Boris Yeltsin: “This is unacceptable. I made a decision. I'm leaving. "Now I tell you that you failed"

“Having looked with what hope and faith people voted in the Duma elections for a new generation of politicians, I realized that I had done the main work of my life. Russia will never return to the past. Russia will always move only forward now.

And I should not interfere with this natural course of history. Six months to hold on to power when the country has a strong man worthy of being president, and with whom today almost every Russian pins his hopes for the future?! Why should I disturb him? Why wait another six months? No, it's not for me! Not my nature!"

Yeltsin Boris Nikolaevich

Born on February 1, 1931 in the village of Butka. The first president of Russia. He was elected twice in 1991 and 1996. He served until December 31, 1999. In this post, he made decisions that are historic for our country: to ban the activities of the CPSU, to abandon the course towards socialism, to dissolve the Supreme Council, and to launch a military campaign in Chechnya. He died in 2007 in Moscow and was buried in Red Square.

As a child, Boris Yeltsin was not an "exemplary boy." He fought a lot, did not shine with grades, clashed with teachers. As a result - exclusion from school after the 7th grade. However, Boris persistently sought restoration at school and reached the city committee of the party. He was allowed to finish his studies at another school. As a child, Boris found a grenade and tried to study its device. This grenade tore off two fingers on his left hand. Because of this, he was not taken into the army. However, this injury did not prevent him from becoming a master of sports in volleyball and playing for the city's national team. He received a higher education in civil engineering, defended his thesis on the topic "Television Tower".

In Soviet times, Boris Yeltsin made a rapid party career, became the first secretary of the Sverdlovsk regional committee of the CPSU, which at that time meant the first person of the Sverdlovsk region. There he carried out numerous transformations and earned the gratitude of the Sverdlovsk people. But his name really became known in the midst of perestroika with a transfer to Moscow. By this time he was a member of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, a candidate member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPSU. In Moscow, Yeltsin was appointed First Secretary of the Moscow City Committee of the CPSU and immediately after his appointment fired a significant number of leaders in both the city and district offices. The media drew attention to the newly-minted radical, reports began to appear about Yeltsin's trips in public transport, inspecting warehouses and shops, his critical words about the country's leadership and unexpected promises sounded from the TV screens. Boris Yeltsin began to rapidly gain popularity among the people.

All this led to numerous conflicts with the top political authorities in the USSR, culminating in Boris Yeltsin's sharp speech at the Plenum of the Central Committee of the CPSU on October 21, 1987, "This is unacceptable." This speech was not published in full and immediately, but its text "went to the people", was actively discussed and actively formed public opinion regarding the country's top leadership and its actions. Despite the fact that Yeltsin himself repented at the same plenum and recognized his speech as a mistake, among the people his name began to be associated with intransigence and political courage. Various versions of the text of this speech went around the country, most of which were much sharper than the original. And all this worked for the image of a lone rebel. Pretty soon, Yeltsin became the favorite of the most diverse segments of the Russian population, and even despite his many scandalous actions both in the country and on foreign trips, his rating grew. Yeltsin lost where the appointment depended on the authorities, and won where the appointment depended on the voters. The speech “This is unacceptable” can be considered a turning point both in the fate of Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin, which brought him to the presidency, and in the fate of Russia, which received the status of a sovereign state and marked the beginning of a completely new history.

It is unacceptable

“Reports, both today and for the seventieth anniversary, the draft reports were discussed at the Politburo, and taking into account the fact that I also made my proposals, some of them were taken into account, so I have no comments today on the report, and I fully support it. Nevertheless, I would like to express a number of questions that I personally have accumulated during my work in the Politburo. I fully agree that there are very great difficulties in perestroika and that each of us bears a great responsibility and a great duty.

