and not a single people's deputy of Russia was among the dead. One of the deputies (Yuri Elshin), who assisted the wounded, was slightly injured. Some people's deputies and employees of the apparatus of the Supreme Council, after leaving the burning parliament building, were beaten by police officers.

On October 6, 1993, the Vesti program of the RTR television channel announced the removal of 36 corpses from the White House.

On October 7, 3 days after the storming of the House of Soviets, a press conference was held at the Ministry of Internal Affairs by the commander of the internal troops Anatoly Kulikov and Minister of the Interior Viktor Yerin, who was relieved of his post by Rutsky. During this press conference, journalists were told that 49 corpses had been removed from the building of the Supreme Council. On the morning of the same day, the investigation team of the Prosecutor General's Office was admitted to the House of Soviets. However, the investigators did not find any bodies there (by that time they had already been taken out) and therefore the materials of the investigation do not say anything about the dead in the parliament building. The information that there were dead inside the House of Soviets is confirmed by the letter of the Minister of Health of the Russian Federation Eduard Nechaev addressed to Viktor Chernomyrdin No. identification of the dead from the House of Soviets”, as well as the confession of the commandant of the captured parliament building, Lieutenant-General Arkady Baskaev, that in the period from 18:00 on October 4, 1993, “20-25 wounded and killed were taken out by ambulance teams from the building” .

After the dissolution of the Congress and Parliament, Yeltsin for some time concentrated all power in his hands and makes a number of decisions: on the resignation of Rutskoy from the post of vice president (according to Article 121.10 of the current Constitution, the vice president could only be removed from office by the Congress of People's Deputies on the basis of the conclusion of the Constitutional Court), on the suspension of the activities of the Constitutional Court, on the termination of the activities of the Councils of all levels and the change in the system local government, on the appointment of elections to the Federation Council and a popular vote, as well as by its decrees, cancels and changes a number of provisions of existing laws.

In this regard, some well-known lawyers (including the Chairman of the Constitutional Court, Doctor of Law Prof. Valery Zorkin), statesmen, political scientists, politicians, journalists (primarily from among Yeltsin's political opponents) noted that a dictatorship had been established in the country.

In February 1994, the participants in the events were released in accordance with the decree of the State Duma on amnesty(all of them, except Rutskoy, agreed to an amnesty, although they were not convicted). Yeltsin demanded that the amnesty be prevented. The report of the State Duma commission for additional study and analysis of the events of September 21 - October 5, 1993, with reference to the former member of the presidential council, appointed on October 5 by Yeltsin to the post of Prosecutor General Alexei Kazannik, states that Yeltsin and his entourage offered Kazannik to judge Rutskoi, Khasbulatov and other persons who opposed the dispersal of the Congress and the Supreme Council, under Art. 102 of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR (Deliberate murder under aggravated circumstances), which provided for the death penalty. Kazannik responded by telling Yeltsin that there were no legal grounds for applying this article. Rutskoy confirms this fact in his memoirs.

According to one of the defenders of the White House, People's Deputy of Russia Ilya Konstantinov: “Yeltsin's unspoken order to eliminate opposition leaders existed, and this is not a myth. Yeltsin wanted, but could not, finish off the opposition, because the performers did not want to take on extra blood. Korzhakov writes about the same thing, that he did not want to kill anyone. If Boris Nikolaevich had the opportunity, knowing his temper, we can assume that he would have dealt with many. As early as October 4, an oral order was given to liquidate about a dozen people, including me.

In September 1995, criminal case No. 18/123669-93 on the events of October 3-4, 1993 was terminated. According to the former head of the investigation group, Leonid Proshkin, the amnesty that closed this criminal case suited everyone because, contrary to the will of the leadership, the investigators of the Prosecutor General's Office investigated the actions of not only supporters of the Supreme Council, but also the troops who were on the side of Yeltsin, who are largely guilty of the current situation and the grave consequences of the incident. Proshkin also said that the Yeltsin administration put pressure on the Prosecutor General's Office, hiding evidence from investigators.

From a legal point of view, the events of October 1993 contradicted the Constitution in force at that time.

On December 12, 1993, elections were held to the Federation Council and the State Duma, as well as a nationwide referendum on the adoption of a draft new Constitution. On December 20, the CEC of Russia announced the results of the referendum: 32.9 million voters (58.4% of active voters) voted in favor, 23.4 million (41.6% of active voters) voted against. The Constitution was adopted because, in accordance with the decree of President Yeltsin dated October 15, 1993 No. 1633 “On holding a popular vote on the draft Constitution of the Russian Federation”, an absolute majority of votes is required for the entry into force of the new Constitution. Subsequently, there were attempts to challenge the results of this vote in the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, but the Court refused to consider the case.

