Twentieth-Century Russian Rulers

Yeltsin was the only one who left the Kremlin voluntarily before the end of his term and handed over power to a successor, Vladimir Putin, who was appointed by him and approved by the parliament precisely as the law required. His departure was a peaceful constitutional procedure and set an important precedent, serving to entrench a system for the democratic transfer of power and thus preserve continuity and stability in politics.

Even more importantly, Yeltsin’s period marked a revolution in Russia. An entire order, based on the political, economic, and ideological system of Soviet Marxism-Leninism, was overthrown. The foundations for the command economy and the one-party dictatorship no longer exist. They have been replaced by a new set of economic and political institutions, founded on different constitutional and ideological premises. They are still fragile and uncertain, but they are a world apart from the past.

Despite the many justified criticisms that can be made of Yeltsin’s presidency, under him Russia made enormous strides in the direction of a democratic and market-oriented society. Yeltsin’s chief ambition as the leader of the new Russia was to create the conditions under which the revival of totalitarianism would be impossible. The jury is still out, debating the verdict of whether he succeeded in this aim. Yet it is hardly possible to ignore the following positive developments.