Former Russian President Boris Yeltsin died yesterday at the age of 76:
Yeltsin, who had suffered health problems since resigning from office on December 31, 1999, suffered sudden heart failure, medical sources told Russia’s Interfax news agency. […]
Yeltsin became the first democratically elected president of Russia in 1991 and two months later put down a coup attempt against Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev. […]
Dougherty said everything about Yeltsin was larger than life.
“He was oversized, he was huge, everything about him — he was physically a giant, a big-barrel chest of complete charisma,” she said. “When you met him or were around him he was absolutely charismatic.”
While Yeltsin may have been a failed statesman, Dougherty said he had a unique ability to connect with people.
And that is exactly what I’ll remember most about Yeltsin — his charismatic nature as a world leader that drew you in and made you stop to listen, similar to the effect Bill Clinton has on people. Well, that… and the wacky dancing…