This just in from the Beeb:
Russian ex-president Yeltsin dies
Former Russian President Boris Yeltsin has died, the Kremlin says. Mr Yeltsin was 76. The cause of death has not yet been announced. He had a history of heart trouble. (Story.)
Categories: Politics/Law/Government
Progressive Culture | Scholars & Rogues 
And he was a drunken alcoholic but, hey, at least he wasn’t a fascist like Putin 😉
I’ll never forget my Russian buddy Peter telling me how the public over there felt about him vs. Bill Clinton. While we’re getting all up in the air about Bill getting his honker waxed by Monica L, the Russians were wishing THEY had a president like that. The way they saw it, we had a stud while all they had was a drunk.
This is why I always like a little global perspective. It’s nice to at least know how other people see things….
It’s kind of sad. I grew up too close to the fall of the Soviet Union for it to be included in some textbooks while it wasn’t so close that it was a current event. I don’t think I’ve ever studied Russia after Gorvachev lost power. Even before Yeltsin passed, I’ve tried to inform myself about the end of the Cold War and what followed, but Wikipedia can only do so much.
The one thing I did know, even from ages five to 12, was that he was a helluva drunk.
Thanks, Sam, I was swamped with work.
I’m so fired from S&Rs