Birth of Boris Yeltsin

Boris Yeltsin was born on 1 February 1931 in Butka. A Soviet and Russian politician, Yeltsin rose through the Communist Party to become Moscow's party chief, then broke with Mikhail Gorbachev and was elected president of the Russian republic in 1991. He became a symbol of resistance during the August 1991 coup attempt, speaking from atop a tank outside the parliament building. In December of that year he signed the agreement that dissolved the Soviet Union, and as president of Russia he launched market reforms that brought hardship and the rise of powerful business magnates. His term included the 1993 clash with parliament, the war in Chechnya and the 1998 financial crisis. He resigned on the last day of 1999 and handed power to Vladimir Putin.

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