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- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -13/+68The death of a great man who championed democracy. The world would be a better place with more like him, now more than ever.
- djSyndrome, on 10/12/2007, -3/+35He was 76, which is well beyond the life expectancy of a normal Russian (67 years).
- norbiu, on 10/12/2007, -5/+30CNN says he died of heart failure.
- freehunter, on 10/12/2007, -3/+27No, you didn't.
- mateo60, on 10/12/2007, -5/+23@maglob
He may not have been the most respected world leader, but in his pre-presidential days, he was pretty ballsy and charismatic. - ro4ers, on 10/12/2007, -3/+21Dunno man, but for us in the Baltics he pulled the Soviet army out for good in 1994. Cannot imagine that happening under todays leadership OR even Gorbachovs. I still got the inkling feeling that Gorbachov would've kept the Baltics heavily under the Soviet sphere of influence.
- RussellDovey, on 10/12/2007, -0/+12Boris Yeltsin led the resistance against an attempted coup in 1991, which would have put the country and its military in the hands of old-style Soviet authoritarian warhawks. That was probably his greatest achievement.
However, he also used tanks to blow up his political opponents in the Duma in 1994, thus making it clear to Russians that they would not be getting the true democracy they had hoped for.
Yeltsin's greatest sin was beginning the Chechen war, which claimed the lives of tens of thousands of civilians and created thousands of fanatical terrorists who, having seen their families die, wanted nothing more than to make Russians suffer the same way. The legacy of the Chechen war will live on for generations to come.
He also allowed the massive economic assets of the Soviet Union to be snapped up by robber barons, which impoverished most of the Russian population just to benefit a few Mafiosos and/or venture capitalists.
It was obvious that Yeltsin understood his crimes against Russia, and regretted them in his later years, so I will not condemn him entirely. Rather than deliberate power-mad brutality in the style of Mugabe, Pinochet, Putin and many, many others, Yeltsin's shortcoming was enough weakness to follow his worst impulses, combined with enough strength to stop the consequences hurting him personally. - tenrec, on 10/12/2007, -3/+12"The death of a great man who championed democracy."
True, he championed democracy before he became President. But when he became President he and his family used his position to loot the country. He wanted to keep what they stole and stay out of prison after he left office so he made a deal with Putin. Putin became President and Yeltsin got his immunity. Yeltsin helped form the democracy then sold it out for immunity from prosecution for himself and his family. A great man? No. - Yaroslav, on 10/12/2007, -2/+10I believe I MUST post the picture. R.I.P.
http://allprikol.ru/pic/politic_pic/5087413292.jpg - bashar129, on 10/12/2007, -2/+9In Soviet Russia, they execute people for making jokes about Soviet Russia.
- BOFH2, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8I shook his hand when he came to the U of MN. A surprisingly short man. Nice though.
Side note I hope that they do not revert back as they seem to be now. - BabyWookie, on 10/12/2007, -3/+6Yes, Yeltsin was like Russia's own Dubya. He started out as a charismatic, energetic and extremely popular figure who was able to unite the nation behind him. Unfortunately, after a series of broken promises, disastrous decisions (some of which my friend described above), his worsening health and increasingly embarrassing alcoholism, he became a joke and a very unpopular one at that. When he left power, he left behind a state ravaged by the unethical mobster oligarchs, a disastrously conducted war and an atmosphere of a political vacuum. His family, in particularly his daughter, was involved in some very shady and very profitable business dealings that made them a fortune. Part of the deal in naming Putin his successor was a guarantee of complete immunity from prosecution for Yeltsin and his family.
- thebadrash, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4Yeltsin's Russia is a great example of how terribly things can go when you allow 'the market' to run things completely unchecked. The total economic reform which occurred during his rule has led to a long series of human and economic disasters. If you want more people like him around then you must long for a very broken, sad world.
- arvster, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Got to say that he was a great man. Literally, he wrote a part of modern history for a large part of the world. If it was not for him, 1991 would have probably been a very tragic and bloody year in my country's history. The Baltics and other parts of Eastern Europe would have not been able to separate from the remains of the USSR that easily and relatively peacefully, if it was still ruled by kgb member, something like Putin, or old style party members. He had his flaws and his mistakes, his mishaps and just funny moments, but it takes balls to do what he did at the time, and he attempted to bring liberal views into Russia. Sure, close anarchy, draconian capitalism and often brutal stealing followed in the early 90's, however, in my opinion, it is still a lot better than any authoritarian soviet style "alternative" In that case I certainly wouldn't be sitting here, writing this comment freely in a free country. R.I.P.
