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| Russia bids farewell to Yeltsin | Russia bids farewell to Yeltsin |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| The state funeral is taking place in Moscow of former Russian President Boris Yeltsin who died on Monday. | The state funeral is taking place in Moscow of former Russian President Boris Yeltsin who died on Monday. |
| The ceremony is being held at the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, which was rebuilt under Mr Yeltsin after being demolished during Soviet rule. | The ceremony is being held at the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, which was rebuilt under Mr Yeltsin after being demolished during Soviet rule. |
| Among those paying respects at his coffin were President Vladimir Putin and former president Mikhail Gorbachev. | Among those paying respects at his coffin were President Vladimir Putin and former president Mikhail Gorbachev. |
| Two former US presidents - Bill Clinton and George Bush Snr - were also attending the ceremony. | Two former US presidents - Bill Clinton and George Bush Snr - were also attending the ceremony. |
| Mr Yeltsin, who died from heart failure on Monday at the age of 76, was Russia's first elected president, leading it to independence after the collapse of the Soviet Union. | Mr Yeltsin, who died from heart failure on Monday at the age of 76, was Russia's first elected president, leading it to independence after the collapse of the Soviet Union. |
| 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) href="/1/hi/in_pictures/6591217.stm">In pictures: Yeltsin's funeral Obituary of Yeltsin Send us your comments | |
| During his time in office, he presided over huge changes and his legacy remains controversial for some. | During his time in office, he presided over huge changes and his legacy remains controversial for some. |
| Wednesday has been declared a day of national mourning. | Wednesday has been declared a day of national mourning. |
| Mr Yeltsin's body has been laid out in the city's main cathedral, a grand building of marble and gold domes. | Mr Yeltsin's body has been laid out in the city's main cathedral, a grand building of marble and gold domes. |
| Four members of the Kremlin Guard have been keeping watch over the coffin. | Four members of the Kremlin Guard have been keeping watch over the coffin. |
| Foreign dignitaries, including former UK Prime Minister Sir John Major and the Duke of York, paid their respects ahead of a religious ceremony. | Foreign dignitaries, including former UK Prime Minister Sir John Major and the Duke of York, paid their respects ahead of a religious ceremony. |
| Funeral symbolism | Funeral symbolism |
| Mr Yeltsin will later be buried in Moscow's Novodevichy cemetery alongside actors and writers, instead of being laid to rest on the Red Square like other former Soviet leaders. | Mr Yeltsin will later be buried in Moscow's Novodevichy cemetery alongside actors and writers, instead of being laid to rest on the Red Square like other former Soviet leaders. |
| Russians give their views on Yeltsin and his legacyIn pictures | Russians give their views on Yeltsin and his legacyIn pictures |
| 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. |
| The original church were his body has been lying in state was blown up by the Soviets and the site used for a swimming pool. | The original church were his body has been lying in state 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. |
| Mixed legacy | Mixed legacy |
| 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 href="/1/hi/world/europe/6585687.stm">Mixed verdict on Yeltsin class="" href="/1/hi/world/europe/6584785.stm">In quotes: Reaction to death | |
| Thousands of members of the public - some weeping and clutching flowers - queued to pay their respects on Tuesday. | |
| The BBC's Rupert Wingfield-Hayes says the former president's legacy remains controversial in today's Russia. | The BBC's Rupert Wingfield-Hayes says the former president's legacy remains controversial in today's Russia. |
| Many people feel that he oversaw the terrible economic crisis in Russia in the late 1990s and started a very unpopular war in Chechnya, our correspondent adds. | Many people feel that he oversaw the terrible economic crisis in Russia in the late 1990s and started a very unpopular war in Chechnya, our correspondent adds. |
| Mr Yeltsin also oversaw the rise of a class of super-rich oligarchs and huge disparity in wealth in Russia. | |
| But some critics say the democracy established under Mr Yeltsin has been curtailed by President Putin. |