The new Constitution of the Russian Federation gave the President significant powers, while the powers of the Parliament were significantly reduced. The Constitution, after being published on December 25 in Rossiyskaya Gazeta, entered into force. On January 11, 1994, both chambers began their work Federal Assembly, the constitutional crisis is over.

In early 1994, Yeltsin initiated the signing of an agreement on public consent and an agreement on the delimitation of powers with Tatarstan, and then with other subjects of the Federation.

On November 30, 1994, B.N. Yeltsin decided to send troops into Chechnya and signed a secret decree No. 2137 "On measures to restore constitutional law and order on the territory of the Chechen Republic", the Chechen conflict began.

On December 11, 1994, on the basis of Yeltsin's decree "On measures to suppress the activities of illegal armed groups on the territory of the Chechen Republic and in the zone of the Ossetian-Ingush conflict", the entry of troops into Chechnya began. Many ill-conceived actions led to great casualties among both the military and the civilian population: tens of thousands of people died and hundreds of thousands were injured. It often happened that during a military operation or shortly before it, an order to stand down came from Moscow. This gave the Chechen fighters an opportunity to regroup their forces. The first assault on Grozny was ill-conceived and led to heavy casualties: more than 1,500 people died or went missing, 100 Russian servicemen were captured.

In June 1995, during the capture of a hospital and a maternity hospital in Budyonnovsk by a detachment of militants led by Sh. Basayev, Yeltsin was in Canada, and decided not to stop the trip, giving Chernomyrdin the opportunity to resolve the situation and negotiate with the militants, he returned only after the completion of all events , dismissed the heads of a number of law enforcement agencies and the governor Stavropol Territory. In 1995, in the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, the legality of Decrees No. 2137 and No. 1833 (“On the Basic Provisions of the Military Doctrine of the Russian Federation” in the part relating to the use of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in resolving internal conflicts) was challenged by a group of deputies of the State Duma and the Federation Council. According to the Federation Council, the acts contested by it constituted a single system and led to the unlawful use of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, since their use on the territory of the Russian Federation, as well as other measures prescribed in these acts, are legally possible only within the framework of a state of emergency or martial law. The request emphasizes that the result of these measures were illegal restrictions and massive violations of the constitutional rights and freedoms of citizens. According to a group of deputies of the State Duma, the use of the acts disputed by them on the territory of the Chechen Republic, which caused significant casualties among the civilian population, is contrary to the Constitution of the Russian Federation and international obligations assumed by the Russian Federation. The Constitutional Court terminated the proceedings on the case on the compliance of Decree No. 2137 with the Constitution of the Russian Federation without consideration on the merits, since this document was declared invalid on December 11, 1994.

In August 1996 Chechen fighters drove federal troops out of Grozny. After that they signed Khasavyurt agreements which are seen by many as treacherous.

By the beginning of 1996, Yeltsin, due to the failures and mistakes of economic reform and the war in Chechnya, had lost his former popularity, and his rating had fallen sharply (to 3%); nevertheless, he decided to run for a second term, which he announced on February 15 in Yekaterinburg (although he had previously repeatedly assured that he would not run for a second term).

The main opponent of Yeltsin was considered the leader of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation Gennady Zyuganov, who advocated a change in the constitutional order, a revision of economic policy, sharply criticized Yeltsin's course and had a fairly high rating. During the election campaign, Yeltsin became more active, began to travel around the country with speeches, visited many regions, including Chechnya. Yeltsin's election headquarters launched an active agitation and advertising campaign under the slogan "Vote or Lose", after which the gap in the rating between Zyuganov and Yeltsin began to rapidly shrink.

Shortly before the elections, a number of populist legislative acts were adopted (for example, Yeltsin's decree on the abolition of conscription in Armed forces Russian Federation; soon this decree was changed by Yeltsin in such a way that references to the transition to a contract basis and the timing of the transition disappeared from it). On May 28, Yeltsin and Viktor Chernomyrdin held talks with a Chechen delegation headed by Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev and signed a ceasefire agreement. The election campaign led to the polarization of society, dividing it into supporters of the Soviet system and supporters of the existing system. On June 9, Yeltsin announced that he had heirs in mind for the year 2000, who were "growing rapidly."