I would think that first of all it would be necessary to reorganize the work of the Party committees, the Party as a whole, starting with the Secretariat of the Central Committee, as was said at the June Plenum of the Central Committee of the Party. I must say that after that, although five months have passed, nothing has changed in terms of the style of work of the Secretariat of the Central Committee, the style of work of Comrade Ligachev. What was said here today, Mikhail Sergeyevich said that various kinds of dressings, pumping at all levels are unacceptable, this applies to economic bodies, any others, it is allowed at this level.

This is at a time when the Party must now precisely take the revolutionary path and act in a revolutionary way. Many comrades do not feel such revolutionary pressure, I would say, party comradeship in relation to party committees in the localities. It would seem to me that it is necessary: ​​draw lessons from the past, really look today into those blank spots of history that Mikhail Sergeevich spoke about today - first of all, drawing conclusions for today, draw conclusions for tomorrow. What do we do? How to fix, how to prevent what happened? But then the Leninist norms of our life were simply discredited, and this led to the fact that later, later, Leninist norms were simply excluded to a greater extent from the norms of behavior, the life of our party.

I think that what was said at the congress regarding perestroika in 23 years (2 years have passed or are almost passing, now it is again pointed out that 23 years again) is very disorienting people, disorienting the Party, disorienting all the masses, because we, knowing the mood of the people, now feel the undulating character of attitudes towards perestroika. At first there was a strong enthusiasm - an upsurge. And all the time he was on high heat and high enthusiasm, including the January Plenum of the Central Committee of the CPSU. Then, after the June Plenum of the Central Committee, people’s faith began to somehow fall, and this worries us very, very much, of course, in the fact that these two years were spent on developing basically all these documents that did not reach people, of course, and worried that they really did not receive during this time.

Therefore, it seemed to me that this time it was necessary to approach, perhaps more carefully, the timing of the proclamation and the actual timing of perestroika in the next two years. It will be very, very difficult for us, of course, we understand this, and even if we now very strongly - and this is necessary - to revolutionize the actions of the party, namely the party, party committees, then this is still not two years. And in 2 years we may find ourselves in front of the people, well, I would say, with a reduced authority of the party as a whole.

I must say that the call to accept fewer documents all the time and, at the same time, constantly accept more of them - it is already simply starting to evoke some attitude towards these decrees in the localities, I would say, just superficial, or something, and some kind of disbelief in these resolutions. They go one after another. We call on each other to reduce institutions that are idle, but I must say using the example of Moscow that a year ago there were 1041 institutions, after 7 were liquidated thanks to the enormous efforts of the State Committee, there were not 1041, but 1087, during this time decrees on the establishment of institutions in Moscow. This, of course, contradicts the line of the Party, and the decisions of the congress, and the calls that we have.

I am thinking about one more question, but here is the Plenum, the members of the Central Committee of the Party, the most confidential and frank composition, before whom it is possible and necessary to say everything that is in the soul, everything that is in the heart, and how communist. I must say that the lessons that have been learned in 70 years are hard lessons, there were victories, as Mikhail Sergeevich said, but there were also lessons. Lessons of heavy, heavy defeats. These defeats developed gradually, they developed due to the fact that there was no collegiality, thanks to the fact that there were groups, thanks to the fact that the power of the party was given to one and only hands, thanks to the fact that he, one person, was protected absolutely from any criticism.

For example, I am very worried that we do not yet have such a situation in the Politburo, and recently there has been a certain increase in, I would say, praise from some members of the Politburo, from some permanent members of the Politburo addressed to the General Secretary. I think that right now this is unacceptable, right now, when the most democratic forms of a relationship of principle to each other, comradeship and camaraderie to each other are being laid. It is unacceptable. To express criticism to the face, eye to eye - yes, it is necessary, and not get carried away with praise, which gradually, gradually, can again become the "norm", the cult of personality. We cannot allow this. This cannot be allowed. I understand that now this does not lead to any already defined, unacceptable, so to speak, distortions, but nevertheless, there are already some first touches of such an attitude, and it would seem to me that, of course, this is necessary in prevent further.

