Boris Yeltsin Is Dead

New York Times:

Boris N. Yeltsin, the burly provincial politician who became the first freely elected leader of Russia and a towering figure of his time when he presided over the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the demise of the Communist Party, has died at the age of 76, the Russian government said today.

A Kremlin spokesman confirmed Mr. Yeltsin’s death but gave no details about the circumstances or cause. The Interfax news agency quoted an unidentified medical source as saying the former president had died of heart failure.

In office less than nine years and plagued by severe health problems, Mr. Yeltsin added a final chapter to his historical record when, in a stunning coup at the close of the 20th century, he announced his resignation, and became the first Russian leader to relinquish power on his own in accordance with constitutional processes. He then turned over the reins of office to his handpicked successor, Vladimir V. Putin.

In many ways, Yeltsin was a mixed bag. As mayor of Moscow, in 1991, he risked his life to help stop an attempted military coup against then-President Mikhail Gorbachev. Less than a decade later, he hand-picked Vladimir Putin as his own successor. First he saved Russian democracy, then he may have helped end it. His sloppy leadership also helped create the conditions under which Russians decided they needed a strong authoritarian president, like Putin. We don't yet know how that story will end. Meanwhile, Yeltsin deserves the world's thanks for helping Russia make that initial transition towards openness and democracy.