A number of journalists, political scientists and historians (including Doctor of Historical Sciences Vyacheslav Nikonov, who at that time was deputy chairman of the "All-Russian Movement to Support B. N. Yeltsin" and headed the press center of Yeltsin's election headquarters) believe that the 1996 campaign of the year cannot be called democratic elections, due to the widespread use of “administrative resources” (“in full program” - V. Nikonov), Yeltsin’s campaign headquarters repeatedly exceeding the established limit on funds spent, falsifications, and also due to the fact that almost all The media, with the exception of a few small-circulation communist newspapers, were openly supportive of Yeltsin.

According to the results of the first round of voting on June 16, 1996, Yeltsin won 35.28% of the vote and entered the second round of elections, ahead of Zyuganov, who received 32.03%. Alexander Lebed received 14.52%, and after the first round, Yeltsin appointed him Secretary of the Security Council and made a number of personnel changes in the Government and law enforcement agencies. In the second round on July 3, 1996, Yeltsin received 53.82% of the vote, confidently ahead of Zyuganov, who received only 40.31%.

According to Sergei Baburin, the fact of falsification of the election results was recognized by the President of the Russian Federation in 2008-2012, Dmitry Medvedev, who, during a meeting with representatives of unregistered parties on February 20, 2012, said: “It is unlikely that anyone has any doubts about who won the 1996 presidential election. It was not Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin. The presidential administration said that Medvedev did not say anything of the sort.

Between the first and second rounds of voting, Yeltsin was hospitalized with a heart attack, but managed to hide this fact from voters. He was not shown in public, but television showed several videos of Yeltsin's meetings filmed a few months earlier, but not aired before, which were intended to demonstrate his "high vitality." On July 3, Yeltsin appeared at the polling station of the sanatorium in Barvikha. Yeltsin refused to vote at his place of residence on Osennaya Street in Moscow, fearing that he would not be able to withstand a long passage along the street, stairs and corridor of this site.

In August 1996, he sanctioned the Khasavyurt agreements, in October he decided to dismiss A.I. Lebed from all posts. On November 5, 1996, Yeltsin underwent coronary artery bypass surgery, during which V. S. Chernomyrdin acted as President. B. N. Yeltsin returned to work only at the beginning of 1997.

In 1997, B. N. Yeltsin signed a decree on the denomination of the ruble, held talks in Moscow with A. A. Maskhadov and signed an agreement on peace and the basic principles of relations with the Chechen Republic. In March 1998, he announced the resignation of the Chernomyrdin Government and, on the third attempt, under the threat of the dissolution of the State Duma, he nominated S. V. Kiriyenko. After economic crisis August 1998, when, two days after Yeltsin's decisive statement on television that there would be no devaluation of the ruble, the ruble was devalued and depreciated by 4 times, dismissed the Kiriyenko government and offered to return Chernomyrdin. On August 21, 1998, at a meeting of the State Duma, the majority of deputies (248 out of 450) called on Yeltsin to voluntarily resign, only 32 deputies supported him. In September 1998, with the consent of the State Duma, Boris Yeltsin appointed E. M. Primakov to the post of Prime Minister.

In May 1999, the State Duma unsuccessfully tried to raise the issue of removing Yeltsin from office (the five charges formulated by the initiators of the impeachment mainly concerned Yeltsin's actions during the first term). Before the vote on impeachment, Yeltsin dismissed the Primakov Government, then, with the consent of the State Duma, appointed S. V. Stepashin Chairman of the Government, but in August dismissed him too, submitting a candidacy little known at that time for approval, and declared him his successor . After the aggravation of the situation in Chechnya, the attack on Dagestan, the explosions of residential buildings in Moscow, Buynaksk and Volgodonsk, B.N. Yeltsin, at the suggestion of V.V. Putin, decided to conduct a series of counter-terrorist operations in Chechnya. Putin's popularity soared, and in late 1999 Yeltsin resigned, leaving Putin as acting head of state.

December 31, 1999 at 12 noon Moscow time (which was repeated on the main TV channels a few minutes before midnight, before the New Year's TV address), B. N. Yeltsin announced his resignation from the post of President of the Russian Federation:

Dear friends! My dears! Today is the last time I address you with New Year's greetings. But that's not all. Today I address you for the last time as President of Russia. I made a decision. I thought long and hard about it. Today, on the last day of the outgoing century, I retire.

Yeltsin explained that he was leaving “not for health reasons, but for the totality of all problems,” and asked for forgiveness from the citizens of Russia.

“Having finished reading the last sentence, he sat motionless for several more minutes, and tears flowed down his face,” recalls cameraman A. Makarov.

Prime Minister V. V. Putin was appointed acting president, and immediately after B. N. Yeltsin announced his own resignation, he addressed the citizens of Russia with a New Year's address. On the same day, Vladimir Putin signed a decree guaranteeing Yeltsin protection from prosecution, as well as significant material benefits for him and his family.

