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Jungle
|  27 Apr '07 08:18 : 0 recs
Part of his legacy is Putin.
As agnostic said:
''Yes, he brought an end to communism as it had been, but they reckon he made a mess of his political reconstruction, and enabled the "oligarchs" to make off with billions which still rightfully belonged to the state, and which should have been invested for the benefit of all.''
The question is what will Putin's legacy be? |
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Goel
| 26 Apr '07 10:46 : 0 recs
Does anyone remember a bar in in Lan Kwai Fong, central Hong Kong named Yeltsins, around the mid-90s?
I would imagine it is called something else these days.
G. |
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3dc
| 25 Apr '07 16:41 : 0 recs
PaxAm
You left off the kicker "of a heart attack".
BTW...
Will we now see a Yeltsin or Boris branded vodka? |
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Thoughtful
| 25 Apr '07 11:07 : 0 recs : edited 1 time : last edit 25 Apr '07 11:08
I hope he left the money for them all to have a drink at the funeral!
Bill Clinton's book tells us he liked Boris..............Hic up! |
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Thoughtful
| 24 Apr '07 19:22 : 0 recs
I dare say that the recycling people will miss Boris's empty wine bottles! |
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Waterloo Sunset
| 24 Apr '07 10:33 : 0 recs
and smash the glass! |
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Warren BuffetCar
| 24 Apr '07 10:32 : 0 recs : edited 1 time : last edit 24 Apr '07 10:34
Agnostic,
I can still see him standing on that tank. The guy had guts, you have to allow him that.
Either that or he was pi1ssed
I'll raise a glad to him, then down it in one.
Its what he would have wanted.
WBC |
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agnostic
| 24 Apr '07 10:25 : 0 recs : edited 1 time : last edit 24 Apr '07 10:26
My long-term Russian neighbours have very little to say in Yeltsin's favour. Yes, he brought an end to communism as it had been, but they reckon he made a mess of his political reconstruction, and enabled the "oligarchs" to make off with billions which still rightfully belonged to the state, and which should have been invested for the benefit of all.
I (perhaps unworthily) wonder, in the circumstances, whether he would have made any progress worth talking about if he hadn't allowed a few influential Russians to have their heads and make a mint? |
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Waterloo Sunset
| 24 Apr '07 09:49 : 0 recs
I heard that Helmet Kohl once held Yeltsins hand under the table at an EU meeting as he was interrogated bu an unfriendly set of European polticians. Apparently he had whispered to Kohl "They dont like me here" just before. made me smile thinking of it.
I think history will judge Yeltsin kindly. Her became a giant the day he stood on that tank and defeated the communists finally thus creating the Russian democracy that the gangster/spy Putin has been busily undermining ever since
WS |
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ssaines
| 24 Apr '07 04:24 : 0 recs
I find the tributes to Boris a bit shallow. On a personal level, yes, he was a remarkable man. Saw an interview with Brian Mulroney, ex Cdn PM, who actually acted as go-between per Clinton and Yeltsin. They remained good friends well after both left office. (Mulroney left in disgrace, as did Yeltsin). Mulroney spent time with Yeltsin, Gorbachev and wives on the Black Sea. They all kept touch up until quite recently.
The significance to the West is profound, but to Russians in general, both Yeltsin and Gorbachev are held in contempt...rofl...as Mulroney is in Canada (he was the prime reason for the almost complete disappearance of the Conservative Party in this nation).
"A really great guy" - Mulroney. As to what that means to Russians though is questionable.
As Ag says though: "He had guts". He certainly had guts. What is remarkable is that both he and Gorbachev have not had...errr...KGBitis. Death by mysterious circumstances. |
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Thoughtful
| 23 Apr '07 22:52 : 0 recs
I'm surprised he lived until 76!
Still he made Bill Clinton laugh! |
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PaxAm
| 23 Apr '07 20:44 : 0 recs
I was sad to see this.
But I suppose it proves that if you drink like a fish and spend most of your time in an alchoholic haze - you could die at the young age of 76. |
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agnostic
| 23 Apr '07 20:29 : 0 recs
I can still see him standing on that tank. The guy had guts, you have to allow him that.
I have a certain amount of fellow feeling for Boris. We are - were - roughly the same size and shape, same colour hair. Sure, he drank more than I ever shall - but I've never had to take a huge country tottering on the last lurching legs of communism and try to turn it into something better. |
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Red Hot Pawn
| 23 Apr '07 20:20 : 0 recs
Boris Yeltsin became the first democratically elected president of Russia in 1991. He died today, April 23rd 2007. |
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