Mikhail Gorbachev was President of the Soviet Union in 1991. He was a reformist and, during his tenure, two words entered into our common lexicon - glasnost and perestroika. Glasnost ("openness") was allowing for greater freedom of speech and press. Perestroika ("restructuring") focused on decentralizing economic decision making to improve efficiency. In August of 1991 a group of Communist hard liners who were opposed to Gorbachev's reforms staged a coup d'état attempt. The coup failed quickly, but led almost immediately to the dissolution of the USSR, with member countries declaring their independence. After leaving office, he launched his Gorbachev Foundation, became a vocal critic of Boris Yeltsin and Vladimir Putin, and campaigned for Russia's social-democratic movement.
When the USSR broke apart, Russia, too, became an independent country. Boris Yeltsin was, then, its first president. Yeltsin tried to transform Russia's socialist economy into a capitalist market economy by nationwide privatization and lifting of price controls. The quick results were economic collapse and inflation. A small number of oligarchs obtained a majority of the national property during the privatization sell-off. There was a constitutional crisis in 1993, during which Yeltsin dissolved the parliament, which responded by attempting to remove him from office. With the help of the military, Yeltsin put down an armed uprising outside of the parliament building and then introduced a new constitution. In 1999 he resigned and was succeeded by former Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.
There has been one other president of Russia (other than Putin) since Yeltsin - Dmitry Medvedev. Medvedev had worked with Putin in St. Petersburg and was installed in various top government positions. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dmitry_Medvedev#Career_in_St_Petersburg
Putin - well you can read up about him just about anywhere. Just keep in mind
1) he did work the KGB (in East Germany when the Berlin wall came down),
2) he was deputy mayor of St. Petersburg in 1991 (when the USSR collapsed),
3) Yeltsin appointed Putin as Director of the Federal Security Service (FSB) in 1998,
4) Yeltsin resigned on December 31, 1999, which made Putin acting president.
When the USSR broke apart, Russia, too, became an independent country. Boris Yeltsin was, then, its first president. Yeltsin tried to transform Russia's socialist economy into a capitalist market economy by nationwide privatization and lifting of price controls. The quick results were economic collapse and inflation. A small number of oligarchs obtained a majority of the national property during the privatization sell-off. There was a constitutional crisis in 1993, during which Yeltsin dissolved the parliament, which responded by attempting to remove him from office. With the help of the military, Yeltsin put down an armed uprising outside of the parliament building and then introduced a new constitution. In 1999 he resigned and was succeeded by former Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.
There has been one other president of Russia (other than Putin) since Yeltsin - Dmitry Medvedev. Medvedev had worked with Putin in St. Petersburg and was installed in various top government positions. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dmitry_Medvedev#Career_in_St_Petersburg
Putin - well you can read up about him just about anywhere. Just keep in mind
1) he did work the KGB (in East Germany when the Berlin wall came down),
2) he was deputy mayor of St. Petersburg in 1991 (when the USSR collapsed),
3) Yeltsin appointed Putin as Director of the Federal Security Service (FSB) in 1998,
4) Yeltsin resigned on December 31, 1999, which made Putin acting president.
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