- ICSU, on 10/12/2007, -3/+5@hessian
His form of privatization moved a lot of country's wealth into hands of oligarchs. - finista, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3RIP, my man.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3Jesus, I've not seen this many buried replies in a long time.
I doubt Putin had anything to do with it. Hell, Yeltsin has always had health problems, even when he was in office. - mikemil828, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3I wouldn't think it would be a good idea to have more of him, you see Yeltsin pretty much let the country get taken over by the Mafiya, That a country is a democracy is moot point if it largely run by gangsters.
- RussellDovey, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3One should remember that in the Cold War, it was seen as in America's interests to use its intelligence capabilities to keep visionary, competent people OUT of positions of power in the Soviet Union as much as possible. Russia was lucky beyond measure to have someone like Gorbachev at the helm during the USSR's downfall; he at least saw that a "soft landing" would take visionary planning and monumental effort from everyone involved.
Unfortunately, Yeltsin wasn't nearly as statesmanlike as Gorbachev; he focussed more on enriching himself and his family with stolen government funds than on guiding Russia into a new tomorrow. - plweber, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Here dies a man who championed Democracy in Soviet Russia and was a major catalyst to the fall of the Soviet Union. We need not let this stand as the only point in a career that was filled with many downs and a few ups.
I think for further analysis, we need to look to what the Russian people have had to say about Mr. Yeltsin. At one point during his presidency, his approval rating was a meager 3%. We in America need to stop assuming that Democracy and capitalism are all that matters. His post-collapse reforms plunged the much of the country into a state of poverty that will take decades to recover from. The Chechnya debacle should not be forgotten easily. The only reason that much of the country approves of Putin is because he is as anti-Yeltsin as possible.
We, as Americans, have a responsibility to let countries speak for themselves and pay attention to what his constituents thought of him before we scream "The death of a great man who championed democracy. The world would be a better place with more like him, now more than ever." from the mountaintops. - Hilton, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Here is another: http://static.taume.com/image/Boris-Yeltsin.jpg
And Some Official Statement:
"Today, at 15:45 (11:45 GMT) Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin died in the Central Clinical Hospital as a result of a deteriorating cardio-vascular problem," said the spokesperson.
http://news.taume.com/World-Business/World/Boris-Yeltsin-dies-at-76-1053 - valiko75, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Are there actually normal people here... there are really too many burried comments... Yeltsin was not Stalin, he didn't people to Siberia... he could have done it more 'democratically', I cannot know that, but all those idiots making up stupid jokes, should have actually tried becoming a leader once... I'm sure they'd fail!
- finista, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2That was Gorbatchev. He's still alive.
- GAZone, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1I was burn in soviet Russia and it was a poor country. I takes a empty bottles from trash to changes it for gum or candy at market. People like Yeltsin make a lot of changes to our country. Now I can work for Google and drive Lexus IS250. In country that was before Yeltsin I'll continue to take something from thrash to change it for alcohol or something.
When I was a child all people was poor, but poor equally. Now if you want to work a lot and make a lot of money - you can do this. But if you like only to drink a vodka and do nothing - you will be poor. And this poor people don't like it and talking about that "good" times when all was equally poor, independently how they work or want to work.
Rest in peace. This man give us a peace of freedom. - crocodilexp, on 10/12/2007, -3/+3Yeltsin was the last Soviet-bred leader that contributed to the wholesale destruction of Russia (what was left of it after the Soviet Union fell apart). He presided over unprecedented destruction of wealth, handing most of it over to the Mafia (which rose out of earlier Soviet organs of repression).
Democrat or a great leader he was not. All of his non-disastrous decisions were more or less accidental. Certainly will not be missed. Anyone wondering what Soviet Union might have transformed itself towards if it had competent leadership instead of Yeltsin and his cronies should take a look at present-day China. Not a shining beacon of freedom, but neither a Mafia-run hellhole that most natives endure only thanks to copious amounts of vodka. - dynamok, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Comeback Borya!
- lightn899, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin...
- Cornedbeef, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0So sorry to hear about Boris Yeltsin's death.
