“An August 1991 coup by communist leaders opposed to Gorbachev’s reforms fell apart after three days as a result of popular opposition, including large demonstration led by Boris Yeltsin, who headed the Russian Federation.” p. 403

The election of Boris Yeltsin as the first president of Russian Federation becomes a very significant event for many reasons. First, it leads to the dissolution of Soviet Union which gives independence to former Soviet states like Ukraine and Belarus. Second, by losing sovereign states, Russia loses the status of a world superpower. In fact, the first decade of its existence proves to be economically disastrous. In that time, United Stated pulls far ahead, essentially winning the Cold War. Yeltsin bans Communist Party of the Soviet Union which had been in power since 1917, completely reshaping the political status of Russia on international level. In a way, he becomes a leader of a brand new country with a brand new regime. His tenure will fall under a lot of criticism, but given the circumstances, he establishes a decent foundation for Vladimir Putin’s policies of 2000s that regained Russia much of its credibility as a world power.