And the last. Apparently, I am not succeeding in my work as part of the Politburo. For different reasons. Apparently, both experience and other things, perhaps simply the lack of some support from the outside, especially Comrade Ligachev, I would emphasize, led me to the idea that I should raise the question of releasing me from my post, the duties of a candidate member of the Politburo . I handed over the relevant statement, and what will happen with regard to the first secretary of the city party committee, this will apparently be decided by the plenum.

Plenum of the Central Committee of the CPSU, October 1987. Verbatim report // News of the Central Committee of the CPSU. 1989. No. 2. S. 209–287.

Boris Yeltsin was President of the Russian Federation for 8 years. During these years, the August putsch and its suppression took place. During these years, the Soviet Union collapsed, and Russia became its legal successor in terms of a number of powers and obligations. During these years, an economic reform was carried out, one of the methods of which was "shock therapy", and one of the consequences of which was the concentration of state property in the hands of a few people, the so-called oligarchs. During these years, Russia experienced an economic and political crisis. During these years, the Supreme Council was dispersed using tanks and the Chechen war began.

By the end of his second presidential term, Boris Yeltsin's domestic and foreign policy began to be subjected to ever sharper and more justified criticism. His public behavior became the subject of ridicule and anecdotes. Poor health increasingly began to interfere with doing business. And the president decides to leave his post ahead of schedule, leaving Vladimir Putin as acting Prime Minister. In his Address to the Citizens of Russia, Boris Yeltsin transparently hints that he would like to see him as his successor.

Putin delivered his New Year's address to the Russian people immediately after the address of the outgoing president. And Boris Yeltsin himself, according to eyewitnesses, sat motionless in an armchair for a long time, and tears flowed down his cheeks.

Address of President B.N. Yeltsin to the citizens of Russia December 31, 1999

“Dear Russians! There is very little time left before the magical date in our history. The year 2000 is coming. New century, new millennium (obviously, a mistake: the new century has come since 2001. - author's note). We all tried this date on ourselves. At first they figured out in childhood, then when they grew up, how old we would be in the year 2000, and how many for our mother, and how many for our children. It seemed once: this extraordinary New Year is so far away. This day has come.

Dear friends! My dears! Today is the last time I address you with New Year's greetings. But that's not all. Today I address you for the last time as President of Russia. I made a decision. I thought long and hard about it. Today, on the last day of the outgoing century, I retire.

I have heard many times: "Yeltsin will hold on to power by any means, he will not give it to anyone." This is a lie. The point is different. I have always said that I will not deviate from the Constitution even a single step. That the Duma elections should be held within the constitutional terms. And so it happened. And I also wanted the presidential elections to be held on time - in June 2000. It was very important for Russia. We are creating the most important precedent for a civilized voluntary transfer of power, power from one president of Russia to another, newly elected.

However, I made a different decision. I'm leaving. I'm leaving ahead of schedule. I realized that I needed to do this. Russia must enter the new millennium with new politicians, with new faces, with new smart, strong, energetic people. And we - those who have been in power for many years - we must leave.

After seeing with what hope and faith people voted in the Duma elections for a new generation of politicians, I realized that I had accomplished the main work of my life. Russia will never return to the past. Russia will always move only forward now. And I should not interfere with this natural course of history. Six months to hold on to power when the country has a strong man worthy of being president, and with whom today almost every Russian pins his hopes for the future?! Why should I disturb him? Why wait another six months? No, it's not for me! Not in my nature!

Today, on this unusually important day for me, I want to say a little more of my personal words than I usually say. I want to ask your forgiveness. For the fact that many of our dreams did not come true. And what seemed simple to us turned out to be excruciatingly difficult. I apologize for not justifying some of the hopes of those people who believed that we could jump from a gray, stagnant, totalitarian past into a bright, rich, civilized future in one jerk, in one fell swoop. I myself believed in it.

