Who was the president of the USSR and the Russian Federation. reference
At 15:45 on Monday April 23, 2007, the first President of Russia, Boris Yeltsin, suddenly died at the Central Clinical Hospital at the age of 77. The Medical Center for the Administration of the President of the Russian Federation stated that the cause of death was the progression of cardiovascular multiple organ failure. To put it simply, Yeltsin died due to sudden cardiac arrest.
Boris Nikolaevich Yeltsin was born in the village of Butka, Talitsky district, Sverdlovsk region on February 1, 1931. In 1955, he graduated from the Ural Polytechnic Institute with a degree in civil engineering. Yeltsin joined the CPSU in 1961. His party career developed gradually. His first significant position was the post of head of the construction department at the Sverdlovsk regional party committee, which he took in 1968.
By 1976, Yeltsin was already the head of the entire regional party committee. He continued to follow the construction line, becoming in 1981 the head of the construction department of the CPSU Central Committee. The most that Yeltsin achieved in the party field was the post of Secretary of the Party Central Committee for Construction Issues. At the same time, from December 1985 to November 1987, he held the much more prestigious position of first secretary of the Moscow City Committee of the CPSU.
On the initiative of the then head of state and party Mikhail Gorbachev, Yeltsin was removed from this post due to ideological differences with the leadership and sent into honorable exile as the first deputy head of the USSR State Construction Committee.
But Yeltsin got a taste for big politics and, not wanting to focus exclusively on economic activities, was elected in March 1989 as a people's deputy of the USSR, and a year later as a people's deputy of the RSFSR. On May 29, 1990, he was elected chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR, and in July of the same year, Yeltsin finally broke with communist ideology by leaving the party.
The entire 1990s went down in Russian history as the Yeltsin era. He was first elected President of the Russian Federation on June 12, 1991, and on July 3, 1996, he was re-elected for a second term.
Yeltsin himself ended his political career when he retired early. Moreover, he did this in his usual spectacular manner, announcing the resignation of presidential powers in an unexpected New Year's address to the people at noon on December 31, 1999. According to the constitution, the position of acting head of state in the event of his resignation is occupied by the chairman of the government, who at that time was Vladimir Putin. Three months later, Putin got rid of the “acting” prefix, becoming a full-fledged president of the country following the election results.
Yeltsin's biography as head of state is full of contradictory moments. In 1991, he spoke out against the putschists from the State Emergency Committee, refusing to give him full power after Gorbachev’s return from captivity in Foros. He got the communist Gorbachev, who was still formally the head of the Soviet Union, to ban the activities of the CPSU.
In December 1991, in Belovezhskaya Pushcha, Yeltsin, together with the heads of Ukraine and Belarus, signed an agreement on the dissolution of the USSR, after which large-scale political and economic reforms began in Russia. With his support, the privatization of state property was carried out in 1992-93, which contributed to the transition of the Russian economy to capitalist lines.
In 1993, the conflict between Yeltsin and the leadership of the Supreme Council of the Russian Federation and the Congress of People's Deputies of Russia led to an armed confrontation in the center of Moscow, which ended with the shooting of the parliament building from tanks. A year later, the first military campaign in Chechnya began, leading to numerous casualties, both from the military and civilians.
By the end of the 1990s, the Russian economy was on the rise, which unexpectedly ended with the August 1998 default caused by the collapse of the GKO pyramid. The then head of government, Sergei Kiriyenko, resigned. During the year, Yeltsin replaced two more prime ministers - Yevgeny Primakov and Sergei Stepashin, until in August 1999 he chose Vladimir Putin, whom he introduced to the citizens of the country as his successor.
When Putin became the legally elected head of state, he provided Yeltsin and his family with guarantees of personal security and lifelong security. In the last years of his life, Yeltsin and his relatives lived at a government dacha in Barvikha.
It is known that by the mid-1990s, Yeltsin’s health had deteriorated sharply. Shortly before the 1996 presidential election, he underwent coronary artery bypass surgery, in which an artificial valve is implanted into the heart.
Since then, Yeltsin has been constantly under close medical supervision. Sources close to his family claim that Yeltsin spent about a week in the Central Clinical Hospital before his death.
