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137-673: The Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation ( FSB ) is the principal security agency of Russia and the main successor agency to the Soviet Union 's KGB ; its immediate predecessor was the Federal Counterintelligence Service (FSK) which was reorganized into the FSB in 1995. The three major structural successor components of the former KGB that remain administratively independent of

274-518: A de facto basis. Countries where various military and civilian agencies divide responsibilities tend to reorganize their efforts over the decades to force the various agencies to cooperate more effectively, integrating (or at least coordinating) their efforts with some unified directorate. For example, after many years of turf wars, the member agencies of the United States Intelligence Community are now coordinated by

411-579: A "counter-terrorism" operational regime under the FSB was introduced in Kursk , Bryansk and Belgorod Oblasts . This means in practice that "movement is restricted, vehicles can be seized, phone calls can be monitored, areas are declared no-go zones, checkpoints introduced, and security is beefed up at key infrastructure sites." In 2011, the FSB said it had exposed 199 foreign spies, including 41 professional spies and 158 agents employed by foreign intelligence services. The number has risen in recent years: in 2006

548-716: A November 1992 ceremony in Budapest, apologized for the 1956 Soviet intervention in Hungary and handed over to president Árpád Göncz documents from the Communist Party and KGB archives related to the intervention. A treaty of friendship was signed in May 1992 with Lech Wałęsa 's Poland, and then another one in August 1992 with Zhelyu Zhelev 's Bulgaria. On 2 January 1992, Yeltsin, acting as his own prime minister , ordered

685-681: A candidate (non-voting) member of the Politburo . At that point he formally left the Secretariat to concentrate on his role in Moscow. Over the coming year he removed many of the old secretaries of the gorkom, replacing them with younger individuals, particularly with backgrounds in factory management. In August 1986, Yeltsin gave a two-hour report to the party conference in which he talked about Moscow's problems, including issues that had previously not been spoken about publicly. Gorbachev described

822-447: A capitalist market economy by implementing economic shock therapy , market exchange rate of the ruble , nationwide privatization , and lifting of price controls . Economic downturn, volatility, and inflation ensued. Amid the economic shift, a small number of oligarchs obtained most of the national property and wealth, while international monopolies dominated the market. A constitutional crisis emerged in 1993 after Yeltsin ordered

959-601: A closer look at the realities of Soviet life. In May 1981, he held a question-and-answer session with college students at the Sverdlovsk Youth Palace, where he was unusually frank in his discussion of the country's problems. In December 1982 he then gave a television broadcast for the region in which he responded to various letters. This personalised approach to interacting with the public brought disapproval from some Communist Party figures, such as First Secretary of Tyumen Oblast , Gennadii Bogomyakov, although

1096-536: A company called Peter-Service helped state entities gather data on Russian mobile phone users as part of an online surveillance system called the System for Operative Investigative Activities ( SORM ) with close collaboration with the FSB. SORM-1 is for wiretapping phones. SORM-2 intercepts electronic correspondence and Internet traffic. Beginning in the summer of 2014, SORM-3 has been "on guard" and integrates all telecommunication services in real time. In recent years,

1233-652: A crime against our people by making their standard of living so incomparably lower than that of the Americans." An aide, Lev Sukhanov, was reported to have said that it was at that moment that "the last vestige of Bolshevism collapsed" inside his boss. In his autobiography, Against the Grain: An Autobiography , written and published in 1990, Yeltsin hinted in a small passage that after his tour, he made plans to open his line of grocery stores and planned to fill it with government-subsidized goods to alleviate

1370-430: A deep credit crunch shut down many industries and brought about a protracted depression. The reforms devastated the living standards of much of the population, especially the groups dependent on Soviet-era state subsidies and welfare programs. Through the 1990s, Russia's GDP fell by 50%, vast sectors of the economy were wiped out, inequality and unemployment grew dramatically, whilst incomes fell. Hyperinflation , caused by