It seemed that with one jerk - and we would overcome everything. One push didn't work. In some ways, I was too naive. Somewhere the problems turned out to be too complicated. We pushed forward through mistakes, through failures. Many people experienced shock during this difficult time. But I want you to know. I never said this, today it is important for me to tell you this. The pain of each of you responded with pain in me, in my heart. Sleepless nights, painful experiences: what needs to be done to make people at least a little, at least a little easier and better? There was no more important task for me.

I'm leaving. I did everything I could. And not for health, but for the totality of all problems. I am being replaced by a new generation, a generation of those who can do more and better. In accordance with the Constitution, when I retired, I signed a decree on the assignment of the duties of the President of Russia to Prime Minister Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin. Within three months, in accordance with the Constitution, he will be the head of state. And in three months, also in accordance with the Constitution of Russia, presidential elections will be held. I have always been confident in the amazing wisdom of the Russians. Therefore, I have no doubt what choice you will make at the end of March 2000. Saying goodbye, I want to say to each of you: be happy! You deserve happiness. You deserve happiness and peace.

Happy New Year! Happy new century, my dears!

. Publications. Additional information.

"Dear Russians!

There is very little time left before the magical date in our history. The year 2000 is coming. New century, new millennium.

We all tried this date on ourselves. They figured, from the beginning in childhood, then when they grew up, how old we would be in 2000, and how old our mother, and how old our children. It seemed once - this extraordinary New Year was so far away.

This day has come.

Dear friends! My dears!

Today is the last time I address you with New Year's greetings. But that's not all. Today I am addressing you for the last time as the President of Russia.

I made a decision.

I thought long and hard about it. Today, on the last day of the outgoing century, I retire.

I have heard many times - Yeltsin will hold on to power by any means, he will not give it to anyone. This is a lie.

The point is different. I have always said that I will not deviate from the Constitution even a single step. That the Duma elections should be held within the constitutional terms. And so it happened. And I also wanted the presidential elections to be held on time - in June 2000. It was very important for Russia. We are creating the most important precedent for a civilized voluntary transfer of power, power from one President of Russia to another, newly elected one.

However, I made a different decision. I'm leaving. I'm leaving ahead of schedule.

I realized that I needed to do this. Russia must enter the new millennium with new politicians, with new faces, with new, smart, strong, energetic people.

And we, those who have been in power for many years, we must leave.

After seeing with what hope and faith people voted in the Duma elections for a new generation of politicians, I realized that I had accomplished the main work of my life. Russia will never return to the past. Russia will always move only forward now.

And I should not interfere with this natural course of history. Six months to hold on to power, when the country has a strong man worthy of being President, and with whom today almost every Russian pins his hopes for the future!? Why should I disturb him? Why wait another six months? No, it's not for me! Not in my nature!

Today, on this unusually important day for me, I want to say a little more of my personal words than I usually say.

I want to ask your forgiveness.

For the fact that many of our dreams did not come true. And what seemed simple to us turned out to be excruciatingly difficult. I apologize for not justifying some of the hopes of those people who believed that we could jump from a gray, stagnant, totalitarian past into a bright, rich, civilized future in one jerk, in one fell swoop. I myself believed in it. It seemed that with one jerk, we would overcome everything.

One push didn't work. In some ways, I was too naive. Somewhere the problems turned out to be too complicated. We pushed forward through mistakes, through failures. Many people experienced shock during this difficult time.

But I want you to know. I never said this, today it is important for me to tell you this. The pain of each of you responded with pain in me, in my heart. Sleepless nights, painful experiences - what needs to be done so that people can at least a little, at least a little, live easier and better. There was no more important task for me.

I'm leaving. I did everything I could. And not for health, but for the totality of all problems. I am being replaced by a new generation, a generation of those who can do more and better.

In accordance with the Constitution, when I retired, I signed a Decree on the assignment of the duties of the President of Russia to Prime Minister Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin. Within three months, in accordance with the Constitution, he will be the head of state. And in three months, also in accordance with the Constitution of Russia, presidential elections will be held.

I have always been confident in the amazing wisdom of the Russians. Therefore, I have no doubt what choice you will make at the end of March 2000.