Boris Yeltsin died on April 23, 2007 at 15:45 Moscow time in the Central Clinical Hospital as a result of cardiac arrest caused by progressive cardiovascular and then multiple organ failure, that is, dysfunction of many internal organs caused by a disease of the cardiovascular system - Sergey Mironov, head of the Medical Center of the Administration of the President of Russia, said in an interview with RIA Novosti. At the same time, in the news television program Vesti, he announced another cause of death for the ex-president: “Yeltsin suffered a rather pronounced catarrhal-viral infection (cold), which hit all organs and systems very hard,” Yeltsin was hospitalized 12 days before his death. However, according to cardiac surgeon Renat Akchurin, who performed the operation on the ex-president, Yeltsin's death "foreshadowed nothing." At the request of Boris Yeltsin's relatives, no autopsy was performed.

B. N. Yeltsin was buried in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, which was open all night from 24 to 25 April, so that everyone could say goodbye to the ex-president of Russia. “Someday history will give the deceased an impartial assessment,” said Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow, who did not participate in the funeral service. There is an opinion that the funeral service did not take place completely according to church canons - the funeral rite should include the words "servant of God", but Yeltsin was buried as "the newly deceased first president of Russia Boris Nikolaevich."

Boris Yeltsin is a man whose name will always be inextricably linked with recent history Russia. Someone will remember him as the first president, someone will invariably see in him, first of all, a talented reformer and democrat, and someone will remember the voucher privatization, the military campaign in Chechnya, the default and call him a "traitor".

Like any outstanding politician, Boris Nikolayevich will always have supporters and opponents, but today, in the framework of this biography, we will try to refrain from judgments and judgments and will only appeal with reliable facts. What kind of person was the first president of the Russian Federation? What was his life like before his political career? Our article today will help you find out the answers to these and many other questions.

Childhood and family

The official biography of Boris Yeltsin says that he was born in the maternity hospital of the village of Butka (Sverdlovsk region, Talitsky district). The very same family of Boris Nikolaevich lived nearby - in the village of Basmanovo. That is why in different sources as the birthplace of the future president, one can meet both one and the other toponym.

As for Boris Yeltsin's parents, they were both simple villagers. Father, Nikolai Ignatievich, worked in construction, but in the 30s he was repressed as a kulak element, serving his sentence on the Volga-Don. After the amnesty, he returned to his native village, where he started everything from scratch as a simple builder, then rose to the head of a construction plant. Mom, Claudia Vasilievna (nee Starygina), worked as a dressmaker for most of her life.

When Boris was not yet ten years old, the family moved to the city of Berezniki, not far from Perm. In the new school, he became the head of the class, but it was difficult to call him a particularly exemplary student. As Yeltsin's teachers noted, he was always a fighter and a fidget. Perhaps it was these qualities that led Boris Nikolaevich to the first serious problem in his life. During the boyish games, the guy picked up an unexploded German grenade in the grass and tried to take it apart. The consequence of the game was the loss of two fingers on the left hand.

Related to this fact is the fact that Yeltsin did not serve in the army. After school, he immediately entered the Ural Polytechnic Institute, where he mastered the specialty "civil engineer".

The absence of several fingers did not prevent Boris Nikolaevich from receiving the title of master of sports in volleyball as a student.

Political career

After graduating from high school in 1955, Boris Yeltsin went to work at the Sverdlovsk Construction Trust. Here he joined the CPSU, which allowed him to quickly advance in the service.

As chief engineer, and then director of the Sverdlovsk house-building plant. Yeltsin attended district party congresses. In 1963, as part of one of the meetings, Yeltsin was enrolled as a member of the Kirov District Committee of the CPSU, and later - in the Sverdlovsk Regional Committee of the CPSU. In the party position, Boris Nikolaevich was mainly involved in supervising housing construction issues, but very soon Yeltsin's political career began to rapidly gain momentum.

In 1975, our today's hero was elected secretary of the Sverdlovsk Regional Committee of the CPSU, and a year later - the first secretary, that is, in fact, the main person of the Sverdlovsk region. His predecessor and patron described the young Yeltsin as a power-hungry and ambitious man, but added that he would “break into a cake, but he will complete any task.” Yeltsin served in this post for nine years.

During his leadership in the Sverdlovsk region, many issues related to food supply were successfully resolved. Coupons for milk and some other goods were abolished, new poultry farms and farms were opened. It was Yeltsin who launched the construction of the Sverdlovsk metro, as well as several cultural and sports complexes. Work in the party brought him the rank of colonel.

