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April 25th has been declared a day of mourning in connection with the death of Russia's first president, Boris Yeltsin.
Yeltsin was described as a "direct and courageous national leader" who "was always extremely honest and open." "We knew Boris Nikolaevich as a brave and at the same time kind, sincere person."
A man who listened to his heart rather than his mind."
Boris Yeltsin will be buried on Wednesday at the Novodevichy Cemetery. On this day, Vladimir Putin announced a nationwide day of mourning and decided, after much hesitation, to postpone his address to the Federal Assembly until Thursday.
to announce the death of Boris Yeltsin. With one caveat: along with the first President of Russia, several historical periods of our country have passed away.
Boris Yeltsin was undoubtedly an embodiment of the 90s, a symbol of that very contradictory decade in Russian history. Today, it is common to either view the 90s negatively or not at all; this period is almost officially recognized as a time of collapse and chaos, and Yeltsin, unofficially, is considered primarily responsible for everything that happened. He never shied away from this responsibility, but his interpretation of what happened during those years differed somewhat from the current accepted view. In one of his last interviews, speaking about the dissolution of the USSR and the creation of the CIS, Yeltsin remarked that although his generation is blamed for all sins, they managed to avoid chaos, and it remains to be seen how today's leaders would have handled that situation.
Speaking about the contradictions of that period, we can recall both the two Chechen wars, and the construction of a new non-socialist economic system, which we are now living under with some modifications, and the formation of a system of state power that has withstood the test of several crises, and the ruin of entire social classes, and the emergence of new, successful ones. It is easy to judge that time from the end of the first decade of the 21st century and condemn it. In reality, no one knew then what needed to be done and how. Boris Yeltsin, like the whole country, acted by trial and error. The President made mistakes in choosing leading personnel, and they committed terrible economic and political blunders, while people entrusted their savings (sometimes even their last) to fraudsters. The President behaved inappropriately during official visits, just as people who had broken free from behind the Iron Curtain created opportunities for jokes. The country was learning to live, and Boris Yeltsin was learning along with it. The occasional stupor he experienced was a result of the immense scale of tasks for one person. Those who suffered from his mistakes at least had an object to curse, while the president could only blame himself.
Boris Yeltsin was also an embodiment of the second half of the 80s, the transition from perestroika from above to revolution from below. A hero of mass rallies, he was more than just an idol for millions. For a short period of time, his name became synonymous with the word "freedom" and the slogan "down with!" How difficult freedom is and what exactly "Down with!" meant was generally not important at that time. The country wanted something different, and someone had to speak on its behalf. The echoes of that peaceful Pugachevism were fully felt by both Yeltsin and many of his supporters already in the 90s. Today, that time is remembered as a triumph of naive faith. That's what the country was like, and so was its idol, not just making promises but believing that he would be able to fulfill them. This made the disappointment in Yeltsin even stronger, although in reality, it was a disappointment in oneself.
It is impossible to argue that the first President of Russia is a historical figure of enormous magnitude. Positive or negative? Or can time in principle be positive or negative? It is easy to rewrite history; it is harder to believe in the rewritten version.
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Yeltsin was described as a "direct and courageous national leader" who "was always extremely honest and open." "We knew Boris Nikolaevich as a brave and at the same time kind, sincere person."
A man who listened to his heart rather than his mind."
Boris Yeltsin will be buried on Wednesday at the Novodevichy Cemetery. On this day, Vladimir Putin announced a nationwide day of mourning and decided, after much hesitation, to postpone his address to the Federal Assembly until Thursday.
to announce the death of Boris Yeltsin. With one caveat: along with the first President of Russia, several historical periods of our country have passed away.
Boris Yeltsin was undoubtedly an embodiment of the 90s, a symbol of that very contradictory decade in Russian history. Today, it is common to either view the 90s negatively or not at all; this period is almost officially recognized as a time of collapse and chaos, and Yeltsin, unofficially, is considered primarily responsible for everything that happened. He never shied away from this responsibility, but his interpretation of what happened during those years differed somewhat from the current accepted view. In one of his last interviews, speaking about the dissolution of the USSR and the creation of the CIS, Yeltsin remarked that although his generation is blamed for all sins, they managed to avoid chaos, and it remains to be seen how today's leaders would have handled that situation.
Speaking about the contradictions of that period, we can recall both the two Chechen wars, and the construction of a new non-socialist economic system, which we are now living under with some modifications, and the formation of a system of state power that has withstood the test of several crises, and the ruin of entire social classes, and the emergence of new, successful ones. It is easy to judge that time from the end of the first decade of the 21st century and condemn it. In reality, no one knew then what needed to be done and how. Boris Yeltsin, like the whole country, acted by trial and error. The President made mistakes in choosing leading personnel, and they committed terrible economic and political blunders, while people entrusted their savings (sometimes even their last) to fraudsters. The President behaved inappropriately during official visits, just as people who had broken free from behind the Iron Curtain created opportunities for jokes. The country was learning to live, and Boris Yeltsin was learning along with it. The occasional stupor he experienced was a result of the immense scale of tasks for one person. Those who suffered from his mistakes at least had an object to curse, while the president could only blame himself.
Boris Yeltsin was also an embodiment of the second half of the 80s, the transition from perestroika from above to revolution from below. A hero of mass rallies, he was more than just an idol for millions. For a short period of time, his name became synonymous with the word "freedom" and the slogan "down with!" How difficult freedom is and what exactly "Down with!" meant was generally not important at that time. The country wanted something different, and someone had to speak on its behalf. The echoes of that peaceful Pugachevism were fully felt by both Yeltsin and many of his supporters already in the 90s. Today, that time is remembered as a triumph of naive faith. That's what the country was like, and so was its idol, not just making promises but believing that he would be able to fulfill them. This made the disappointment in Yeltsin even stronger, although in reality, it was a disappointment in oneself.
It is impossible to argue that the first President of Russia is a historical figure of enormous magnitude. Positive or negative? Or can time in principle be positive or negative? It is easy to rewrite history; it is harder to believe in the rewritten version.
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