The Russian Federation under Yeltsin was a new state born after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Some say that the economic strategy implemented during Yeltsin's administration was like stinking shit, which led to a period of 30 years of weakness in the Russian economy. In the current environment of the intensification of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine and the continuous condemnation of Russia by various countries, Yeltsin's political skills have been denounced by modern Russians.
However, the Russian people will also be grateful to Yeltsin for leaving Russia's most valuable legacy - * Putin and giving full support to his successor, Putin.
It can be said that without Yeltsin's support, Putin would not have the self-confidence that he now has to sit firmly in Russia.
In the initial period, Yeltsin had prejudices against Putin. However, over time, Yeltsin gradually recognized Putin's extraordinary talents. Having witnessed Putin's abilities, he decided to firmly support him.
Even if Putin once made a major mistake, Yeltsin could only forgive him with all his heart, regardless of his past suspicions. So, what kind of abilities does Putin have to make Yeltsin support him so much?
And what was the grave mistake he had ever made? Let's explore this extraordinary first encounter together.
Delve into the historical context of the collapse of the Soviet Union and the upheavals in Eastern Europe, and we will find that one person played a key role in the complex position of the collapse of the Soviet Union, and that is Yeltsin.
As the first president of the new Russian Federation after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Yeltsin was extremely politically colored. Together with Mikhail Gorbachev, the last leader of the Soviet era, he was known as the "thief of the country" and was considered the main driver of the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Yeltsin failed to lead the country upwards after the establishment of Russia, but instead used the "shock" of quick success during his tenure, which led to several economic collapses.
However, he has excelled in identifying and employing people, such as his attitude towards his political rival Sobchak and his apprentice Putin.
Yeltsin's first acquaintance with Putin took place at a new reception in October 1994. After the collapse of the USSR, Russia became the largest successor to the Red regime, almost all of which inherited the Soviet legacy, and Yeltsin sat firmly on the throne of **.
On a cold day in October 1994, Yeltsin inspected work in St. Petersburg. As the mayor of St. Petersburg, Sobchak suggested going hunting in the forests on the outskirts of the city, experiencing the snowfields of Siberia, and then tasting shochu with barbecue.
Yeltsin was distraught and wanted to take it easy. So, at Sobchak's suggestion, he went hunting in the forests on the outskirts of St. Petersburg. On that day, there was light snow in the sky.
By the time Yeltsin's car arrived, most of the main cadres of St. Petersburg had already arrived. Yeltsin looked around, and then asked Sobchak: "Why hasn't your deputy mayor arrived yet?"
Do I need to wait for him? ”
The man Yeltsin was referring to Putin, who at that time was the deputy mayor of St. Petersburg City Hall. Sobchak, noticing Yeltsin's disgruntled expression, understood that he was embarrassing himself.
Although Sobchak's proposal was accepted by Yeltsin, and Yeltsin was present in person, in fact, Yeltsin did not have a good relationship with Sobchak, and they were more like rivals with political differences.
At this event, it may not matter whether a deputy mayor is needed or not, but Yeltsin specifically chose Putin and criticized him for his dissatisfaction with Putin, but in reality for Sobchak.
The attitude of other cadres in St. Petersburg towards Yeltsin was like watching a play, and they were happy to see it happen. And Putin, as a student of Sobchak, was single-handedly promoted to deputy mayor, which caused jealousy among some.
After all, the young Putin was older and more seniorized than them at that time, which made many people unhappy with his treatment.
As a young man, Putin worked in the KGB, which made many people resent him. Because before entering politics, he worked in this ** agency with a lot of classified information, which makes people full of doubts and worries about his past.
Even if Yeltsin had some dissatisfaction with Putin, dissatisfaction with him would make those who wish to suppress Putin even happier.
Faced with Yeltsin's challenge, Sobchak chose to respond with a smile, because it would be unwise to confront Yeltsin at this time. Then Putin arrived, and although he was late, his expression was unflustered, and he politely greeted ** and Mayor Sobchak, and then stood steadily in the crowd with a determined gaze and did not show the slightest apology.
Yeltsin took a different look at the deputy mayor, who he expected to meet when he first met Putin, but Putin behaved like a ruthless samurai, full of fortitude, and impressive.
Later, during a campfire picnic, they had an accident, and in the snowy forest of Siberia, a hungry brown bear smelled the smell of meat, ran from no man's land, and went straight to the campfire.
Yeltsin and the others were frightened by a huge black bear, and their glasses also fell off, and they hid under the table in terror. Everyone felt threatened with death, so quiet that they could hear a pin drop on the ground, for fear of being touched by a black bear.
However, at this moment of crisis, Putin calmly pressed against the table, silently pulled out the matching gun from his belt, and decisively fired several shots in succession until the magazine was empty.
Eventually, the black bear fell to the ground wailing in pain.
Yeltsin found Putin under the table, looked at the embarrassed crowd and himself, and then looked at Putin who was calmly reloading the magazine and holding a gun on guard. The courage and composure of this young man made Yeltsin feel sincerely admired.
Putin's bravery and calmness deeply admired Yeltsin. He was a man of both integrity and righteousness.
Yeltsin was a brilliant politician who emerged from Soviet officialdom, he was adept at power struggles, but he appeared incompetent in the role of the country's leader.
He was well versed in officialdom, but he had no clue about the country's economic and constitution-making issues. The antagonism between Sobchak and Yeltsin stems from their academic backgrounds and areas of expertise.