The burial place of the first president of Russia has not yet been determined. Boris Yeltsin is survived by his wife Naina, two daughters, five grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
Boris Nikolaevich Yeltsin was born on February 1, 1931 in the village of Butka (accent on the last syllable) in the Talitsky district of the Sverdlovsk region. Father - Nikolai Ignatievich, builder, mother - Klavdiya Vasilievna, dressmaker. During the period of collectivization, B. N. Yeltsin’s grandfather was exiled, his father and uncle were also subjected to illegal repression (both went through a forced labor camp).
Confession on a given topic
“...The Yeltsin family, as it is written in the description that our village council sent to the security officers in Kazan, rented land in the amount of five hectares. “Before the revolution, his father’s farm was kulak, he had a water mill and a windmill, he had a threshing machine, he had permanent farm laborers, he had up to 12 hectares of crops, he had a self-tying reaper, he had up to five horses, up to four cows...” He had, he had, he had... That was his fault - he worked a lot, took on a lot. And the Soviet government loved modest, inconspicuous, low-profile people. She did not like strong, smart, bright people and did not spare them. In 1930, the family was “evicted.” My grandfather was deprived of his civil rights. They imposed an individual agricultural tax. In a word, they put a bayonet to the throat, as best they knew how to do. And the grandfather “went on the run”..."
In 1935, the family moved to the Perm region for the construction of the Bereznikovsky potash plant. In Berezniki, the future first President of the Russian Federation studied at the secondary school named after. A. S. Pushkin. After graduating from the seventh grade, Yeltsin spoke out against the class teacher who beat the children and forced them to work in her home. For this he was expelled from school with a “wolf ticket”, but by contacting the city party committee, he managed to obtain the opportunity to continue his studies at another school.
Having successfully completed school, B. N. Yeltsin continued his education at the Faculty of Construction of the Ural Polytechnic Institute named after. S. M. Kirov (later Ural State Technical University - USTU-UPI, Ural State Technical University - USTU-UPI named after the first President of Russia B.N. Yeltsin, now - Ural Federal University named after the first President of Russia B.N. Yeltsin) in Sverdlovsk (now Yekaterinburg) with a degree in Industrial and Civil Construction. At UPI, B.N. Yeltsin distinguished himself not only academically, but also in the sports field: he competed at the national volleyball championship for a team of masters, and coached the institute’s women’s volleyball team.
While studying, he met his future wife Naina (Anastasia) Iosifovna Girina. In 1955, having simultaneously defended their diplomas, the young people left for some time to the destinations of young specialists, but agreed to meet in a year. This meeting took place in Kuibyshev at zonal volleyball competitions: Boris Nikolaevich took the bride to Sverdlovsk, where the wedding took place.
In 1961, Yeltsin joined the CPSU. In 1968, he was transferred from economic to professional party work - he headed the construction department of the Sverdlovsk regional party committee.
In 1975, at the plenum of the Sverdlovsk regional committee of the CPSU, Yeltsin was elected secretary of the regional committee, responsible for the industrial development of the region, and on November 2, 1976, he was appointed first secretary of the Sverdlovsk regional committee of the CPSU (he held this position until 1985). Soon after this, B.N. Yeltsin was elected deputy of the regional Council for the Serov electoral district.
In 1978-1989 he was a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR (member of the Council of the Union). In 1981, at the XXVI Congress of the CPSU, he became a member of the CPSU Central Committee. 1985 promoted B. N. Yeltsin very high up the career ladder. After the election of M. S. Gorbachev as General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee in March 1985, Boris Yeltsin was asked to head the construction department of the CPSU Central Committee, and soon Yeltsin was appointed secretary of the party Central Committee for construction issues. In December 1985, Gorbachev invited Yeltsin to head the Moscow party organization.
Notes from the President
In his book, Boris Nikolaevich recalled:
“But in August 1991 there was a coup. This event shocked the country, and, apparently, the whole world. On August 19 we were in one country, and on August 21 we found ourselves in a completely different one. Three days became the watershed between the past and the future. Events forced me to take a tape recorder, sit down with a blank sheet of paper and begin work, as it seemed to me, on a book about the putsch.”
We can say that it was from this appointment that B. N. Yeltsin entered big politics. The political fate of the future first President of Russia was not stable. After the events of 1987, many believed that Yeltsin would never be able to return to big politics, but he began to make big politics not only on a national scale, but also on a global scale.
On June 12, 1991, Yeltsin was elected president of the RSFSR. These were the first popular presidential elections in Russian history (USSR President Mikhail Gorbachev took his post as a result of voting at the Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR).