1507-470: A few months earlier. After leaving office, he kept a low profile and was accorded a state funeral upon his death in 2007 . Domestically, he was highly popular in the late 1980s and early 1990s, although his reputation was damaged by the economic and political crises of his presidency, and he left office widely unpopular with the Russian population. He received praise and criticism for his role in dismantling

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1644-476: A former KGB officer who assisted Soviet dissidents, Vladimir Kazantsev , who disclosed illegal purchases of eavesdropping devices from foreign firms, and Vil Mirzayanov , who had written that Russia was working on a nerve-gas weapon. In 2011, the FSB prevented 94 "crimes of a terrorist nature", including eight terrorist attacks. In particular, the agency foiled a planned suicide bombing in Moscow on New Year's Eve. The agency failed to prevent terrorists perpetrating

1781-567: A grenade, which blew off the thumb and index finger of his left hand. With friends, he would go on summer walking expeditions in the adjacent taiga , sometimes for many weeks. In September 1949, Yeltsin was admitted to the Ural Polytechnic Institute (UPI) in Sverdlovsk . He took the stream in industrial and civil engineering, which included courses in maths, physics, materials and soil science, and draftsmanship. He

1918-409: A lack of motivation among construction workers, an irregular supply of materials, and the regular theft or vandalism of available materials. He soon imposed fines for those who damaged or stole materials or engaged in absenteeism, and closely monitored productivity. His work on the construction of a textile factory, for which he oversaw 1000 workers, brought him wider recognition. In June 1958 he became

2055-657: A lead role on "intelligence and influence operations". The FSB's Fifth Service, also referred to as the "Department for Operational Information" and "Operational Information and International Relations Service" is stated by the BBC and Radio Free Europe as counterintelligence in former territories of the Soviet Union, work formerly done by the KGB's Fifth Service. Its Ninth Directorate of the Fifth Service targets Ukraine. Putin

2192-672: A leader, deeming him controlling and patronizing, but committed himself to the latter's project of reform. In April 1985, Gorbachev appointed Yeltsin head of the Construction Department of the Party's Central Committee. Although it entailed moving to the capital city, Yeltsin was unhappy with what he regarded as a demotion. There, he was issued a nomenklatura flat at 54 Second Tverskaya-Yamskaya Street, where his daughter Tatyana and her son and husband soon joined him and his wife. Gorbachev soon promoted Yeltsin to secretary of

2329-762: A major part of the Federal Agency of Government Communication and Information (FAPSI); this would include intelligence activities in countries that were once members of the Soviet Union, work formerly done by the KGB's Fifth Service. The SVR had in 1992 signed an agreement not to spy on those countries; the FSB had made no such commitment. The Federal Security Service (FSB or FSS) (Russian: Федеральная служба безопасности Российской Федерации , romanized : Federal'naya sluzhba bezopasnosti Rossiyskoy Federatsii , IPA: [fʲɪdʲɪˈralʲnəjə ˈsluʐbə bʲɪzɐˈpasnəstʲɪ rɐˈsʲijskəj fʲɪdʲɪˈratsɨɪ] [ФСБ, ФСБ России], lit.   ' Federal Service [of] Safety ' )

2466-461: A mesh of judicial and legislative accountability, whereas in others they may answer only to a single leader or executive committee. Boris Yeltsin CPSU membership Elections First term Second term Post-Presidency [REDACTED] Media gallery Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin (1 February 1931 – 23 April 2007) was a Soviet and Russian politician and statesman who served as

2603-565: A rapid approach and those favoring a gradual or slower approach. On January 1, 1992, Yeltsin signed accords with U.S. President George H. W. Bush , declaring the Cold War officially over after nearly 47 years. A visit to Moscow from Havel in April 1992 occasioned the written repudiation of the Soviet intervention and the withdrawal of armed forces from Czechoslovakia. Yeltsin laid a wreath during

2740-688: A security agency might be called a "security company" or "security service", but those terms can also be used for organizations that have nothing to do with intelligence gathering. There is debate about whether some security agencies should be characterized as secret police forces. The extent to which security agencies use domestic covert operations to exert political control varies by country and political system. Such operations can include surveillance, infiltration, and disruption of dissident groups, attempts to publicly discredit dissident figures, and even assassination or extrajudicial detention and execution. Security agencies are constrained in some countries by