Sobchak is a true academic, an outstanding graduate of Leningrad University, who has deep expertise and skills in legal affairs and decision-making.
As soon as Sobchak was elected mayor of St. Petersburg, he set about solving the problem of the city's name. For half a century, St. Petersburg was called Leningrad because of Lenin's death.
Sobchak proposed to restore St. Petersburg's original name. As a result, the proposal was supported by more than 55 citizens of the city of St. Petersburg, and from then on, the second largest city in Russia was officially renamed St. Petersburg.
Sobchak's convictions and far-reaching insights made him unable to tolerate the incumbent Yeltsin, believing that his "recklessness" in his work would bring a fragile Russia into its predicament.
Therefore, he decided to run for the election as mayor of St. Petersburg. It was early 1996, and one of the reasons for his eagerness to run for election was that his term as mayor of St. Petersburg would end in June of that year.
After all, Sobchak was only a politician with an academic background, and he was doomed to lose out in the competition with seasoned officialdom veterans like Yeltsin. On May 19, ** began, but before Sobchak took to the podium, he was already plagued by numerous negative rumors.
He is said to have a large number of assets in St. Petersburg, which were illegal income obtained through bribery.
There are accusations that Sobchak has millions of illegally obtained dollars in Austrian offshore banks. Rumors stop at the wise, but among the electorate, there are very few wise men. The rumor caused Mr. Sobchak's approval ratings to plummet rapidly, and he recalled the period, bitterly saying that he had been intensively attacked by dirty tactics.
Sobchak's candidacy speech ended in failure, and he suffered a major blow in the political arena. After losing the election, he was in a heavy mood and isolated from the world, but his political enemies did not let him go, and the court summonses kept coming, some real and some malicious, that made him tired to deal with.
Eventually, the court imprisoned him in a political prison in St. Petersburg, restricting his freedom.
Putin could not stand the humiliation of the division commander Sobchak, who had helped the top brass of Polish aviation in the KGB, and now it was time for him to repay the favor.
On November 6, 1997, Putin skillfully arranged for a medical plane from Finland to stop at the airport at the right time, so that Sobchak and his relatives could appear at the airport and board the plane for Paris.
Sobchak secretly flew to Paris to undergo a heart attack**, the news of which was not known to Yeltsin and the Russian top until November 10. Despite the fact that Putin was only the deputy mayor of St. Petersburg at that time, few people would have thought about him in this matter.
Yeltsin realized that Putin was his rival because of his ability to help Sobchak with his experience in the KGB, his experience and his ability to help Sobchak.
This made Yeltsin angry and felt that he had been fooled by a young man.
He immediately dialed the ** in St. Petersburg and asked Putin to personally go to Moscow to report on his work. And after receiving the **, Putin immediately left for Moscow. He knew very well that the reason why Yeltsin asked him to report on his work was entirely out of admiration and respect for him.
Putin, who worked in the KGB, was well aware that his whereabouts were difficult to keep completely secret, and he knew that his past, his KGB experience, would cause him some trouble. He had no intention of hiding anything, but only hoped to be able to help his teacher, Sobchak, fulfill his righteous anger.
He just wanted to protect his mentor so that he could live a few more years and see his success.
Putin stood in Yeltsin's office, and although he was apprehensive in his heart, he looked as usual and spoke bluntly. Yeltsin was also impressed by Putin's calm attitude, and it was difficult to judge whether he was calm or brazen.
Yeltsin asked Putin, "Did you do the Sobchak thing?" ”
Putin was troubled because he found that the other side already knew the answer, and he was thinking about what Yeltsin would do against him. After all, he was Sobchak's ** and subordinate, as well as Yeltsin's political enemy.
Putin, who has studied the history of the Soviet Union in depth, knows that from the Stalin period to the present Yeltsin, all the leaders of the country are masters of power tricks and are good at fighting political opponents.
And Stalin's method of attacking political opponents was very cruel, that is, physical destruction, direct and effective.
Khrushchev's wisdom consisted in "retiring" his political opponents, handing over power to him without reservation, and then living a peaceful old age.
Brezhnev, on the other hand, was in a league of his own, appointing his political opponents as ambassadors abroad, keeping them away from the centers of power.
After the lessons of his predecessors, Putin expected that Yeltsin would not let him go easily.
Yeltsin praised Putin for his courage and sense of responsibility. He said that although he was once angry with Putin for saving Sobchak, he valued Putin's bravery and sense of responsibility more.
In October 1994, Putin shot and killed a black bear, much to Yeltsin's admiration. He praised Putin for showing great courage and calmness in the face of danger, and at the same time having a strong sense of responsibility.
This came as a great surprise to Putin, but he was very grateful for Yeltsin's praise.
Under Yeltsin's vigorous cultivation, Putin is full of expectations for the future political prospects. Although he was initially surprised by Yeltsin's reluctance, he was also heartened by the fact that he knew that his life had been saved.
However, when Yeltsin directly passed the position of ** to Putin, he really realized Yeltsin's importance and depth of cultivation. At Putin's inauguration, he asked Yeltsin why, hoping to get an answer from his mouth.
Yeltsin replied to him, "Despite the fact that I did not have a good relationship with Sobchak, I greatly appreciated his abilities and judgment. If he is optimistic and agrees with someone, I must also be optimistic and agreeable! ”