On July 10, Boris Yeltsin took the oath of allegiance to the people of Russia and the Russian Constitution and took office as president of the RSFSR, making a keynote speech:
It is impossible to convey in words the state of mind that I am experiencing at these moments. For the first time in the thousand-year history of Russia, the President solemnly swears allegiance to his fellow citizens. There is no higher honor than that which is bestowed upon a person by the people; there is no higher honor than the position to which the citizens of the state are elected.<...>I am optimistic about the future and ready for vigorous action. Great Russia is rising from its knees! We will definitely turn it into a prosperous, democratic, peace-loving, legal and sovereign state. The work, which is difficult for all of us, has already begun. Having gone through so many trials, with a clear idea of our goals, we can be firmly confident: Russia will be reborn!
Fragment of the exposition of the UrFU museum and exhibition complex dedicated to Boris Nikolaevich Yeltsin
The first President of Russia was awarded the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, 1st degree, the Order of Lenin, two Orders of the Red Banner of Labor, the Order of the Badge of Honour, the Order of Gorchakov (the highest award of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation), the Order of the Royal Order of Peace and Justice (UNESCO) , medals “Shield of Freedom” and “For Dedication and Courage” (USA), Order of the Knight Grand Cross (Italy’s highest state award) and many others. He is the author of three books: “Confession on a Given Topic” (1989), “Notes of the President” (1994) and “Presidential Marathon” (2000). He was interested in hunting, sports, music, literature, and cinema. B. N. Yeltsin has a large family: wife Naina Iosifovna, daughters Elena and Tatyana, grandchildren Katya, Masha, Boris, Gleb, Ivan and Maria, great-grandchildren Alexander and Mikhail.
In 2002, the Foundation of the First President of Russia established the B. N. Yeltsin Scholarship, which has been awarded annually since 2003.
The scholarship is awarded annually from September 1 to students and graduate students of the Ural Federal University who have demonstrated particular success in their studies, scientific research, sports and creative activities.
The scholarship holders initially became the 50 best full-time students of USTU-UPI who passed the competition. Along with excellent academic performance, scholarship holders must demonstrate the results of scientific and practical work and actively participate in public life. In the first years, Boris Nikolayevich personally congratulated the scholarship recipients; now, certificates are presented by his wife Naina Iosifovna Yeltsina and the rector of the university. In 2010, the number of scholarships was increased from 50 to 90.
UrFU Rector Viktor Koksharov notes: “Today it is impossible to imagine that once a year Tatyana Borisovna and Naina Iosifovna would not come to us and that they would not award personalized scholarships to the best of our best students and graduate students. This has already gone down in the history of the university and has become an inextricable part of it.”
After the passing of Boris Nikolaevich, the leadership of the Ural State Technical University made a proposal to name the university after him. The initiative was supported by the government of the Sverdlovsk region, the Russian Ministry of Education and Science and the government of the country. The president's widow, Naina Yeltsin, also approved it, but noted: “during his lifetime, he would never have agreed to such an initiative - it was expressed more than once and was rejected more than once.”
In April 2008, the university was named after the first President of Russia, Boris Yeltsin, and a memorial plaque appeared on the facade of the main academic building.
Boris Yeltsin is a man whose name will always be inextricably linked with the modern history of Russia. Some will remember him as the first president, others will invariably see him primarily as a talented reformer and democrat, while others will remember voucher privatization, the military campaign in Chechnya, the default and call him a “traitor.”Like any outstanding politician, Boris Nikolaevich will always have supporters and opponents, but today, within the framework of this biography, we will try to refrain from assessments and judgments and will appeal exclusively to reliable facts. What kind of person was the first president of the Russian Federation? What was his life like before starting 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 a maternity hospital in the village of Butka (Sverdlovsk region, Talitsky district). Boris Nikolaevich’s family itself lived nearby - in the village of Basmanovo. That is why in different sources one can find both one and the other toponym as the birthplace of the future president. 
As for Boris Yeltsin’s parents, they were both simple rural residents. Father, Nikolai Ignatievich, worked in construction, but in the 30s he was repressed as a kulak element and served 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 become the head of a construction plant. Mom, Klavdia Vasilievna (nee Starygina), worked as a dressmaker most of her life.
