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Russian ex-president Yeltsin dies Russian ex-president Yeltsin dies
(41 minutes later)
Boris Yeltsin, who oversaw the Soviet Union's demise and became Russia's first president, has died aged 76, the Kremlin says.Boris Yeltsin, who oversaw the Soviet Union's demise and became Russia's first president, has died aged 76, the Kremlin says.
Mr Yeltsin had a history of heart trouble, though the cause of death has not been announced. Mr Yeltsin - who had a history of heart trouble - died unexpectedly, of heart failure, in hospital.
He came to power after being promoted by former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, a man he then outmanoeuvred.He came to power after being promoted by former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, a man he then outmanoeuvred.
He won international acclaim as a defender of democracy when in August 1991 he mounted a tank in Moscow.He won international acclaim as a defender of democracy when in August 1991 he mounted a tank in Moscow.
He rallied the people against an attempt to overthrow Mr Gorbachev's era of glasnost and perestroika. In what became one of the defining moments of his career, Mr Yeltsin rallied the people against an attempt to overthrow Mr Gorbachev's era of glasnost and perestroika.
YELTSIN KEY DATES July 1990: Resigns from Communist PartyJune 1991: Elected president of Russian republic (in USSR)August 1991: Rallies citizens against anti-Gorbachev coup, bans Russian communist partyDecember 1991: Takes over from Mikhail Gorbachev as head of state1992: Lifts price controls, launches privatisationOctober 1993: Russia on brink of civil war, Yeltsin orders tanks to fire at parliamentDecember 1994: Sends tanks into ChechnyaJune 1996: Re-elected as Russian president, suffers heart attack during campaign1998: Financial crisis, rouble loses 75% of its valueDecember 1999: Resigns, appoints Vladimir Putin successor class="" href="/1/hi/world/europe/38422.stm">Obituary of Yeltsin class="" href="/1/hi/world/europe/6584785.stm">In quotes: Reaction to death Two years later he ordered Russian tanks to fire on their own parliament in October 1993, when the building was occupied by hardline political opponents.
But Mr Yeltsin, who became Russia's first democratically-elected leader after Mr Gorbachev resigned in December 1991, saw his later years in office overshadowed by increasingly erratic behaviour and plummeting popularity as the economy suffered. YELTSIN KEY DATES July 1990: Resigns from Communist PartyJune 1991: Elected president of Russian republic (in USSR)August 1991: Rallies citizens against anti-Gorbachev coup, bans Russian communist partyDecember 1991: Takes over from Mikhail Gorbachev as head of state1992: Lifts price controls, launches privatisationOctober 1993: Russia on brink of civil war, Yeltsin orders tanks to fire at parliamentDecember 1994: Sends tanks into ChechnyaJune 1996: Re-elected as Russian president, suffers heart attack during campaign1998: Financial crisis, rouble loses 75% of its valueDecember 1999: Resigns, appoints Vladimir Putin successor
Mr Yeltsin had a quintuple heart bypass operation following his re-election in 1996. But Mr Yeltsin, who became Russia's first democratically-elected leader after Mr Gorbachev resigned in December 1991, saw his final years in office overshadowed by increasingly erratic behaviour and plummeting popularity as the economy suffered.
Bouts of ill-health were accompanied by rumours of a drinking problem, exhibited most famously when Mr Yeltsin grabbed a conductor's baton in Berlin and, apparently inebriated, tried to sing along with the orchestra.
He announced his retirement on the last day of the 20th Century, handing over to secret service chief Vladimir Putin.He announced his retirement on the last day of the 20th Century, handing over to secret service chief Vladimir Putin.
The BBC's diplomatic correspondent Bridget Kendall says ill-health, rumours of a drinking problem and corruption further clouded Yeltsin's presidency. The BBC's diplomatic correspondent Bridget Kendall says Mr Yeltsin may have disappointed Russians by bringing them neither peace nor prosperity.
His love of theatrical gestures was becoming alarming, she says, perhaps never more so than when he grabbed a conductor's baton in Berlin and, apparently inebriated, tried to sing along with the orchestra. But she says he did help end 70 years of Soviet Communism, and that, in the long run, is what he will probably be remembered for.
Chechnya conflict 'Historic figure'
In one of the most dramatic moments of his presidency, Mr Yeltsin ordered Russian tanks to fire on their own parliament in October 1993, when the building was occupied by hardline political opponents. During his eight years in power, Mr Yeltsin's oversaw immense changes in Russia.
A BBC Moscow correspondent says Mr Yeltsin will be remembered as the man who brought democracy to Russia. He banned the Communist Party, introduced a new constitution which concentrated all real power in the hands of the president, and presided over Russia's troubled mass privatisation in the early 1990s.
He presided over Russia's troubled mass privatisation in the early 1990s and also launched the large-scale military intervention in Chechnya in 1994. He also launched a disastrous large-scale military intervention in Chechnya in 1994.
Speaking in an interview with Russian television in 2000, Mr Yeltsin said that he saw the lives lost in Chechnya as the biggest responsibility he had to bear.Speaking in an interview with Russian television in 2000, Mr Yeltsin said that he saw the lives lost in Chechnya as the biggest responsibility he had to bear.
But he added that there had been no alternative and that Russia had to act against Chechen separatists.But he added that there had been no alternative and that Russia had to act against Chechen separatists.
"I cannot shift the blame for Chechnya, for the sorrow of numerous mothers and fathers," he said. "I made the decision, therefore I am responsible.""I cannot shift the blame for Chechnya, for the sorrow of numerous mothers and fathers," he said. "I made the decision, therefore I am responsible."
Reacting to the news of Mr Yeltsin's death, Mr Gorbachev expressed his "very deepest condolences to the family of the deceased on whose shoulders rest major events for the good of the country and serious mistakes", Russia's Interfax news agency reported.Reacting to the news of Mr Yeltsin's death, Mr Gorbachev expressed his "very deepest condolences to the family of the deceased on whose shoulders rest major events for the good of the country and serious mistakes", Russia's Interfax news agency reported.
He described Mr Yeltsin's death as "a tragic fate". The US White House paid tribute to Mr Yeltsin, saying he had been an "historic figure during a time of great change and challenge for Russia".
The White House paid tribute to Mr Yeltsin, saying he had been an "historic figure during a time of great change and challenge for Russia".