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Russians prepare to bury Yeltsin Russia prepares to bury Yeltsin
(about 2 hours later)
Family members, foreign dignitaries and political friends and foes are preparing for the state funeral of former Russian President Boris Yeltsin. Mourners are gathering in the Russian capital, Moscow, for the state funeral of former Russian President Boris Yeltsin who died on Monday.
The service will take place in a grand cathedral, rebuilt in Moscow after he helped destroy the Soviet system. The ceremony will take place in the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, which was rebuilt under Mr Yeltsin after being demolished during Soviet rule.
Mourners filed past Mr Yeltsin's open casket on the eve of the funeral, now declared a day of national mourning. His coffin was open for public viewing before the funeral. Wednesday has been declared a day of national mourning.
Many Russians recall him fondly for ushering in democracy, but others blame him for the poverty they now endure. He presided over huge changes and his legacy is controversial for some.
The first president of post-Soviet Russia, Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin died from heart failure on Monday, aged 76.The first president of post-Soviet Russia, Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin died from heart failure on Monday, aged 76.
His coffin is open for public viewing at Christ the Saviour Cathedral on Wednesday morning, before his state funeral later on Wednesday. He will be buried in Moscow's Novodevichye cemetery alongside actors and writers, instead of being laid to rest on the Red Square like other former Soviet leaders.
Four members of the Kremlin Guard have been keeping watch over the coffin.
STATE FUNERAL 0800 to 1230 Coffin open to public at Christ the Saviour cathedral1330 Religious service at cathedralAbout 1430 Cortege carries coffin to Novodevichy cemeteryAfter 1500 Burial ceremony All Moscow time (GMT+4) Mixed verdict on Yeltsin Obituary of Yeltsin Send us your commentsSTATE FUNERAL 0800 to 1230 Coffin open to public at Christ the Saviour cathedral1330 Religious service at cathedralAbout 1430 Cortege carries coffin to Novodevichy cemeteryAfter 1500 Burial ceremony All Moscow time (GMT+4) Mixed verdict on Yeltsin Obituary of Yeltsin Send us your comments
The list of dignitaries flying to Moscow for the ceremony includes contemporary leaders like former US President Bill Clinton and his predecessor George Bush Snr, ex-British Prime Minister John Major, and former Polish President Lech Walesa.The list of dignitaries flying to Moscow for the ceremony includes contemporary leaders like former US President Bill Clinton and his predecessor George Bush Snr, ex-British Prime Minister John Major, and former Polish President Lech Walesa.
Also there will be his rival and predecessor as head of state, Mikhail Gorbachev, and his successor, Vladimir Putin.Also there will be his rival and predecessor as head of state, Mikhail Gorbachev, and his successor, Vladimir Putin.
The symbolism surrounding Mr Yeltsin's death has been deliberately unlike that of past Soviet leaders, says the BBC's Richard Galpin in Moscow.The symbolism surrounding Mr Yeltsin's death has been deliberately unlike that of past Soviet leaders, says the BBC's Richard Galpin in Moscow.
His body has been laid out in the city's main cathedral, a grand building of marble and gold domes, where white-robed Orthodox priests have chanted prayers and burned incense.His body has been laid out in the city's main cathedral, a grand building of marble and gold domes, where white-robed Orthodox priests have chanted prayers and burned incense.
Russians give their views on Yeltsin and his legacyIn picturesRussians give their views on Yeltsin and his legacyIn pictures
The original church was blown up by the Soviets and the site used for a swimming pool.The original church was blown up by the Soviets and the site used for a swimming pool.
Mr Yeltsin's funeral is the first for a head of state sanctioned by the Church since Tsar Alexander III's in 1894.Mr Yeltsin's funeral is the first for a head of state sanctioned by the Church since Tsar Alexander III's in 1894.
"By his strength, he helped the restoration of the proper role of the Russian Orthodox Church in the life of the country and its people," said Church spokesman Metropolitan Kirill."By his strength, he helped the restoration of the proper role of the Russian Orthodox Church in the life of the country and its people," said Church spokesman Metropolitan Kirill.
After the ceremony, he will be buried not in Red Square by the Kremlin wall, where great communist figures are buried, but in Moscow's Novodevichy Cemetery, the resting-place of many other eminent Russians.
'One great achievement''One great achievement'
In the cathedral on Tuesday, Mr Yeltsin's widow, Naina, dressed in black, wept quietly.In the cathedral on Tuesday, Mr Yeltsin's widow, Naina, dressed in black, wept quietly.
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 In quotes: Reaction to death In pictures: Russians mourn Thousands of members of the public - some weeping and clutching flowers - queued to pay their respects.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 In quotes: Reaction to death In pictures: Russians mourn Thousands of members of the public - some weeping and clutching flowers - queued to pay their respects.
The BBC's Rupert Wingfield-Hayes, who was at the cathedral, says the mood was sombre, not least because the former president's legacy is controversial in today's Russia.The BBC's Rupert Wingfield-Hayes, who was at the cathedral, says the mood was sombre, not least because the former president's legacy is controversial in today's Russia.
"There are good and bad things about him, but he will remain in history for his one great achievement: he buried communism," said mourner Alexander Bolshakov, a 44-year-old teacher."There are good and bad things about him, but he will remain in history for his one great achievement: he buried communism," said mourner Alexander Bolshakov, a 44-year-old teacher.
However Igor Smirnov, 30, a physicist who was passing the cathedral, had his own memories.However Igor Smirnov, 30, a physicist who was passing the cathedral, had his own memories.
"They say he gave people freedom but that is just not so," he said. "He gave freedom to steal, he gave freedom to anarchy, freedom to lawlessness." "They say he gave people freedom, but that is just not so," he said. "He gave freedom to steal, he gave freedom to anarchy, freedom to lawlessness."
But Yelena, a devotee, said Mr Yeltsin's only mistake was "the choice of his successor".But Yelena, a devotee, said Mr Yeltsin's only mistake was "the choice of his successor".
Some critics say the democracy established under Mr Yeltsin has been curtailed by President Putin.Some critics say the democracy established under Mr Yeltsin has been curtailed by President Putin.