What do you think of Putin?
Why did Yeltsin resign?
Why did it take so long for Yeltsin to resign?
What are the effects of the change in leadership going to be?
Isn’t New Year’s a weird time to call it quits?
Should I change my UserName to “Vladimir V”? Or should I stick with “Debbi”?
Yeltsin’s motives are the same as Nixon’s - getting a pardon.
I’m just glad there isn’t a raging alcoholic with his finger on the button.
I am amused at the US’s ill fated attempts to bring “democracy” and free market capitalism to the former Soviet Union. I think we were blinded by the prospect of all those white people (hold on there I’m white) ripe to be brought into a rational model of society - while we neglect the possibilities of other areas on the globe that are peopled with non-caucasians.
What we neglected (and interviewing scores of SW developers who jumped on the bandwagon 10 years ago and then fled Russia as soon as they could) was that Russia is in fact a former slave state where people were routinely paid, if at all, in vodka. The result is a nation with some of the highest rates of alcoholism in the world.
They have embraced the purest free market capitalism as prostitution, drug use, boot legging and copyright violations are running rampant. Russia’s number one export is pretty blue eyed blonds for the international sex trade.
I am Russian by heritage and not too proud to say that we should not give them another cent in aid or loans, and counter all of their genocidal wars, with force, if necessary.
I’ve seen very little on Putin as yet, but what I have read seems to indicate he’s no pushover. Stay tuned.
Once again, events in Russia may influence a new decade.
Did Natasha quit too?
As I understand it, Yeltsin was in a situation somewhat analogous to Bill Clinton’s. There is a pending election (I believe it was scheduled for June 2000) and he was constitutionally unable to run for re-election. At this point then, he is working to preserve his “legacy” rather than seeking to maintain his personal power. So he has been grooming Putin as his successor to validate his administration in much the same way Gore is Clinton’s successor or Bush was Reagan’s.
By resigning now, Yeltsin helps Putin on several fronts. Yeltsin’s resignation helps rehabilitate his reputation, Putin can now run as an incumbent, and the election has been moved up several months so the other candidates are caught by surprise.
Rob Roy, interesting point. There are certainly many countries in the world without caucassian populations that the U.S. could more easily be introduced to capitalism, etc.
You know, doing what is right is easy. The problem is knowing what is right.
–Lyndon B. Johnson
you know what I see happening? I see Putin putting the blame on Israel for Russia’s economic problems and attempting to get rid of them all by blowing the Holy Land into the Med. (ain’t gonna happen)
There is only ONE WAY! (John 14:6)
According to the latest report on CNN, Russian message boards were invaded by members of the LBMB and Yeltsin had to offer up his resignation in exchange for a troop withdrawl…
Wow…wouldja look at that! Yeltsin’s resigned!
-David
I still say Yeltsin and Ted Kennedy are the same guy.
OK, Krispy - you owe me another keyboard and a fresh beer…
I’ve heard rumors that Putin’s talking about breaking out the nukes…any truth to all that?
-David
Somehow I’ve always got the image of Putin as some kind of Russian Reagan… aargh
Yeltsin is looking for immunity from prosecution (among other agenda points) for himself AND HIS DAUGHTERS (ugh!) for their credit card scams. They would charge up millions and then the bank would clear the charges. Europeans are not pleased with this stuff…I think they may know better than us what a mess Russia is. They have been trying for 500 years…
In typical (American? are they learning?) style, he says he has no knowledge of the thing, yets want immunity for them. Orders for clearing the charges probably never had to been actually voiced. The members of the board of the bank are Yeltsin chronies.
It’s going to be interesting to see what Putin is going to do in coming days. He’s got his hands full, that’s for sure! 
Laughter doeth good like a medicine.
Yeltsin knows a thing or two about showmanship - remember the speech from the top of a tank ? (Embarrassing - I can’t remember if it was 91 or 93 - anybody out there ?) Resigning on New Years is IMHO nothing but another PR stunt.
The timing is not bad, though: He managed to quit while ahead in the Czechen war - no matter what happens now, he’ll look good in the Russian’s eyes: If Russia wins, he left the final details to Putin. If Russia loses (unlikely now, but you never know), he let Putin take over a well-led campaign and can’t be blamed for failure.
If Putin wins the elections (and he will if Russia wins the war), he’ll be grateful to Yeltsin - and let him and his family move somewhere nice and live of their Swiss bank accounts. How nice. Oh, and the Red Army - I’m sorry, the Russian Army, of course - will have gained influence.
At least Putin looks a bit more predictable than Yeltsin.
Now I’m depressed.
Yeltsin is pardoned!
His daughter is dismissed from the government!
Finally - a prediction of doom and gloom comes true on this board!
I think he should’ve held out and gone to salary arbitration. With his stats, and at his age, he’d surely have come out ahead; and if not, plenty of teams could use him.
What? Oh. Nevermind.
“It’s my considered opinion you’re all a bunch of sissies!”–Paul’s Grandfather
I think a disability package for chronic alcoholism would be appropriate - oops, I forgot, alcoholism in Russia is a precursor for serious governmnet work, not a debilitating condition.