Midnight Diaries

by Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin, John Jones (Narrator)

"Today, on the last day of the outgoing century, I resign… Russia must enter the new millennium with new politicians, with new faces, with new intelligent, strong, energetic people, and we who have been in power for many years must go."

On December 31, 1999, Russian president Boris Yeltsin stunned the world by stepping down six months ahead of schedule. His decision was cloaked in secrecy, and his announcement rivaled the Eiffel Tower fireworks for dramatic effect.

In his new memoir, Yeltsin looks back on the struggles and upheavals in Russia over the last few years and his own role as the man who held the strings. Opening with his now famous Millennial Eve speech, he reflects on a decade of leadership, decisions, and crucial events, from the coup of 1991 to his first showdown with Parliament in 1993, Chechnya, and more. He ponders politics, his family, his relationship with Bill Clinton, and how he wants history to remember him. The style throughout is "vintage Yeltsin" - pithy, direct, anecdotal.

Midnight Diaries is the ultimate insider's story of the Russian Federation from 1991 - 1999. It's also the portrait of a man who, despite reactionary forces and the pull of communist doctrine, was determined to give his country and people a better future.

Genres: Politics, Russia, History, Biography, Memoir, Nonfiction

6 pages, Audio Cassette

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

From 1991, economic reform and conflict with the legislature marked administration of Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin, Russian politician, president of the republic, until his resignation in 1999.

Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin first served.

Yeltsin came with a wave of high expectations to power. On 12 June 1991, a popular 57% of the vote first elected him. After a series of crises in the 1990s, Yeltsin never recovered his popularity. Widespread corruption, collapse, and enormous social problems characterized the era of Yeltsin. An approval rating of Yeltsin reached two percent before the time, when he left office.

Following the dissolution of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in December 1991, Yeltsin endorsed a program of price liberalization and privatization and vowed to transform socialist command into a free market. A result ably enriched a handful of persons and meanwhile arguably stamped out competitors.

In August 1991, Yeltsin won international plaudits for casting as a democrat and defying the coup attempt of the members of Soviet government opposed to perestroika. He as a widely unpopular, ineffectual, and ailing autocrat left office. He acted as his own prime minister until June 1992 or appointed men of his choice, regardless of parliament. Confrontations of Yeltsin with parliament climaxed in the constitutional crisis of October 1993, when people called up tanks to shell the white house and thus blasted out his opponents. Later in 1993, Yeltsin imposed a new constitution with strong powers, which referendum approved in December.

Yeltsin made a surprise announcement and left the hands of Vladimir Putin, just hours before the first day of 2000.

Reviews

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shortly after finishing this book I went and searched for some 3rd person descriptions of Yeltsin's life and career. Not because the book feels unreliable per say, though he does have an ego and seems to cling to the idea of being squeaky clean a little too fondly, just for curiosity.

Whilst other's recounting of his exploits make him out to be a less patriotically inclined person than his own words in Midnight Diaries suggests, there is a sense from the book and more neutral information that he had democratic inclinations that others in his position may have easily overlooked.

Overall, this book shows someone who seemed to have some interesting notions and even admirable ones, that, regardless of how much he addresses them, seem to also point to an ineffective leader. For example, in how many prime ministers he has.

[Grada (BoekenTrol) · Rating 2 out of 5]

After reading Gromyko's book, I wanted more of that and I decided also to read Jeltsin's story and the book by Gorbachev.

Well, this Rusland, mijn verhaal was okay, but for me nothing more than that. While reading I got the feeling of the sad little boy that seeks recognition for the fact that he's been treated badly by the big boys in higher classes.
A kind of 'it all happened to me but it was not at all my fault' idea. That made contents of the story not less interesting, but a lot more difficult to read. I sometimes even wanted to give up. Since I didn't, the book gets 2 stars.

[Andrew Macfarlane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fascinating insight into the inner workings of a large, overly bureaucratic state machine. These are edited diary notes, written with the 'help' of members of his inner circle. With the benefit of hindsight (and person admiration), the decisions sometimes appear much too clear, as if a priori they were bound to result in positive consequences (or, the consequences that Yeltsin hoped for: these are not always one and the same). This cannot always be the case, and the events are surely written to convey a feeling of control and predictability, when much of it would have been happenstance. It is personal in tone, and you get a sense of the characters, machinations, and also regrets of a man with the weight of a quite literally massive nation on his shoulders.

...you would probably put him on your list of 'fantasy dinner party guests'. As long as you hid the vodka.

[Igor · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the way he write the book. Quite interesting to see a point of view from one of the most powerful man in the world. In Russia not many presidents if any survived their time. Boris Yeltsin did.

Presidency, the transition, new World Order, communist regime, the first Russian liberal, first president of Russia, voluntary departure, the predecessor Vladimir Putin, domestic policies, top policy, chess game, war in Chechnya, war in Yugoslavia.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hmmm...who wrote this book?! It was quite entertaining.