Yeltsin's speech at the XXVII Congress of the CPSU (1986)

After successful work in the Sverdlovsk region, Yeltsin was recommended to the Moscow City Committee of the CPSU for the post of first secretary. Having received the position, he began a personnel purge and initiated large-scale inspections, to the point that he himself went to public transport and inspected food warehouses.

On October 21, 1987, he sharply criticized the communist system at the Plenum of the Central Committee of the CPSU: he criticized the slow pace of perestroika, announced the formation of a personality cult of Mikhail Gorbachev, and asked not to include him in the Politburo. Under a flurry of counter criticism, he apologized, and on November 3 filed an application addressed to Gorbachev, asking him to keep him in office.

A week later, he was admitted to the hospital with a heart attack, but party colleagues believed he had attempted suicide. Two days later, he was already present at the meeting of the Plenum, where he was removed from the post of first secretary of the Moscow City Committee.

Yeltsin asks for political rehabilitation

In 1988 he was appointed deputy head of the Construction Committee.

On March 26, 1989, Yeltsin became a people's deputy in Moscow, receiving 91% of the votes. At the same time, his competitor was the protege of the government, Yevgeny Brakov, the head of ZIL. In May 1990, the politician headed the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR. "Political weight" to Yeltsin was added by the resonant signing of the Declaration on State Sovereignty of the RSFSR, which legally secured the priority of Russian laws over Soviet ones. On the day of its adoption, June 12, today we celebrate the Day of Russia.

At the XXVIII Congress of the CPSU in 1990, Yeltsin announced his resignation from the party. This congress was the last.

Yeltsin leaves the CPSU (1990)

On June 12, 1991, the non-partisan Yeltsin, with 57% of the vote and with the support of the Democratic Russia party, was elected president of the RSFSR. His competitors were Nikolai Ryzhkov (CPSU) Vladimir Zhirinovsky (LDPSS).

On December 8, 1991, after the isolation of the President of the USSR Mikhail Gorbachev and his actual removal from power, Boris Yeltsin, as the leader of the RSFSR, signed an agreement on the collapse of the USSR in Belovezhskaya Pushcha, which was also signed by the leaders of Belarus and Ukraine. From that moment Boris Yeltsin became the leader of independent Russia.

Presidency

The collapse of the USSR provoked many problems, which Boris Yeltsin had to deal with. The first years of Russia's independence were marked by numerous problematic phenomena in the economy, a sharp impoverishment of the population, as well as the beginning of several bloody military conflicts in the Russian Federation and abroad. So, for a long time Tatarstan declared a desire to secede from the Russian Federation, then the government of the Chechen Republic announced a similar desire.

Interview with President Boris Yeltsin (1991)

In the first case, all topical issues were resolved peacefully, but in the second case, the unwillingness of the former Union Autonomous Republic to remain part of the Russian Federation laid the foundation for military operations in the Caucasus.

Due to multiple problems, Yeltsin's rating fell rapidly (to 3%), but in 1996 he still managed to remain in the presidency for a second term. He then competed with Grigory Yavlinsky, Vladimir Zhirinovsky and Gennady Zyuganov. In the second round, Yeltsin "met" with Zyuganov and won with 53% of the vote.

Many crisis phenomena in the political and economic system of the country persisted in the future. Yeltsin was ill a lot and rarely appeared in public. He gave key positions in the government to those who supported his election campaign.

February 1 marks the 81st anniversary of the birth of Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin, the first president of the Russian Federation.

In 2003, a monument to Yeltsin was opened in Kyrgyzstan on the territory of one of the Issyk-Kul boarding houses, in 2008, a memorial plaque to the first Russian president was installed in the village of Butka (Sverdlovsk region).

On the 80th anniversary of the birth of Boris Yeltsin in Yekaterinburg, on the street named after him, a monument was unveiled to him - a ten-meter obelisk stele made of light Ural marble. The architect and author of the commemorative obelisk is Georgy Frangulyan, who is also the author of Yeltsin's tombstone.

The monument was installed near the business center "Demidov", where it is planned to open the Yeltsin Presidential Center.

Since 2003, international competitions among national women's national teams in volleyball for the "Boris Yeltsin Cup" have been held annually in the Sverdlovsk region. In 2009, the tournament was included in the official calendar of the International Volleyball Federation.

Since 2006, the All-Russian Junior Tennis Tournament "Yeltsin Cup" has been held annually in Yekaterinburg.

From January 28 to February 6, 2011, the first International Tennis Tournament of the ITF "Yeltsin Cup" series for boys and girls under 18 under the patronage of the Boris Yeltsin Foundation was held in Kazan at the Tennis Academy.

The material was prepared on the basis of information from RIA Novosti and open sources