When Boris was not yet ten years old, the family moved to the city of Berezniki, not far from Perm. At 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 restless. Perhaps it was these qualities that led Boris Nikolaevich to the first serious problem in his life. During boyhood games, the guy picked up an unexploded German grenade in the grass and tried to disassemble it. The consequence of the game was the loss of two fingers on his left hand.
This fact is also related to the fact that Yeltsin did not serve in the army. After school, he immediately entered the Ural Polytechnic Institute, where he mastered the specialty of 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 university in 1955, Boris Yeltsin went to work at the Sverdlovsk Construction Trust. Here he joined the CPSU, which allowed him to quickly advance in his career. 
As chief engineer and then director of the Sverdlovsk house-building plant. Yeltsin attended district party congresses. In 1963, during 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 his party position, Boris Nikolayevich was primarily involved in overseeing 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 - 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 hurt himself, but he would complete any task.” Yeltsin held 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, and 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. His 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 traveled by public transport and inspected food warehouses.
On October 21, 1987, he sharply criticized the communist system at the Plenum of the CPSU Central Committee: 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 barrage of counter-criticism, he apologized, and on November 3, he filed a statement addressed to Gorbachev, asking him to remain in office.
A week later he was hospitalized 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 MGK.
Yeltsin asks for political rehabilitation
In 1988 he was appointed deputy head of the Committee for Construction Affairs.
On March 26, 1989, Yeltsin became a people's deputy for Moscow, receiving 91% of the votes. At the same time, his competitor was government protege Yevgeny Brakov, head of ZIL. In May 1990, the politician headed the Supreme Council of the RSFSR. Yeltsin’s “political weight” was increased by the resonant signing of the Declaration of State Sovereignty of the RSFSR, which legally established the priority of Russian laws over Soviet ones. On the day of its adoption, June 12, today we celebrate Russia Day.
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-party 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) and Vladimir Zhirinovsky (LDPSS).
On December 8, 1991, after the isolation of USSR President 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 on, Boris Yeltsin became the leader of independent Russia.
Presidency
The collapse of the USSR provoked many problems, which it was Boris Yeltsin who had to fight. The first years of Russian independence were marked by multiple 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. Thus, for a long time Tatarstan declared its 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 pressing issues were resolved peacefully, but in the second case, the reluctance of the former union autonomous republic to remain part of the Russian Federation marked the beginning of military operations in the Caucasus.
Due to multiple problems, Yeltsin's rating rapidly fell (to 3%), but in 1996 he still managed to remain in the presidency for a second term. His competition then included Grigory Yavlinsky, Vladimir Zhirinovsky and Gennady Zyuganov. In the second round, Yeltsin “met” with Zyuganov and won with 53% of the votes.
Many crisis phenomena in the political and economic system of the country persisted in the future. Yeltsin was sick a lot and rarely appeared in public. He gave key positions in the government to those who supported his election campaign
Boris Yeltsin was the first President of Russia. He was a strong leader, although he made many tactical blunders in his position. For eight years this man led a huge country and tried to lead it out of the crisis.
Job in Moscow
In 1968, Boris Yeltsin began his party career. A graduate of the Ural Polytechnic named after Kirov became the head of the construction department. Success in political service provided him with a quick breakthrough in his career. In 1984, Boris Nikolaevich was already a member of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. From 1985-1987 served as First Secretary of the Moscow City Committee of the CPSU.
In 1987, at the plenum of the Supreme Council, he criticized the activities of the current leader Mikhail Gorbachev. He was demoted to the position of deputy head of Gosstroy. In 1989, Yeltsin became a people's deputy of the USSR Supreme Council.
In 1990, he became Chairman of the Supreme Council of the RSFSR.
1991 presidential election
On March 17, 1991, a referendum was held in the USSR. On the agenda were the issue of introducing the post of president and the item on maintaining the status of the USSR. Purposeful and uncompromising Boris Yeltsin decided to run as a candidate for the presidency. His competitors in this race were pro-government candidate Nikolai Ryzhkov and Vladimir Zhirinovsky.
On June 12, 1991, the first presidential elections were held. B. N. Yeltsin was elected by a majority of votes. The reign of the first leader of Russia was originally supposed to be 5 years. Since the country was in a deep political and economic crisis, no one knew how long in real life the new president would last in office. A. Rutskoy was elected vice-president. He and Yeltsin were supported by the Democratic Russia bloc.
