This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/europe/6586181.stm

The article has changed 9 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 1 Version 2
Yeltsin to lie in state in Moscow Yeltsin to lie in state in Moscow
(about 2 hours later)
The body of former Russian President Boris Yeltsin is to lie in state in Moscow ahead of a funeral on Wednesday.The body of former Russian President Boris Yeltsin is to lie in state in Moscow ahead of a funeral on Wednesday.
His body will be viewed in the Church of Christ the Saviour, a cathedral rebuilt during his presidency and a symbol of the post-communist era.His body will be viewed in the Church of Christ the Saviour, a cathedral rebuilt during his presidency and a symbol of the post-communist era.
Mr Yeltsin, who had a history of heart trouble, died of heart failure on Monday in a city hospital, aged 76.Mr Yeltsin, who had a history of heart trouble, died of heart failure on Monday in a city hospital, aged 76.
Current President Vladimir Putin led tributes, saying that under Mr Yeltsin Russia had entered a "whole new epoch".Current President Vladimir Putin led tributes, saying that under Mr Yeltsin Russia had entered a "whole new epoch".
His predecessor had bequeathed a state in which "power truly belongs to the people", Mr Putin said.His predecessor had bequeathed a state in which "power truly belongs to the people", Mr Putin said.
Mr Yeltsin's body will lie in state on Wednesday, ahead of a Moscow funeral service. The day has been declared a national day of mourning. Day of mourning
Mr Putin later announced that he had postponed his annual speech to a joint session of parliament, due to be delivered on Wednesday, until Thursday. Mr Yeltsin is expected to lie in state in the Church of Christ the Saviour, Russia's largest cathedral, destroyed in 1931 under Communism and rebuilt in the late 1990s during his rule.
Mixed tribute [Boris Yeltsin] was a straightforward and bold national leader Vladimir PutinRussian president class="" href="/1/hi/world/europe/6585687.stm">Mixed verdict on Yeltsin
Reuters news agency quoted a Kremlin official as saying he would be available for public view later on Tuesday ahead of a funeral service on Wednesday.
Wednesday has been declared a national day of mourning.
Mr Yeltsin will then be buried in the city's Novodevichye Cemetery, the resting-place of many other eminent Russians.
The only Soviet leader to be buried there is Stalin's successor Nikita Khrushchev, who was ousted in 1964 and died in obscurity. Other Communist leaders are buried in the Kremlin wall.
Few details of Mr Yeltsin's funeral are known.
Mr Putin postponed his annual speech to a joint session of parliament, due to be delivered on Wednesday, until Thursday.
Mr Yeltsin's death was announced by the Kremlin, the seat of power which he fell out with, then later occupied as Russia's first post-Soviet head of state.Mr Yeltsin's death was announced by the Kremlin, the seat of power which he fell out with, then later occupied as Russia's first post-Soviet head of state.
[Boris Yeltsin] was a straightforward and bold national leader Vladimir PutinRussian president He developed a viral infection after a sightseeing trip to Jordan at the beginning of April and was admitted to Moscow's central clinical hospital 12 days ago, an unconfirmed report on the gazeta.ru website said. He developed a viral infection after a sightseeing trip to Jordan at the beginning of April, an unconfirmed report on the gazeta.ru website said.
The last Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, paid a mixed tribute to his successor, saying Mr Yeltsin was responsible for "many great deeds for the good of the country and serious mistakes". Twelve days before his death, he was admitted to Moscow's central clinical hospital where he suffered cardiovascular and multi-organ failure, medical officials said.
Mr Putin, who succeeded Mr Yeltsin at the end of 1999, recalled Mr Yeltsin as a "courageous but genial and warm-hearted person.
"He was a straightforward and bold national leader who was frank and honest to his utmost in defending his positions," he said in a televised address.
'Champion of democracy''Champion of democracy'
Mr Yeltsin came to power as a champion of Russia's new democracy.Mr Yeltsin came to power as a champion of Russia's new democracy.
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 Obituary of Yeltsin In quotes: Reaction to death Send us your comments In a defining moment of his career, Mr Yeltsin mounted a tank in Moscow in August 1991, rallying 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 Obituary of Yeltsin In quotes: Reaction to death Send us your comments In a defining moment of his career, Mr Yeltsin mounted a tank in Moscow in August 1991, rallying the people against an attempt to overthrow Mr Gorbachev's era of glasnost and perestroika.
Two years later, in another episode of high drama, he ordered Russian tanks to fire on their own parliament in October 1993.Two years later, in another episode of high drama, he ordered Russian tanks to fire on their own parliament in October 1993.
But Mr Yeltsin saw his final years in office overshadowed by bouts of ill-health accompanied by rumours of a drinking problem, increasingly erratic behaviour and plummeting popularity.But Mr Yeltsin saw his final years in office overshadowed by bouts of ill-health accompanied by rumours of a drinking problem, increasingly erratic behaviour and plummeting popularity.
He announced his retirement in the final hours of 1999, handing over to Mr Putin, the former head of the FSB, Russia's internal security service, whom he had made prime minister months earlier.He announced his retirement in the final hours of 1999, handing over to Mr Putin, the former head of the FSB, Russia's internal security service, whom he had made prime minister months earlier.
BBC Russian affairs analyst Steven Eke says under the Yeltsin leadership Russians were given greater political and civic freedoms than they had ever enjoyed.BBC Russian affairs analyst Steven Eke says under the Yeltsin leadership Russians were given greater political and civic freedoms than they had ever enjoyed.
But history may judge Mr Yeltsin's disastrous military intervention in the rebellious region of Chechnya much more harshly, he adds.But history may judge Mr Yeltsin's disastrous military intervention in the rebellious region of Chechnya much more harshly, he adds.
A bloody war of attrition, begun in 1994, left tens of thousands of people dead, and the north Caucasus permanently destabilised.A bloody war of attrition, begun in 1994, left tens of thousands of people dead, and the north Caucasus permanently destabilised.