2877-585: A senior work superintendent ( starshii prorab ) and in January 1960 was made head engineer ( glavni inzhener ) of Construction Directorate Number 13. At the same time, Yeltsin's family was growing; in September 1956, he married Girina. She soon got work at a scientific research institute, where she remained for 29 years. In August 1957, their daughter Yelena was born, followed by a second daughter, Tatyana, in January 1960. During this period, they moved through

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3014-586: A succession of apartments. On family holidays, Yeltsin took his family to a lake in northern Russia and the Black Sea coast. In March 1960, Yeltsin became a probationary member of the governing Communist Party and a full member in March 1961. In his later autobiography, he stated that his original reasons for joining were "sincere" and rooted in a genuine belief in the party's socialist ideals. In other interviews he instead stated that he joined because membership

3151-591: A terrorist" and highlighted especially Russia's willingness to prioritize national security over civil rights. By 2010, Russian forces led by the FSB had managed to eliminate the top level leadership of the Chechen insurgency, except for Dokka Umarov . Starting from 2009, the level of terrorism in Russia increased again, particularly suicide attacks. Between February 2005 and August 2008, no civilians were killed in such attacks. In 2008, at least 17 were killed, and in 2009

3288-539: A third child, Valentina. Between 1939 and 1945, Yeltsin received a primary education at Berezniki's Railway School Number 95. Academically, he did well at primary school and was repeatedly elected class monitor by fellow pupils. There, he also took part in activities organized by the Komsomol and Vladimir Lenin All-Union Pioneer Organization . This overlapped with Soviet involvement in

3425-408: A wide range of journals published in the country and also claimed to have read an illegally printed samizdat copy of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn 's The Gulag Archipelago . Many of his concerns about the Soviet system were prosaic rather than ideological, as he believed that the system was losing effectiveness and beginning to decay. He was increasingly faced with the problem of Russia's place within

3562-424: Is engaged in the development of Russia's export control strategy and examines drafts of international agreements related to the transfer of dual-use and military commodities and technologies. Its primary role in the nonproliferation sphere is to collect information to prevent the illegal export of controlled nuclear technology and materials. In September 2017, WikiLeaks released "Spy Files Russia", revealing how

3699-535: Is headquartered in Lubyanka Square , Moscow 's center, in the main building of the former KGB. The director of the FSB is appointed by and directly answerable to the president of Russia . Being part of Russia's executive branch formally, the FSB has significant, if not decisive, power over it. In 2003, the FSB's responsibilities were expanded by incorporating the Border Guard Service and

3836-529: Is one of the successor organizations of the Soviet Committee of State Security ( KGB ). Following the attempted coup of 1991 —in which some KGB units as well as the KGB head Vladimir Kryuchkov played a major part—the KGB was dismantled and ceased to exist from November 1991. In December 1991, two government agencies answerable to the Russian president were created by President Yeltsin's decrees on

3973-549: The Ayaks /Ajax hypersonic aircraft and has run a Russia-US scientific symposium for several years. Other instances of prosecution are the cases of investigative journalist and ecologist Grigory Pasko , Vladimir Petrenko , who described danger posed by military chemical warfare stockpiles, and Nikolay Shchur , chairman of the Snezhinskiy Ecological Fund . Other arrested people include Viktor Orekhov ,

4110-493: The Belavezha Accords , the three presidents declared that the Soviet Union no longer existed "as a subject of international law and geopolitical reality", and announced the formation of a voluntary Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) in its place. On 17 December, in a meeting with Yeltsin, Gorbachev accepted the fait accompli and agreed to dissolve the Soviet Union . On 24 December, by mutual agreement of

4247-668: The Central Bank of Russia 's loose monetary policy, wiped out many people's personal savings, and tens of millions of Russians were plunged into poverty. Some economists argue that in the 1990s, Russia suffered an economic downturn more severe than the United States or Germany had undergone six decades earlier in the Great Depression . Russian commentators and even some Western economists, such as Marshall Goldman , widely blamed Yeltsin's economic programme for

