Boris Yeltsin, RIP

[Monte Smith]

Yeltsin stood on tanks and saw the USSR to its close. Sad to see him go, but sadder to see that his moment in Russian history, an open moment, might not have outlived him.



Russian ex-president Yeltsin dies
Russia's first democratically elected president, Boris Yeltsin - who played a key role in the demise of the Soviet Union and introduced painful market reforms - has died of heart failure in Moscow aged 76.

[Coda]

I have to say I enjoyed watching Boris back in the day. He had a lot of personality. RIP.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aA-lal2MUKw

[Scott Dolan]

I always thought the cat was cool, but really funny looking.

Rest in peace, comrade.

[Gentle Giant]

Cat had some bad-ass moves.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5FIoocja4k

[Douglas]

Very surprised he managed to live this long.

[Dr Dave]

He was a real Russian: Full of promises and vodka. For a short while he was brave; given the levers of power, he wanted to be loved, and he played like a child. And then he was out on his ass. Now the Hard Men, the men who prefer power to love, are back in charge. RIP Boris.

[Pedantic Wretch]

The man who facilitated the wholesale theft of Russia's public resources by the so-called oligarchs.

[Monte Smith]

Originally Posted by Douglas

Very surprised he managed to live this long.

I told my wife that Yeltsin was dead and she actually asked, "what did he die of?" Umm....

I'll always love Boris for his 1989 visit to an American grocery store. He saw all the ordinary plenty and, comparing it to what decades of planned economy provided for the Russian consumer, remarked, "What have the bastards done to us?" Or something to that effect. And the bastards he meant weren't the evil, scheming capitalists but Lenin and Co. with their barren ideology of collectivism. Boris got it, and he was, despite his drinkiness, a transformational figure.

[Scott Dolan]

That's all well and good, Monte. But, he facilitated the wholesale theft of Russia's public resources by the so-called oligarchs.

Are you even paying attention?

[Monte Smith]

Originally Posted by Scott Dolan

That's all well and good, Monte. But, he facilitated the wholesale theft of Russia's public resources by the so-called oligarchs.

Are you even paying attention?

Well, PW's not wrong that Russia's public resources were treated as private fiefdoms by the post-communist oligarchs--as they had been by the Communist leaders themselves. The collapse of the USSR brought troubles for much of the Russian population, but I don't hear Eastern Europe crying for a return to imperial soviet domination.

[Pedantic Wretch]

Originally Posted by Monte Smith

...but I don't hear Eastern Europe crying for a return to imperial soviet domination.

No-one's suggesting that it is. One can criticise the actions of one government without endorsing those which went before it.

[Scott Dolan]

Yeah, but what's the sense?

Selective bitching.

[Pedantic Wretch]

Originally Posted by Scott Dolan

Yeah, but what's the sense?

Bitching is what makes JC go round.

[Monte Smith]

Kinda surprised (thelil) hasn't chimed in, given that here we have the death of a historic figure whose name ends in -tsin.

[Scott Dolan]

Originally Posted by Pedantic Wretch

Bitching is what makes JC go round.

Hahahahaha...............

PW, I just may have to change my opinion about you being a humorless old curmudgeon.

[Scott Dolan]

Wait a minute!

Is that a Master Schau sighting in the Political Alley?!

[jesus marion joseph]

Originally Posted by Pedantic Wretch

One can criticise the actions of one government without endorsing those which went before it.

Just as one can appreciate an attempt to make real change, even if everything doesn't work out fairly, without presuming that the actor intended it to be so.

Or not.

[Gordon B]

Originally Posted by Pedantic Wretch

The man who facilitated the wholesale theft of Russia's public resources by the so-called oligarchs.

I'm going to surprise you, PW, and take your side on this one.

Yeltsin had good intentions but was an incompetent President who made some critical decisions under duress that had tragic consequences for his country.

[walto]

PW, I'm curious to hear your take on Gorbachev--the maker of Glasnost.

[Monte Smith]

Looks like Yeltsin will lie in state to be mourned by the Russians. They oughta kick out Lenin's lousy remains and put Boris under glass in Red Square. Won't have to pay a lot for the embalming.

[Pedantic Wretch]

Originally Posted by walto

PW, I'm curious to hear your take on Gorbachev--the maker of Glasnost.

He tried to reform an ailing system; I think his intentions were better than Yeltsin's.

[rollhead]

Originally Posted by Pedantic Wretch

The man who facilitated the wholesale theft of Russia's public resources by the so-called oligarchs.

Sounds like our own GOP.

[Gary Sisco]

I'll never forget when they found him climbing up out of a river he'd fallen into, drunk. They concocted some lame-assed cover story about an assassination attempt. Right. Like they didn't have those mastered, yet. One of the funnier moments in newspaper reading.