Boris Yeltsin
April 22
Yeltsin, who presided over the dismantling of the Soviet Union and led Russia on its stormy post-communist odyssey, was Russia's first freely elected leader, profoundly changing the political and economic landscape of the world's largest nation during his tenure of just under nine years. In August 1991, he stood on a tank outside the Russian parliament building and faced down the might of the Soviet police state.
Archive 4/13/07 The father of Russian democracy dies at age 76
April 22
Yeltsin, who presided over the dismantling of the Soviet Union and led Russia on its stormy post-communist odyssey, was Russia's first freely elected leader, profoundly changing the political and economic landscape of the world's largest nation during his tenure of just under nine years. In August 1991, he stood on a tank outside the Russian parliament building and faced down the might of the Soviet police state.
(Reuters)