follow in welcome to cross talk i'm peter lavelle boris yeltsin was he a great man who made history or was he merely a product of his time opinions differ widely don't no one denies the important role he played in creating our present crosstalk continues that series on the collapse of the soviet union twenty years ago. came. to crosstalk yeltsin's russia i'm joined by dmitri barber chair in the studio with me he's a political analyst at ria novosti news agency in washington we have donald jensen he's a resident fellow at the center for transatlantic relations and in london we go to alex proud day he's director of russian and eurasian studies center at the university of oxford all right gentlemen cross talk rules and if i mean you can jump in anytime you want well the reason why we're doing this we're doing our series here on cross talk on the collapse of the soviet union twenty years ago and twenty years ago on june twelfth one thousand nine hundred ninety also became the first popularly elected president of the russian soviet federated socialist republic all basically the beginning of

whistle boris yeltsin was he a great man who made history or was he merely a product of his time and opinions differ widely don't know when. more news today violence is once again flared up. and these are the images the world has been seeing from the streets of canada. china corporations are today. wealthy british style holds the time to rise. above their. markets why not. find out what's really happening to the global economy in these kinds of reports. week's top stories from our team nato launches its heaviest and most punishing is strikes on the libyan capital killing dozens as the rebels complain the alliance is ignoring the real front line meanwhile the chorus of international condemnation over syria gets and i'm. also. an american warship docked in an address in southern ukraine to take part in the to war games something the russian foreign ministry is completely not happy about. even this all star team matches are placed in exchange to continue the bailout money. and it was the day that marked the birth of modern russia celebrating the country take to ration sovereignty and it

year later it held its first free elections which resulted in victory for the reformist president boris yeltsin shortly afterwards the soviet union collapsed it's not easy go of the reports now even today memories of the bumpy road to democracy are still fresh in people's minds. june twelve nineteen ninety one millions voted to make boris yeltsin russia's first president a watershed moment in the country's history but this was the first free election ever in russia the day after we left behind a totalitarian state and had a new job of building a democratic society that respected the rights of its people by the time the lection took place the soviet union had less than a year to live but no one knew how it would disintegrate its fifteen republics began to declare sovereignty one by one while staying a part of the year ceasar provoking unrest and even armed conflict and moscow two leaders also competed against each other michel god which i was the head of the soviet union chosen by communists functionaries boris yeltsin was in charge of a new sovereign russia and promised reform but calli

millions voted to make boris yeltsin russia's first president to shouldn't movement in the country's history but this was the first free election in russia the day after we left behind a totalitarian state and had a new job of building a democratic society that respected the rights of its people but it turned election took place the soviet union had less than a year to live but no one knew how it would disintegrate its fifteen republics began to declare it's over and she won. by one while staying a part of the u.s. ceasar provoking unrest and even armed conflict and moscow two leaders also competed against each other michel gorbachev was the head of the soviet union chosen by communists functionaries boris yeltsin was in charge of nearly southern russia and promised reform but calling for an open election yeltsin challenged the authority of the communist party over russia. with this victory in the election yeltsin through the you can stand up to the communists establishment in an open and public manner he did not cut back room deals or try arm protest with this victory ensured that t

each other michel god which i was the head of the soviet union chosen by communists functionaries boris yeltsin was in charge of a new sovereign russia and promised reform but calling for an open election yeltsin challenged the authority of the communist party over russia. with this victory in the election yeltsin prove that you can stand up to the communists establishment in an open and public manner he did not cut back room deals or try and protest with this victory ensured that the soviet union could break out without armed conflict. unlike former soviet leaders yeltsin campaign like a democratic politician meeting their electorate and delivering stump speeches at factories and in town squares what at his rallies attracted hundreds of thousands when the election night came we were hopeful would win but we still weren't sure after all it was the communist party that counted the votes but soon enough the results became clear boris yeltsin defeated the communists candidate handily with more than half of the votes. when he led the resistance to a hardline a coup that at summer his popula

but soon enough the results became clear boris yeltsin defeated the communist candidate handily with more than half of the votes. when he led the resistance to the coup late that out some of his popularity peaked but over the next decade the support fields and among russians dwindled as the country went through difficult reforms surveys showed that as the anniversary of the election approached if you remember and even fewer care but it's been great i don't have any emotions about it but i did vote for yeltsin then but i'm far less political now absolutely true i voted but i can tell you these are all just politicians games they have nothing to do with me. it's not surprising that those who lived through the difficult times did not want to celebrate this occasion but hopefully the next generation will truly appreciate the historic significance of this moment and of yeltsin as of now russia's first president himself remains unappreciated with only one in five saying to have a positive attitude towards him many outside of russia said at the even today it's democracy is not perfect and s