Boris Yeltsin

Soviet and Russian politician, 1st President of Russia (1931–2007)

  • Fame79.5
  • Momentum1.1
  • Politicians rank#131
Source-basedStable
  • Fame79.5
  • Momentum1.1
  • Politicians rank#131
  • Wikipedia192.7K
Lived 1931–2007, aged 76
PoliticiansPolitician
  • Wikipedia
    136 languages
    Cross-language footprint
  • Era
    1931–2007
    Aged 76
  • Known for
    The Shock Doctrine
    2009
Summary
Updated 2026-08-31

The man who stood atop a tank in 1991 and helped end the Soviet Union, then presided over Russia's chaotic lurch into capitalism — shock therapy, oligarchs, a parliament stormed by loyal troops, and a hobbled superpower losing its footing.

Biography

About

Born in the Urals in 1931, Yeltsin worked construction before climbing the Communist Party ladder to First Secretary in Sverdlovsk. He backed Gorbachev's perestroika, then broke left, calling the reforms too timid — in 1987 he became the first person to resign from the Politburo, cementing his anti-establishment credentials. By 1991 he was Russia's first popularly elected head of state and a key architect of the Soviet Union's formal dissolution that December. As president of the new Russian Federation, he launched economic shock therapy: privatization, price liberalization, the ruble set loos…

Voice

In their own words

Sourced, dated quotes from Boris Yeltsin

Boris Yeltsin
said
A man must live like a great brilliant flame and burn as brightly as he can. In the end he burns out. But this is far better than a mean little flame.
Statement to a Times reporter in 1990, as quoted in "The wit and wisdom of Boris" in Guardian Unlimited (23 April 2007)
Boris Yeltsin
said
You can build a throne with bayonets, but it's difficult to sit on it.
Televised speech (4 October 1993), as quoted in A Democracy of Despots (1995) by Donald Murray. p. 8
Boris Yeltsin
said
Liberty sets the mind free, fosters independence and unorthodox thinking and ideas. But it does not offer instant prosperity or happiness and wealth to everyone.
As quoted in Russia and the Independent States (1993) by Daniel C. Diller, p. 446
Boris Yeltsin
said
For many years our two nations were the two powers, the two opposites. They wanted to make us implacable enemies, that effected the destinies of the world in a most tragic way.
Address to U.S. Congress (18 June 1992)
Boris Yeltsin
said
Perhaps, for the first time ever there is now a real chance to put an end to despotism and to dismantle the totalitarian order, whatever shape it may take.
Address to the U.N. Security Council (31 January 1992)
Where to find them

Platforms

By the numbers

Score breakdown

The six component signals behind the Fame score, and their ranks across the leaderboards.

Fame
Stable
79.5
Composite of search demand, mentions, audience & graph footprint.
Score components
Momentum1.1
Historical30.9
Now attention14.5
Source confidence65.0
Completeness65.0
Global rank
Country rank
Category rank
#131
Receipts

Sources

  • Wikidata
    wikidata · wikidata.org
    High confidence
  • Wikipedia
    wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org
    High confidence
  • Pantheon 2.0
    database · pantheon.world
    High confidence