DATE=12/31/1999 TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT TITLE=YELTSIN RESIGNATION NUMBER=5-45160 BYLINE=PETER HEINLEIN DATELINE=MOSCOW CONTENT= VOICED AT: INTRO: Boris Yeltsin presided over monumental events during his nearly nine years as president of Russia. V-O-A Moscow correspondent Peter Heinlein reviews the Yeltsin presidency, and considers what may lie ahead in the post-Yeltsin years. TEXT: It was August 20th, 1991 when a bold, confident Boris Yeltsin, the newly elected president of Russia, leapt onto a Soviet army tank and into the history books. /// Yeltsin act in Russian, then fade to /// Mr. Yeltsin's booming voice seemed to galvanize Russians. His defiance that day dealt a crushing blow to an attempted coup by Communist hard-liners. What followed was nothing less than the collapse of an empire. Four months later, the Soviet Union disintegrated and Boris Yeltsin emerged as leader of a newly independent, non-Communist Russia. But his two terms in office were marked by failure, broken dreams, and constantly falling living standards for the vast majority of Russians. It was a humbled Boris Yeltsin who went before the people this New Year's Eve to say he was sorry. /// Yeltsin act in Russian, then fade to /// "I want to ask your forgiveness," he said. "Because many of our dreams have not come true, because some things that seemed so simple have turned out to be so tormentingly difficult." Boris Yeltsin will be credited with a number of significant achievements, not the least of which is the dismantling of Communism. He helped introduce many basics of democracy. He guaranteed freedom of speech, multi-party elections, and opened up trade and travel. He created a private sector, encouraged foreign investment and assured independence for former Soviet republics. But despite those sweeping departures from his Soviet predecessors, Mr. Yeltsin failed to push through lasting economic reforms and ultimately presided over a deeply polarized society of haves and have-nots. Organized crime and corruption flourished. A few got fabulously rich, while failed reforms wiped out the savings of millions and left the government unable to pay pensions and wages for its employees. Mr. Yeltsin once said the greatest disappointment of his presidency was the failed war in Chechnya from 1994 to 1996. The 21-month conflict quickly turned into a military fiasco, leaving tens of thousands of people dead and ending with Russia's humiliating withdrawal from the region. In the last months of his presidency, he seemed determined to correct that failure. He ordered troops back into the region last August. But again, casualties are mounting, most of them civilians, and military analysts say the conflict is likely to be long, drawn out and costly. Mr. Yeltsin's second term was marked by frequent illness and increasingly erratic behavior. He suffered a heart attack between rounds of the presidential election in 1996, then underwent multiple bypass surgery and was away for the Kremlin for months. After his return, Mr. Yeltsin repeatedly reshuffled his government, firing four prime ministers in less than two years before finally settling on his chosen successor, Vladimir Putin. /// Opt /// Signs of mental fatigue became evident in 1997, when he stunned the world with an impromptu announcement at a summit with NATO leaders in Paris. He said, "Russia will remove all warheads from nuclear missiles targeted at NATO states." It was left to his advisers to backtrack, explaining that he meant only that the subject was up for negotiation. /// End Opt /// In his final days in office, he became little more than a figurehead, turning over most powers to Prime Minister Putin. /// Opt /// As the news spread of Mr. Yeltsin's resignation, most Muscovites seemed unconcerned. /// Alexander Alexandrovich Act in Russian, then fade to /// "Nothing will change for the better." Those were the words of 43-year old Alexander Alexandrovich, who said, "We have to survive for ourselves." Others, however, such as 38-year old Valentina Konstantinovna, expressed concern that the rise to power of Mr. Putin, a former K-G-B spy, could herald a return to a police state. /// Valentina Konstantinova Act in Russian, then fade to // She says "I hope we won't repeat what we used to have, a cult of personality like Stalin and Lenin." /// End Opt /// The 68-year-old Mr. Yeltsin's retirement could mean the passing of the torch to a younger generation of Russian leaders. Mr. Putin, at 47, is more than 20 years younger. Mr. Putin's approval ratings have soared since he took office in August, mostly on the strength of the enormously popular war in Chechnya. He will be the overwhelming favorite to win the presidency in elections which - because of Mr. Yeltsin's resignation - will be moved forward from June to March. But having led the country into this second Chechen conflict, Mr. Putin now faces the much more difficult task of finding a suitable way out. (Signed) NEB/PFH/GE/JP 31-Dec-1999 11:37 AM EDT (31-Dec-1999 1637 UTC) NNNN Source: Voice of America .