Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin

Yeltsin, Boris Nikolayevich, (1931– ), president of the Russian Federation (1990– ). He joined the Communist Party in 1961. Yeltsin was a member of the Politburo, the policy-making organ of the party, and was President Mikhail Gorbachev's chief rival. After he was elected president of the Russian republic, Yeltsin resigned from the Communist Party. In 1991, after a general election, he retained the presidency of the Russian Federation. In 1993 he suppressed a rebellion of communist and nationalist members of parliament. He tried to shake off the communist past by discontinuing a number of communist organizations. In 1995 he temporarily left politics because of health problems. However, in 1996 he won the presidential elections with an ample majority.