On July 10, 1991, Boris Yeltsin took an oath to serve his people faithfully. Mikhail Gorbachev remained the President of the USSR. Dual power did not suit the ambitious Yeltsin, although many researchers and politicians argue that the final goal of the new Russian leader was the collapse of the Union. Perhaps it was a political order that he carried out brilliantly.
August putsch
The years of Boris Yeltsin's reign were marked by significant unrest at the top of the state. Members of the CPSU did not want a change in leadership and understood that with the arrival of a new leader, the collapse of the USSR and their removal from power was not far off. Yeltsin harshly criticized the nomenklatura circles and repeatedly accused senior leaders of corruption.
Gorbachev and President Yeltsin, whose reign had been unstable, discussed the cornerstones of their cooperation and decided to eliminate the USSR politically. For this purpose, it was decided to create a confederation - the Union of Sovereign Soviet Republics. On August 20, this document was to be signed by the leaders of all union republics.
The State Emergency Committee launched active activities on August 18-21, 1991. During Gorbachev’s stay in Crimea, a temporary state body, the State Emergency Committee, was created, and a state of emergency was introduced in the country. The population was informed about this on the radio. The Democratic forces led by Yeltsin and Rutsky began to resist the old party elite.
The conspirators had some support in the army and the KGB. They pulled up some separate groups of troops to bring them into the capital. Meanwhile, President of the RSFSR Yeltsin was on a business trip. Opponents of the collapse of the Union decided to detain him upon arrival as far as possible from the White House. Other putschists decided to go to Gorbachev, convince him to introduce a state of emergency by his decree and appeal to the people.
On August 19, the media announced the resignation of M. Gorbachev for health reasons, acting. O. Gennady Yanaev was appointed president.
Yeltsin and his supporters were supported by the opposition radio Ekho Moskvy. The Alpha detachment arrived at the president's dacha, but there was no order to block him or take him into custody, so Boris Nikolaevich was able to mobilize all his supporters.
Yeltsin arrives at the White House, and local rallies begin in Moscow. Ordinary democratically minded citizens are trying to resist the State Emergency Committee. The protesters built barricades in the square and dismantled paving stones. Tanks without ammunition and 10 infantry fighting vehicles were driven to the square.
On the 21st, mass clashes began, three citizens died. The conspirators were arrested, and Boris Yeltsin, whose years of rule were tense from the very beginning, dissolved the CPSU and nationalized the party's property. The putschist plan failed.
As a result, in December 1991, secretly from M. Gorbachev, the Bialowieza Agreements were signed, which put an end to the USSR and gave rise to new independent republics.
1993 crisis
In September 1993, former comrades quarreled. B. N. Yeltsin, whose years of rule were very difficult in the initial period, understood that the opposition in the person of Vice-President A. Rutsky and the Supreme Council of the RSFSR was doing its best to slow down new economic reforms. In this regard, B. Yeltsin issued decree 1400 - on the dissolution of the Armed Forces. A decision was made to hold new elections to the Federal Assembly.
Naturally, such a monopolization of power caused protest among members of the Supreme Council. As usual, equipment was brought to the capital and people were brought out into the streets. Several attempts were made to impeach the president, but Yeltsin ignored the legislation. Supporters of the Armed Forces were dispersed, opposition leaders were arrested. As a result of the clashes, according to various sources, about 200 people were killed and more than a thousand were injured.
After the victory of Boris Yeltsin and his supporters in Russia there was a transitional period of presidential dictatorship. All government bodies connecting Russia with the USSR were liquidated.
Socio-economic reforms of B. Yeltsin
Many economists and politicians, looking back at the years of Yeltsin's rule in Russia, call his policies chaotic and stupid. There was no single clear plan. For the first few years, the state was generally in a political crisis, which eventually resulted in the 1993 coup.
Many of the ideas of the president and his supporters were promising, but in implementing them according to the old monopolized system, Yeltsin ran into many pitfalls. As a result, the reform of the state led to a protracted crisis in the economic sphere, loss of deposits from the population and complete distrust of the authorities.
The main reforms of President Yeltsin:
- price liberalization, free market;
- land reform - transfer of land into private hands;
- privatization;
- reforming political power.
