On April 23, 2007 (March 7, 2007 in the lunar calendar), former Russian President Yeltsin passed away. On April 23, 2007, former Russian President Yeltsin died of illness, and this figure who once rewritten history also became history. From the reform of the former Soviet Union to the disintegration of the Soviet Union, from shock therapy to oligarchy, from comprehensive pandering to the West to firm nationalism, what did Yeltsin mean to Russia and the world? Although it has been eight years since we left politics, we have found that evaluating a contradictory figure like Yeltsin is still a difficult problem. What he did and what he left behind still floats over Russia. Brief introduction to Yeltsin Boris Nikolaevich Yeltsin (February 1, 1931-April 23, 2007) was born in a peasant family in Butte Village, Daritsky District, Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia. He graduated from the Architecture Department of Ural River Polytechnic Institute in 1955 and joined the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in 1961. From 1976 to 1981, he served as the first secretary of the Party Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in Sverdlovsk Region; from 1981 to 1985, he served as a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. From June to December 1985, he was then Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union on Architectural Issues; in the same year, Gorbachev was transferred to the position of First Secretary of the Moscow Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. From November 1987 to May 1989, he served as the first vice chairman of the State Construction Committee of the Soviet Union. In March 1989, he was elected to the Soviet Parliament with 89.4% of the vote, returned to politics, and became the de facto leader of the "democratic opposition." The Russian Federation held its First People's Congress in May 1990. He was elected Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the Russian Federation. Two months later, at the 28th National Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, the "Democratic Platform" represented by Yeltsin proposed a series of measures to transform Soviet society, but they were not accepted by the Congress. After the meeting, he immediately announced his withdrawal from the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and ended his nearly 30-year Communist career. On December 25, 1991, Soviet President Gorbachev announced his resignation and handed over state power to the Russian President. The Soviet Union officially ceased to exist and perished as a sovereign state. Yeltsin took over all power from Gorbachev and was further elected president of The Russian Federation with 57.4%. Chronicles of Yeltsin's reign 1. In June 1992, Russia announced the outline for the ownership of state-owned enterprises. 2.1992 In December 1998, Chernomyrdin became Prime Minister of the government. 3.1993 In April 2008, Russia held a referendum on whether to trust the president and his policies. 4.1993 From September to October 1998, Yeltsin announced the dissolution of the parliament, resulting in bloodshed in shelling of the parliament building. 5.1993 In December 2008, Russia held both the State Duma election and a referendum on the draft new constitution. 6.1994 In December 2008, the first Chechen War broke out. 7.1998 In March 1998, Yeltsin dissolved the Chernomyrdin government and frequently replaced prime ministers in the following year and a half. 8.1999 In September 1998, the Second Chechen War broke out. 9.1999 On December 31, 2008, Yeltsin announced his resignation as president and Putin would act as president. The three most important days in Yeltsin's life were two presidents 1991.6.12 [On June 12, 1991, Russia held a presidential election and Yeltsin won a major victory. Two presidents appeared in one country of the Soviet Union (Gorbachev was the President of the Soviet Union), and the power struggle between the two also entered a white-hot stage. Yeltsin was 60 years old that year. ] In 1985, Gorbachev, who was the same age as Yeltsin, came to power. Gorbachev took a fancy to his colleague Yeltsin, whom he had met at work, transferred him to Moscow, and appointed him as Minister of the Construction Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Yeltsin took a critical step from a local politician to a national politician. After becoming secretary of the Moscow Municipal Party Committee, Yeltsin carried out drastic reforms. In just a few months, Yeltsin dismissed 23 district party secretaries in Moscow's 33 districts. During his tenure, due to his inability to maintain consistency with the Party Central Committee, the Communist Party of the Soviet Union dismissed him in 1987, and was removed from the post of alternate member of the Politburo early the following year. But after so many years of being beaten by the wind and rain on the political stage, Yeltsin has slowly become a relatively sophisticated politician, and he can withstand ups and downs. In 1990, Yeltsin resigned from the construction committee, announced that he would withdraw from the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and run for the People's Representative of the Soviet Union, which marked his division with Gorbachev, who had supported him. Just as Yeltsin and Gorbachev were fighting to maintain or split the alliance, on March 17, the Soviet Union held its first referendum in history on whether to retain the alliance. Of the 18.5 billion registered voters across the Soviet Union, 76.4% voted in favor of retaining the alliance. This has undoubtedly dealt a heavy blow to the forces led by Yeltsin. However, Yeltsin also gained something else. He voted in the referendum of The Russian Federation on whether the republic should establish a presidential post: at 75. Among 31% of voters, 69. 