Yeltsin's heir: How Putin became Russia's monstrous ruler

A quarter of a century ago, Boris Yeltsin anointed Vladimir Putin as his heir and appointed him Prime Minister of the Russian Federation. When he assumed power, many asked, "Who is Vladimir Putin?" Today, there is no doubt that a monster rules Russia.

Boris Yeltsin won the presidential elections in 1991, becoming the leader of the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic. He forged an agreement with the leaders of Belarus and Ukraine to dissolve the USSR, subsequently becoming the head of the independent Russian Federation. Though Yeltsin initially enjoyed vast public support, the mounting crisis swiftly eroded his approval ratings. He did win the next election, although some voices alleged that he owed it to falsified results.

During his second term, Yeltsin practically changed the heads of government every year, and the list of potential candidates for the office systematically dwindled. Eventually, the name Vladimir Putin emerged.

His selection was not based on his linguistic skills, frequent West visits, or connections with affluent and influential Russians. As "Fakt" points out, he was chosen because he was nondescript and posed no threat to anyone.

After Yeltsin's address on 9 August 1999 at 12:00, it became evident that Yeltsin had not only selected Putin as Prime Minister but also as his successor. Although observers wondered who Putin was for a long time, it was possible quite quickly to elevate him to the status of a national idol. Nothing indicated then that this nondescript politician would become one of the most monstrous figures in Russian history and global history.

Putin swiftly deviated from Yeltsin's path. He distanced himself from the reforms initiated by his predecessor. He also dealt quite brutally with the "old" oligarchs, replacing them with new elites and fully subjugating them. Putin showed no mercy even to those who had once helped him ascend to power.

As "Gazeta Wyborcza" recalls, Aleksei Navalny, imprisoned by Putin in a penal colony near the Arctic Circle, admitted shortly before his death that he hated Yeltsin and his associates because they handed the country to Putin, who brought terror, violence, and war upon the Russians.

Valentin Yumashev, one of Vladimir Putin's first mentors at the Kremlin, emphasized in a conversation with the BBC that the current President of Russia and Boris Yeltsin share one thing — a sense of mission.

Although the similarities end there, while Yeltsin's aim was to lead the country out of the "slavery of communism," Putin's goal is to revert to the past. His objective is to reverse what he considers the greatest failure in Russian history, the dissolution of the USSR. "He wants to leave as a tsar," writes "Fakt."