- sk8ordiemofo, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1QUICK CASTRO, THEIR GUARD IS DOWN, START A REVOLUTIOOOOOOOOOOONNN!!!!!
- np374, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1Huh? The Pizza Hut guy?
- jerozoid, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0Tribute to Boris Yeltsin
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xz0tXU9Oz10 - shuron01, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0You right.
- gerbil20, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0RIP big man. You deserve respect. Since loons of the world hate you so much, you must have done something right.
- KingWrecked, on 10/12/2007, -2/+0I'll second RussellDovey's comment. I've always felt sorry for Gorbachev as whenever I've seen him interviewed he seemed really genuine which for a Cold War, paranoia era leader was rare.
Looking at China, the switch from Great Leap Forward Maoism to capitalism could not be any different to Russia's sudden collapse from one system to another. If Gorbachev had led a gentle transition from one to the other it may have been Russia that had the booming economy even if it meant holding off from a full blown democratically elected government for a period of time. This is not to say that I don't believe that democracy is the best system of government available. It may not be perfect but it's better than anything else on offer so far, it's just that after 70 years of living under a totalitarian regime I don't think people can be prepared for the culture shock and could be easily blinded by a smooth operator who offers the promise of glittering things over a pragmatist who knows it isn't going to be that easy. I never really liked Yeltsin that much and see him as more as a symbol of a lost opportunity to turn Russia around. Not to say that I ever wished ill on him but I don't think he's the great statesman some make him out to be. - kubak, on 10/12/2007, -5/+3Yeltsin put Putin in power in 2000. basically Putin is Yeltsin's protege, so it's quite unlikely that Putin would do anything to him. Yeltsin had no political power and he was old too.
- digency, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1now why couldnt it have been george bush that died instead of this russian president.
- arvster, on 10/12/2007, -4/+2I don't know from what kind of "culture" you come from, but in my country, when someone dies, we don't make any jokes like that. Say good or keep quiet. This is not the place for bashing or jokes.
- finista, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1Yup he didn't send people to Siberia. He just made their quality of life in the whole country as in Siberia. Whoever lived in Russia in early 90s would tell what the hell it was.
- oPoTyKaH, on 10/12/2007, -2/+0It's an official Russian holiday today! Even Russians abroad are dancing on the streets!
God forbid a politician like Yeltsin ever become the governor of your country. - noodless, on 10/12/2007, -5/+2"You should have a little more respect for the deceased."
He was a drunken puppet who prepared the ground for the looting and impoverisation of russia by western backed criminals.
25 million people died since his International Monetary Fund inspired 'shock therapy', checkout the decline in the populaiton of russia. His close links to mafioso boris berezovsky should tell you what type of man he was.
He doesnt deserve respect any more than saddam hussein or hitler or Bush - onetruetweedle, on 10/12/2007, -9/+6@djsyndrome:
I agree with you there. Especially considering that he did have a drinking problem, it is definitely more than likely that he died of natural causes. I'm just pointing out that the event can't quite be taken at face value, due to Russia being...well, Russia.
@kubak:
Have you ever watched any movie ever? Protoges always kill their masters. Geez. - Braxo, on 10/12/2007, -5/+2He did already, this is just the second time.
- ro4ers, on 10/12/2007, -9/+6I second that!
- ICSU, on 10/12/2007, -7/+4your sources?
- onetruetweedle, on 10/12/2007, -13/+10@fantasmacanino:
It makes sense to question this death, especially with Putin's recent demands for the Russian media to portray America as evil. The KGB is alive and well, and everything that happens in Russia is *not* as innocent as it at first seems. - norbiu, on 10/12/2007, -4/+1/train
- kag9000, on 10/12/2007, -6/+2Is it coincidence that this article is currently directly under 'THAT Chick Can Hold Her Liquor! Woman Arrested with .47 Blood Alcohol Level'
http://www.digg.com/offbeat_news/THAT_Chick_Can_Hold_Her_Liquor_Woman_Arrested_with_47_Blood_Alcohol_Level
Considering Mr Yeltsin liked a tipple, I think we should be told ;-) - Admanta, on 10/12/2007, -8/+4Who needs a source for this, look at the damn country. That should be all the proof you need.
- ro4ers, on 10/12/2007, -10/+6Can't you read? "The Interfax news agency cited an unidentified medical source as saying he had died of heart failure."
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