Biography: Boris Yeltsin

Overview

He has been called both a democrat and a drunk, a dictator and a czar. For most of a decade, he undertook the seemingly impossible task of dragging his giant nation to the center of global politics and economics. Boris Yeltsin's political career is similar to that of President Lincoln, who was born in a log cabin and rose to the White House. A former construction foreman, Yeltsin survived numerous crises to remain in control of Russia since the collapse of communism. Despite rumors of illness, strong opposition, and questionable decisions, he never lost an election. Travel with us to Russia to see an intimate portrait of one of the world's most contradictory leaders.