During his two terms as president of Russia, Boris Yeltsin managed to cut the country’s economy almost in half. He invaded Chechnya, leading to the worst human rights abuses in the brief post-Soviet history; he dissolved the Russian parliament — in fact he attacked it with tanks — and he allowed friends and associates to loot the country’s state-owned businesses and industries. He was a drunk; among other notable lapses, he passed out on the Russian version of Air Force One and left Ireland’s prime minister waiting on the tarmac while his aides tried to revive him.

In the end, he turned the country over to Vladimir Putin in order to avoid corruption investigations that would likely have landed him or some of his family in prison. He had his moments; they lasted way too long. I’m no fan of Putin but he inherited a country that Yeltsin had in many respects reduced almost to Third World status, and he resuscitated it. Whatever else he is, above all he’s Yeltsin’s legacy.

L’Chaim …

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