85% of people favor creating a presidential post. This result paved the way for Yeltsin to rise to the presidency. In the end, the Russian People's Congress granted Yeltsin similar powers to the president and decided to hold the Russian presidential election on June 12, 1991. Yeltsin won a major victory. That year, Yeltsin was 60 years old. Two presidents and two regimes appeared in one country of the Soviet Union (Gorbachev was the President of the Soviet Union). Signs of division of the Soviet Union began to emerge. The power struggle between Yeltsin and Gorbachev also entered a white-hot stage. On August 19, 1991, another day in the history of the Soviet Union that shocked the world. The Soviet State News Agency Tass broadcast the "Letter to the People of the Soviet Union" of the National Emergency Committee to the world: Soviet President Gorbachev was unable to perform his duties due to health reasons, and the Vice President took over the presidency. A state of emergency was imposed in places such as Moscow, and troops moved into urban areas and took control of some power centers. But the Committee made a fatal mistake: it did not arrest the opposition Yeltsin! This bought Yeltsin extremely valuable time. After hearing the news of the coup on the radio, he remained calm and took the lead. He rushed to the Russian president's office urgently, convened an emergency meeting of senior Russian leaders, took a series of measures, and took the lead in jumping on the defecting tanks, calling on the people and the army to rise up against the UNSC, which had to withdraw its troops from the city. Operation 8.19 was completely aborted, and Yeltsin became the "great hero" of the Soviet Union, with his reputation reaching the peak. The disintegration of the Soviet Union 1991.12.25 [On December 28, 1991, Russian President Yeltsin and the presidents of Ukraine and Belarus met secretly in Minsk, the capital of Belarus, and issued the Minsk Statement. The Soviet Union, which had existed for 69 years, no longer existed and the Commonwealth of Independent States took its place. The map, which covers 1/6 of the earth's land, has been redrawn.] After the "8.19" incident, Yeltsin announced that all Russia would be departmentalized. The Communist Party of the Soviet Union was squeezed out of the political stage, and various republics declared independence one after another. On December 28, 1991, Russian President Yeltsin and the Presidents of Ukraine and Belarus met secretly in Minsk, the capital of Belarus, and issued the "Minsk Statement":"The Soviet Union, as the subject of international law and geopolitical reality, is ceasing to exist... The process of the Republic's secession from the Soviet Union and the establishment of an independent state has become a reality." The Minsk Agreement led by Yeltsin and known in the West as the "Three Men Coup" announced the actual disintegration of the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union, which had existed for 69 years, no longer existed and the Commonwealth of Independent States took its place. The map, which covers 1/6 of the earth's land, has been redrawn. Since Russia became an independent country, there have been considerable differences between the two major power centers-the government and the parliament-on a series of issues such as the state system, power distribution and economic reform. Yeltsin advocated the implementation of a presidential system, that is, the president has the highest power to decide state affairs, but the parliament requires legislative power and supreme supervisory power, and the two sides repeatedly competed. Yeltsin decided to start a new draft constitution, temporarily suspending the opposition Rutskoy's position as vice president, and ignoring the constitution and announcing the dissolution of the parliament. Speaker Hasbulatov, unwilling to be outdone, announced that Yeltsin's position as president would be suspended, and Rutskoy would act as president. A guard group of more than 1000 people was formed in the White House, where the parliament is located. Yeltsin quickly sent troops to block all roads leading to the White House, cut off water, electricity, heating and telephone lines in the White House, and gave an ultimatum to Parliament to hand over guns immediately. The two sides were at war-the government's armored forces completely surrounded the White House and broke through the roadblocks set up by the parliamentary combat team. Amid the sound of heavy gunfire, the parliament building was full of smoke, and the walls were riddled with huge flames of fire turned the White House into a "black palace." After 13 days of fighting, Yeltsin's government troops captured the White House, and Hasbulatov, Rutskoy and others were arrested. On December 12, a new constitution in favor of Yeltsin was adopted and parliament was re-elected. The "iron-blooded president" has also further consolidated his power and status, and no one in Russia is invincible for the time being. Sudden resignation 1999.12.31 [On December 31, 1999, Yeltsin announced his resignation as Russian president. His sudden announcement of his resignation at the turn of the century stunned many people.] Yeltsin remained in power. However, Russia's political situation is still turbulent and uncertain, the economic crisis shows no sign of improving, social production continues to decline sharply, and people's lives further deteriorate. Over the years, Yeltsin and the Russian government have not been able to find the right path to get out of the crisis: first, they copied the Western model, relied on foreign aid, and implemented "shock therapy". As a result, the country's vitality was greatly damaged. Yeltsin has changed government personnel for several years, but he has never been able to propose an effective economic policy that suits the country's national conditions. Since Yeltsin came to power, he has been constantly employing new people, hoping to inject vitality into Russia's reform with new forces, such as the "golden boys of reform" Gaidar, Fyodorov, Chubais and Nemtsov, all of whom are in their thirties and forties. At 12:00 Moscow time on December 31, Yeltsin delivered a New Year's speech to the Russian people through "Russian Public Television." People thought it was the same New Year's speech as in previous years and didn't take it seriously. However, as I listened, I felt that the taste was wrong. Yeltsin said: "Today, I am addressing you for the last time as President of Russia. I have decided to resign as president on the last day of the century that is about to pass... In accordance with the Constitution, when I decided to resign, I signed an order handing over the power of the Russian presidency to Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. He will be head of state for the next three months, and a presidential election will be held in three months." His sudden announcement of his resignation at the turn of the century stunned many people. Yeltsin himself explained: "I resigned not for health reasons. I resign now because I have done everything I can. I resigned not for health reasons, but for a comprehensive consideration of all issues. The people who succeed me are a new generation, a generation that can do more and better." "I said to him (Putin), please cherish this country, cherish your power... He nodded." Yeltsin said.