Saying goodbye, I want to say to each of you, be happy. You deserve happiness. You deserve happiness and peace.

Happy New Year! Happy new century, my dears!"

Dear Russians!

There is very little time left before the magical date in our history. The year 2000 is coming. New century, new millennium. We all tried this date on ourselves. They figured, first in childhood, then when they grew up, how old we would be in the year 2000, and how old our mother, and how old our children. It seemed once - this extraordinary New Year was so far away. This day has come.

Dear friends! My dears!

Today is the last time I address you with New Year's greetings. But that's not all. Today I address you for the last time as President of Russia.

I made a decision. I thought long and hard about it. Today, on the last day of the outgoing century, I retire. I have heard many times: "Yeltsin will hold on to power by any means, he will not give it to anyone." This is a lie. The point is different. I have always said that I will not deviate from the Constitution even a single step. That the Duma elections should be held within the constitutional terms. And so it happened.

And I also wanted the presidential elections to be held on time - in June 2000. It was very important for Russia. We are creating the most important precedent for a civilized voluntary transfer of power from one Russian president to another newly elected one.

However, I made a different decision. I'm leaving. I'm leaving ahead of schedule. I realized that I needed to do this. Russia must enter the new millennium with new politicians, with new faces, with new, smart, strong, energetic people.

And we, those who have been in power for many years, must go. After seeing with what hope and faith people voted in the Duma elections for a new generation of politicians, I realized that I had accomplished the main work of my life. Russia will never return to the past. Russia will always move only forward now. And I should not interfere with this natural course of history. Six months to hold on to power when the country has a strong man worthy of being president and with whom today almost every Russian pins his hopes for the future? Why should I disturb him? Why wait another six months? No, it's not for me. Not in my nature!

Today, on this unusually important day for me, I want to say a little more of my personal words than I usually say. I want to ask your forgiveness for the fact that many of our dreams did not come true. And what seemed simple to us turned out to be excruciatingly difficult. I apologize for not justifying some of the hopes of those people who believed that we could jump from a gray, stagnant, totalitarian past into a bright, rich, civilized future in one jerk, in one fell swoop.

I myself believed in it. It seemed that with one jerk, we would overcome everything. One push didn't work. In some ways, I was too naive. Somewhere the problems turned out to be too complicated. We pushed forward through mistakes, through failures. Many people experienced shock during this difficult time.

But I want you to know. I never said this, today it is important for me to tell you this. The pain of each of you responded with pain in me, in my heart. Sleepless nights, painful experiences: what needs to be done to make people at least a little, at least a little easier and better? There was no more important task for me.

I'm leaving. I did everything I could. And not for health, but for the totality of all problems. I am being replaced by a new generation of those who can do more and better. In accordance with the constitution, when I retired, I signed a Decree on the assignment of the duties of the President of Russia to Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. Within three months, in accordance with the constitution, he will be the head of state.

And in three months, also in accordance with the Constitution of Russia, presidential elections will be held. I have always been confident in the amazing wisdom of the Russians. Therefore, I have no doubt what choice you will make at the end of March 2000. Saying goodbye, I want to say to each of you: be happy. You deserve happiness. You deserve happiness and peace.

Happy New Year! Happy new century, my dears!

On the eve of the New Year, sitting at the TV screens waiting for the speech of the head of state, many of us recall the last New Year's speech of the first President of Russia, Boris Yeltsin. On December 31, 1999, he announced to the entire country of 146 million that he was leaving his high post, leaving Vladimir Putin as his successor. "I'm tired, I'm leaving," Yeltsin said then. Today, 14 years after that momentous day, we decided to recall other vivid quotes of Boris Nikolayevich, which have become aphorisms.

"Now I tell you that you failed"

Boris Yeltsin made such a statement in relation to American journalists, speaking at a press conference in October 1995 in New York.

