they are tryin to bolster boris yeltsin's sistance to the coup that threw out gorbachev. coup leaders are trying to consolidate power throughout the vast country in hopes of having a new totalitarian center that will hold." "finally, the president is saying that he is now determined to avoid any actions quote 'that might lend legitimacy to this coup.'" in the u.s., a vacationing president george bush took a wait-and-see approach. "we will conduct appropriately, be in touch with these foreign leaders, act with them to do whaver we can do to further - to keep the reforms going forward. it's not a time forlamboyance or show business or posturing on the part of any country, certainly the united states." but after only three days, russians led by yeltsin, stopped the coup in its tracks. the face of democracy in a soon- to-be former communist stronghold. "once regarded simply as the blunt, bulldozer of radical reform, boris yeltsin emerged today a national hero." gorbechev, meanwhile, was still president of the soviet union when he retued to moscow but it was cle his days were

. >>> a former moscow correspondent for the financial times argues that the boris yeltsin and vladimir putin presided over the criminalization of russia. mr. satter was the first journalist to be kicked out of russia since the fall of the soviet union. this book is the less you know the better you sleep.um. we welcome those that join him n the heritage.org website as well as those joining in the future. we remind all of the outside viewers you are welcome to send comments at any time e-mailing speaker@heritage.org we will appreciate checking your mobile devices to see if they have been silenced or turned off as a courtesy to the presenters. we will post the program on that page following the presentation for everyone's future reference e's future r as well. is doctor broman is the research fellow at the american relations part of the margaret thatcher center for freedom. he joined heritage as the director of national security studies teaching diplomatic history and grand strategy and was a lecturer in history and affairs for the masters of arts program. a columnist for newsday and thes

boris nemtsov. he was deputy prime minister under yeltsin, and today, is one of putin's most vocal critics.but the chef is a brit, so maybe he has less reason to worry. >> waiter: first course, gentlemen. >> zamir: ah. >> anthony: at yornik restaurant, they're serving their own versions of dino-era, russian classics. a modern riff on borscht, typically a chunky, hearty, beet and cabbage broth with chunks of meat; here it's a puree, with a more elegant, shall we say, deconstructed presentation. ♪ >> anthony: critics of the government, critics of putin, bad things seem to happen to them. >> nemtsov: yes. unfortunately, existing power represent let i say russia of 19th century, not of 21st. >> anthony: critics of putin, beware. oligarch mikhail khodorkovsky accused putin of corruption, and wound up spending ten years in prison and labor camps. alexander litvinenko accused state security services of organizing a coup to put putin in power. he was poisoned by a lethal dose of radioactive polonium. and viktor yushchenko, the former ukranian president: poisoned, disfigured, and nearly killed by a