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by OLEG
SHCHEDROV
Unpredictable Tsar Boris, the ideal newsmaker
MOSCOW: He was a hero to some and a
villain to others, but for reporters working with him, Boris
Yeltsin, Russia’s first president who died on Monday, was an ideal
newsmaker – always open, never predictable.
I nearly fell from my chair when I turned on the television on New
Year’s Eve 1999 to hear him say: “I am leaving.” His popularity
was close to zero and his health, undermined by years of political
struggle and hard drinking, hardly allowed him more than a couple
of hours of productive work a day.
But the thought that Tsar Boris – as he was addressed by his
political adversaries for his renowned love of power – could
become the first Kremlin ruler to quit on his own initiative
sounded unimaginable.
The sudden resignation marked the end of a 12-year period during
which I reported on the career of one of the most prominent
politicians of the past century, whose drive changed beyond
recognition life in the world’s largest country.
My first encounter with Yeltsin occurred in June 1988 when, as a
young reporter, I was dispatched to cover a Communist Party
conference, where as the disgraced Moscow party boss he attacked
foes instead of displaying due humility.
“The country is sinking in corruption!” the red-faced Yeltsin,
never adept at concealing his emotions, roared at the presidium of
venerable party leaders – language previously thought reserved for
reviled dissidents.
“Boris, you are wrong,” party ideologist Yegor Ligachev told the
furious rebel in an attempt to shame him. “Boris, you are right!”
was the response the next morning – emblazoned on posters, in
graffiti and across T-shirts throughout Moscow.
A motto for popular protests that brought millions into the
streets over the next three years was born.
His time was not long in coming. In August 1991, a group of
Communist hardliners launched a half-hearted coup against
reformist Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. Yeltsin headed the
resistance.
Pictures of him defiantly addressing a crowd of supporters from a
tank turret with a passionate appeal to oppose the coup have
become an icon of Russia’s turbulent journey into democracy from
communism.
My most vivid memories are of Yeltsin chatting with guards,
journalists and Mstislav Rostropovich, the cello virtuoso who
returned from abroad to support those resisting the takeover in a
riverside headquarters known as the white house.
“The best people are with us, that’s how it should be and that’s
why we shall win,” he said then.
It was just two years later that Yeltsin sent tanks to fire at the
white house, where opponents he accused of trying to bring back
Communism, had barricaded themselves in after launching a coup
against him in October 1993.
That confrontation, in which hundreds died, all but destroyed
Yeltsin’s reputation, already compromised by a messy start to
market reforms, in which millions were made penniless.
But Tsar Boris showed no signs of vacillation.
“There will be no return to communism,” he said during his first
public appearance after the coup.
His next major test came ahead of his 1996 bid for re-election.
Weakened by serious heart problems and humiliated by the failure
of his attempt to crush separatism in Chechnya, Yeltsin confronted
a resurgent Communist opponent.
His doctors said he would not survive a campaign. Hardline aides
advised him to scrap the election, but Tsar Boris said “no”.
He sacked the main hawk in his entourage, long-time bodyguard
Alexander Korzhakov, and plunged into a new adventure.
I remember Yeltsin, ageing and clearly unwell during a
whistle-stop tour of central Russia, transforming within seconds
into an exuberant leader at a stadium in the Volga city of Kazan.
He performed a mixture of break dances and Cossack folk steps,
warming up the crowd of mostly young people into a near-frenzy and
urging them to “vote with your hearts” and spurn the outdated
Communists. The crowd screamed with glee.
Critics say huge contributions from big business made Yeltsin’s
re-election possible. But memories of that election campaign make
it clear – it was personality that mattered. – Reuters
 
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