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4384-469: The Director of National Intelligence , with the hope to reduce stovepiping of information. In Ireland , for example, intelligence operations relevant to internal security are conducted by the military ( G2 ) and police ( SDU ), rather than civilian agencies. Security agencies frequently have " security ", "intelligence" or "service" in their names. Private organizations that provide services similar to

4521-572: The Dmitrov labor camp. Yeltsin and his mother then were ejected from their residence and were taken in by friends; Klavdiya worked at a garment factory in her husband's absence. In October 1936, Nikolai returned; in July 1937, the couple's second child, Mikhail, was born. That month, they moved to Berezniki , in Perm Krai , where Nikolai got work on a potash combine project. In July 1944, they had

4658-542: The Domodedovo International Airport bombing . Over the years, FSB and affiliated state security organizations have killed all presidents of the separatist Chechen Republic of Ichkeria including Dzhokhar Dudaev , Zelimkhan Yandarbiev , Aslan Maskhadov , and Abdul-Khalim Saidullaev . During the Moscow theater hostage crisis and Beslan school hostage crisis , all hostage-takers were killed on

4795-600: The Politburo of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union , which established his popularity as an anti-establishment figure. In 1990, he was elected chair of the Russian Supreme Soviet and in 1991 was elected president of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR), becoming the first popularly-elected head of state in Russian history. Yeltsin allied with various non-Russian nationalist leaders and

4932-663: The State Committee for Construction . At the next meeting of the Central Committee on 24 February 1988, Yeltsin was removed from his position as a Candidate member of the Politburo. He was perturbed and humiliated but began plotting his revenge. His opportunity came with Gorbachev's establishment of the Congress of People's Deputies . Yeltsin recovered and started intensively criticizing Gorbachev, highlighting

5069-772: The United States , one organization, the FBI, is a national police, an internal security agency, and a counterintelligence agency. In other countries, separate agencies exist, although the nature of their work causes them to interact. For example, in France, the Police nationale and the Gendarmerie nationale both handle policing duties, and the Direction centrale du renseignement intérieur handles counterintelligence. Likewise,

5206-622: The Vladimir Putin 's second presidency (2006–2008), terrorist attacks in Russia dwindled, falling from 257 in 2005 to 48 in 2007. Military analyst Vitaly Shlykov praised the effectiveness of Russia's security agencies, saying that the experience learned in Chechnya and Dagestan had been key to the success. In 2008, the American Carnegie Endowment 's Foreign Policy magazine named Russia as "the worst place to be

5343-485: The invasion of Ukraine . A U.S. official interviewed by The Wall Street Journal described the arrest report as "credible". On 11 April 2022, the Times of London , citing unnamed sources who had spoken to Bellingcat executive director Christo Grozev , reported that Beseda was transferred to Lefortovo Prison , the scene of mass executions during Stalin's purges . The same report claims that up over 100 FSB agents from

5480-691: The president of Russia from 1991 to 1999. He was a member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1961 to 1990. He later stood as a political independent , during which time he was viewed as being ideologically aligned with liberalism . Yeltsin was born in Butka , Ural Oblast . He would grow up in Kazan and Berezniki . He worked in construction after studying at the Ural State Technical University . After joining

5617-563: The "Gamaredon" hacking group. Media reporting indicates FSB units are capable of manufacturing their own advanced malware tools and have been documented manipulating exposed malware to mimic other hacking teams and conceal their activities. Reporting indicates the FSB oversees training and research institutes, which directly support the FSB's cyber mission. One FSB team reportedly focuses on penetrating infrastructure and energy sector targets. Most operations linked to this team appear to be reconnaissance or clandestine surveillance. The targeting of

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5754-679: The 1993 constitutional crisis , the Ministry of Security was reorganized on 21 December 1993 into the Federal Counter-Intelligence Service (FSK). The FSK was headed by Sergei Stepashin . Before the start of the First Chechen War's main military activities, the FSK was responsible for the covert operations against the separatists led by Dzhokhar Dudayev . In 1995, the FSK was renamed and reorganized into

