Question by scettica: What caused the Yeltsin’s violent crash with parliament in October 1993?
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Answer by kennyj
Boris Yeltsin is an interesting character. He was a straight shooting, blunt talking man who had a solid working class background but found his way into the halls of power. Whenever I saw him on TV or saw pictures of him he always looked stern and mad. But he certainly did make a mark on Soviet history and was a major contributor to the fall of Communism in the USSR.
He rose through the Communist ranks beginning in the 1970s. He was a reformer – don’t confuse him with being a democrat – he was a Communist but believed that reforms were needed. Gorbachev was also a reformer and him and Yeltsin knew each other for a long time. Gorbachev appointed him to a high ranking post in the early 80s and Yeltsin continued his rise. He wanted reforms (both economic and political) to move faster and was critical of Gorbachev and the government who also believed in reforms but were moving more methodically and slowly through the process. By this time Yeltsin was Moscow party boss and a major player in Soviet politics. He began fighting corruption in Moscow and stepped on many toes. I think it is important to note, however, that Gorbachev and Yeltsin were moving in the same direction, but at completely different speeds. Gorbachev had to satisfy the hardliners and the reformers – something that every leader has had to do at one time or another (Blair? Obama? Mandela? . . . ) But Gorbachev eventually had enough and canned Yeltsin in 1987. Yeltsin turned around and was elected into the House of Deputies and then as President of the Russian Federation – the largest federation in the USSR. From there it is “history” you might say. His political currency increased greatly after the coup attempt in 1991 and Gorbachev’s plummeted. He remained as Russian Federation President after the breakup of the USSR but was always at odds with the conservatives, which made up a significant part of the government machine. He had some fiery battles with former Communist colleagues and reformers alike. He ordered the shelling of the parliament buildings when there developed a political stalemate and politicians failed to resolved issues relating to reforms. Yeltsin also moved against Chechnyan rebels and really was the Russian leader who started a campaign to stop their separatist movement (it is still a major issue in the region). The drain on the economy because of the war and the radical reorientation of Russian life were likely his undoing. He resigned after almost ten years as leader. He died about 3 years ago.
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