BORIS YELTSIN AND UKRAINE

By Ilya Khineyko

Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin, the first leader of the post-Soviet Russia, passed away on Monday, April 23. Political leaders around the world paid their tributes to the deceased Russian leader, stressing the key role he played in the demise of communism as well as his subsequent efforts to bring about a market economy and democratic reforms in Russia. Both, Viktor Yanukovych and Viktor Yushchenko have sent letters of sympathy to the current president, Vladimir Putin, and Yeltsin’s family. Leonid Kuchma also issued a statement of condolences. The spirit of their messages did not differ substantially from the sentiments expressed by other politicians as Kuchma praised Yeltsin’s commitment to democratic change while Yanukovych and Yuschenko called Yeltsin “a great statesman.” However, it seems that to many Russians and some foreign observers, Yeltsin’s legacy is mixed and will remain a subject of vigorous debate for the foreseeable future. Yeltsin has been criticized, even hated, by those who blamed him for the collapse of the Soviet Union and the loss of Russia’s prestige on the international scene, as well as the cruel nature of Russian economic reforms in the 90s. Further, liberal critics of Yeltsin have pointed out that his commitment to democracy was a dubious one. They point out that it was Yeltsin who laid the foundations of the system of oligarchic capitalism, which bequeathed the more authoritarian regime of Vladimir Putin, his official successor. Russia’s relationship with Ukraine is a relatively small party of his legacy. Yet, in many ways Yeltsin’s attitude towards the Ukrainian question reflects the ambiguities of his rule as a whole.