Eltsin

Eltsin is a transliteration variant of the Russian surname Ельцин. In English-language sources, the most common spellings are Yeltsin or Jeltsin; Eltsin appears in some texts and in other language contexts as an alternative rendering.

Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin (1 February 1931 – 23 April 2007) was a Russian and Soviet politician who played a central role in the late Soviet period and the early post-Soviet era. He rose through the Communist Party ranks to lead the government of Sverdlovsk Oblast and later became the first directly elected mayor of Moscow in 1990. In 1991 he was elected president of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR), and after the dissolution of the Soviet Union he became the first president of the Russian Federation, serving from 1991 to 1999.

Yeltsin’s presidency was characterized by rapid market-oriented reforms aimed at transitioning from a planned to a market economy, including large-scale privatization and the liberalization of prices. His tenure saw significant economic and social upheaval, as well as the adoption of a new constitution in 1993 after a constitutional crisis that included the shelling of the Russian White House by the military. He pursued reforms to reshape Russia’s political and economic system, while seeking to maintain relations with Western countries.

Yeltsin was reelected in 1996 but faced ongoing economic difficulties and political challenges, culminating in his resignation on 31 December 1999. He named Vladimir Putin as acting president, transferring the presidency to him. Yeltsin died in Moscow in 2007 and remains a controversial figure, credited by some for overseeing Russia’s transition and criticized by others for the social costs of the 1990s.