The full statement was: "In yesterday's newspapers, you predicted that our meeting with Bill today would fail. So, today for the first time I declare to you that it was you who failed." Later, the journalists, whom the Russian president tried to sting, dubbed Yeltsin's speech as "The Boris Show."

Here is how an eyewitness, Strobe Talbott, a former US Deputy Secretary of State, recalls that day.

“Yeltsin’s diplomacy was always a kind of performance, and when he was drunk, the performance turned into a burlesque: it was one of the worst incidents that has happened so far. Clinton, however, burst into laughter, slapped Yeltsin on the back and began to wipe his tears "Just make sure you get it right," he said, stepping up to the microphone and continuing to laugh - a little strained and unconvincing, "he writes in his book The Hand of Russia: A Memoir of Presidential Diplomacy."

"Take as much sovereignty as you can swallow"

This phrase continued with the following words: "I do not want ... to be a brake on the development of the national self-consciousness of each republic."

The inhabitants of Tatarstan not only remembered this statement, they included it in the tablets of their history. Now it is included in the chronicle of 1990 on the portal of the museums of the republic.

"There will be no devaluation of the ruble. This is firm and clear"

"Interfax"

Yeltsin made this epoch-making statement on television while answering a question from the agency on August 14, 1998. Further, he very clearly argued his position: "My statement is not just my fantasy, and not because I would not like devaluation. My statement is based on the fact that everything has been calculated. Work on tracking the situation is carried out every day. The situation is fully controlled" .

Thunder struck three days after that television broadcast. This is how the correspondent of the news agency Igor Petrov recalls the day of August 17, 1998: “I had no time to make a cup of tea, when at the beginning of the 11th they brought several fax pages. The first paragraphs of the text of the statement of the government and the Central Bank were written in the best bureaucratic traditions. Something about the fact that "meeting the numerous requests of workers and in an effort to make the public debt market even better," a new "currency corridor" is announced, and in connection with this, the fulfillment of obligations to non-residents on loans, transactions on the derivatives market and on mortgages is suspended for 90 days operations. The word "default" was not, but everything became clear anyway. "

In a word, Yeltsin's optimistic statement did not save the situation. The country's economy collapsed.

"The age of a politician is 65 years old, and after that he falls into insanity"

Yeltsin allegedly uttered these words publicly on July 1, 1991, during his inauguration as President of the RSFSR on July 10, 1991. As Alexander Korzhakov, the president's chief bodyguard, later recalled, Boris Nikolayevich firmly believed in the truth of his statement and repeated it more than once at every opportunity.

“When Yeltsin was the first secretary of the Moscow city committee of the CPSU, often, coming from the Politburo, he scolded the elders very strongly: Gromyko, Solomentsev, and sometimes we had discussions about this. I said: “There is a point of view that after 70 people only acquire wisdom. In China, for example, those who did not reach this age were not included in the Politburo at all - it was believed that only a person who lived to an advanced age could think about the country and the people. He no longer needs women or wine, so he thinks more broadly, on a larger scale." Yeltsin was of the opposite opinion: "No, it's not like that. At the age of 70, everyone turns into senile, who absolutely should not be allowed to lead the state, "Korzhakov recalled in one of his interviews.

Let us note by the way that in 1999, when Boris Nikolayevich left the presidency of his own free will, he was 67 years old.

"Great Russia rises from its knees"

This, one of the most famous catchphrases, Boris Yeltsin uttered in his keynote speech on the day of the oath on July 10, 1991, assuming the office of President of the RSFSR.

Then he said literally the following: “I look to the future with optimism and am ready for vigorous action. Great Russia is rising from its knees! Through so many trials, having a clear idea of ​​our goals, we can be firmly convinced that Russia will be reborn!"

Curiously, Yeltsin is credited with another common expression on the same subject. It sounds like this: "Our country is on the brink of an abyss, but thanks to the president, we will take a step forward!" True, we could not find documentary evidence that it was Boris Nikolayevich who said this. So it is quite possible that this is just someone's unkind parody of the first president.