Boris Yeltsin — "Russia needs a strong hand, but not a dictatorship."
Russia needs a strong hand, but not a dictatorship.
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More from Boris Yeltsin
"The main thing is to love your country. And to serve it with all your heart."
"I am not afraid of anything. I am not afraid of anyone."
"I'm not perfect, but I'm trying."
"I am not a puppet. I am a free man."
"The future of Russia is in the hands of its people."
About Boris Yeltsin (1931-2007)
First president of post-Soviet Russia (1991-1999), who climbed atop a tank to defy the August 1991 coup and oversaw the chaotic privatization of the 1990s. Closely associated with Mikhail Gorbachev (his predecessor and rival reformer). For an intellectual contrast, see Gennady Zyuganov, Russian Communist Party leader — Zyuganov came within 3 percentage points of beating the ailing Yeltsin in the 1996 presidential runoff — the closest free election Russia has had, and arguably the moment that decided whether Russia would reverse to communism or continue down the path that led to Putin.