First Chechen War
In 1991, the independent Republic of Ichkeria was formed on the territory of Chechnya. This state of affairs did not suit Russia. Dzhokhar Dudayev became the president of the new independent republic. The Russian Supreme Court declared the elections invalid. The victory of the separatist forces led to the collapse of the Chechen-Ingush Republic. Ingushetia decided to remain autonomous within Russia. Based on this desire, Boris Yeltsin, whose years of rule had already been washed by rivers of blood, decided to send troops during the Ossetian-Ingush conflict of 1992. Chechnya was actually an independent state, not recognized by anyone. There was actually a civil war going on in the country. In 1994, Yeltsin decided to send troops to restore order in the Chechen People's Republic. As a result, the armed conflict with the use of Russian troops lasted two years.
Second presidential term
The second presidential term was extremely difficult for Boris Yeltsin. Firstly, constant heart problems were taking their toll, and secondly, the country was on the verge of a crisis, which the “sick” president did not have the strength to cope with. The newly elected president placed his bet on “political youth” in the person of Chubais and Nemtsov. Their active implementation of the reform course did not lead to the expected increase in GDP; the country lived off multibillion-dollar loans. In 1998, Yeltsin, whose years of rule were not successful for the state, began to look for a successor. This was the unknown head of the FSB, V. Putin.
Resignation
In 1998, B. Yeltsin’s “sand” economy collapsed. Default, price increases, job cuts, total instability, shutdown of large enterprises. The virtual market economy could not withstand the harsh realities. Having chosen a worthy candidate for his post and having secured V. Putin’s commitment to a comfortable old age, the first President of Russia, speaking in front of television viewers, resigned.
Soviet party and state, as well as Russian political figure. 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 for the construction of the Bereznikovsky 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, upon graduation he received the specialty of 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, and head of the Sverdlovsk house-building plant. In 1961 he joined the CPSU. In 1968-1976, B. 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 and was responsible for the industrial development of the region.
In 1976-1985, B. N. Yeltsin served as 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 CPSU Central Committee (he remained a member until 1990). In the same year, he headed the construction department of the CPSU Central Committee. Since June 1985, he was Secretary of the Party Central Committee for Construction Issues.
In 1985-1987, B. N. Yeltsin served as first secretary of the Moscow City Committee of the CPSU. Having arrived at this post, he fired many senior officials of the Moscow City Committee of the CPSU and the first secretaries of district committees. He became famous for his personal inspections of stores and warehouses using public transport. Organized food fairs. In the last months of his work at the Moscow City Committee, he began to publicly criticize the party leadership.
In November 1987, B. 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 CPSU Central Committee. In 1987-1989 he served as deputy chairman of the USSR State Construction Committee.
In March 1989, B. N. Yeltsin was elected people's deputy of the USSR and returned to “big politics”. In 1989-1990, he headed the Committee of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on construction and architecture.
On May 29, 1990, at the First Congress of People's Deputies of the RSFSR, B. N. Yeltsin was elected Chairman of the Supreme Council of the RSFSR with the active support of the Democratic Russia bloc. He held this post until June 1991. On July 12, 1990, at the XXVIII Congress of the CPSU, he left the ranks of the party.
On June 12, 1991, during 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 Food Commission and Chairman of the Supreme Advisory Coordination Council.
In August 1991, when a coup attempt was made, 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 Russian Government. 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, liberalization of domestic and foreign trade, widespread privatization, and reduction of social spending. The goal of the reforms was to form a layer of private owners and increase production efficiency, creating a market economy and a democratic society. The first results of the reforms were rising prices, an even greater decrease in household incomes, depreciation of deposits in savings banks, and a depreciation of the ruble. The majority of the population found themselves below the poverty line. In the summer of 1992, 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 enterprises in the light and food industries and the agricultural complex. Radical reforms caused discontent among the population and widespread 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 B. N. Yeltsin announced the termination of the powers of the Congress of People's Deputies and the Supreme Council. The Supreme Council refused to obey, swearing in A. V. Rutsky as head of state. The use of the army at the decisive moment allowed B. N. Yeltsin to suppress the putsch (October 4-5, 1993). Taking advantage of the current situation, he eliminated 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 activity during B. N. Yeltsin’s stay in power were the establishment of cooperation with Western countries, and above all with the United States, as well as building relations with the newly independent states of the near abroad.
On July 3, 1996, during direct popular elections in two rounds, B. N. Yeltsin was re-elected President of the Russian Federation for a second term. His further rule did not lead to changes in the economic and social spheres. The Chechen War (1994-1996) also did not contribute to the stabilization of society. Growing dissatisfaction with the President's policies led to his early resignation.
On December 31, 1999, B. N. Yeltsin voluntarily ceased to exercise 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