5891-562: The 2022 invasion, intelligence agencies in Ukraine, Germany, the UK, and the US reported that the FSB planned to replace elected leaders of Ukraine with Ukrainians now living in Russia. In 2014, according to a Russian military analyst, the FSB badly misled Putin with claims that Ukrainians would welcome a Russian invasion of Crimea to free them from "fascists". According to Radio Free Europe , in 2022,

6028-564: The Central Committee for construction and capital investment, a position within the powerful CPSU Central Committee Secretariat , a move approved by the Central Committee plenum in July 1985. With Gorbachev's support, in December 1985, Yeltsin was installed as the first secretary of the Moscow gorkom of the CPSU . He was now responsible for managing the Soviet capital city, which had a population of 8.7 million. In February 1986, Yeltsin became

6165-559: The Central Committee showed no concern. In 1981, he was awarded the Order of Lenin for his work. The following year, Brezhnev died and was succeeded by Yuri Andropov , who in turn ruled for 15 months before his own death; Yeltsin spoke positively about Andropov. Andropov was succeeded by another short-lived leader, Konstantin Chernenko . After his death, Yeltsin took part in the Central Committee plenum which appointed Mikhail Gorbachev

6302-412: The Communist Party, he rose through its ranks, and in 1976, he became First Secretary of the party's Sverdlovsk Oblast committee. Yeltsin was initially a supporter of the perestroika reforms of Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev . He later criticized the reforms as being too moderate and called for a transition to a multi-party representative democracy . In 1987, he was the first person to resign from

6439-652: The Congress of People's Deputies, the Inter-Regional Group of Deputies, and on 29 July 1989 was elected one of the five co-chairmen of the Inter-Regional Group. On 16 September 1989, Yeltsin toured a medium-sized grocery store ( Randalls ) in Texas . Leon Aron, quoting a Yeltsin associate, wrote in his 2000 biography, Yeltsin, A Revolutionary Life (St. Martin's Press): "For a long time, on

6576-524: The Constitutional System and the Fight against Terrorism. In 2003, the agency's responsibilities were considerably widened. The Border Guard Service of Russia , with its staff of 210,000, was integrated to the FSB via a decree signed on 11 March 2003. The merger was completed by 1 July 2003. In addition, The Federal Agency of Government Communication and Information (FAPSI) was abolished, and

6713-455: The FSB again promised easy victory if Russia invaded Ukraine. With the start of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine , Ukrainian counterintelligence has repeatedly asserted that the FSB suffered failures of operations security , including acts of insubordination and possible sabotage. In March 2022, Russia's encrypted communication system in Ukraine became useless after the Russian military destroyed cellphone towers; unencrypted phone calls from

6850-429: The FSB and criminal and civilian hackers, which the FSB reportedly uses to augment and staff its cyber units. DOJ has indicted multiple Russian hackers for a variety of criminal and state-sponsored cyber activities. Many of these indictments describe the close relationship between criminal hackers and the FSB. Since 2008, the director of the FSB has been General Alexander Bortnikov . The current First Deputy Director of

6987-718: The FSB are the Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), the Federal Protective Service (FSO), and the Main Directorate of Special Programs of the President of the Russian Federation (GUSP). The primary responsibilities are within the country and include counter-intelligence , internal and border security , counterterrorism , surveillance and investigating some other types of serious crimes and federal law violations. It

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7124-505: The FSB had spent millions recruiting a network of pro-Russian collaborators who ultimately told Putin and his top advisers, among them the current FSB director, what they wanted to hear. A series of alleged leaked letters from FSB analysts, made public after the invasion began, report the same kind of problem. For example: "You have to write the analysis in a way that makes Russia the victor ... otherwise you get questioned for not doing good work." Russian-American ballet dancer Ksenia Karelina

7261-413: The FSB has expanded its mission to include foreign intelligence collection and offensive cyber operations. Cyber analysts have referred to FSB hackers as Berserk Bear , Energetic Bear , Gamaredon , TeamSpy, Dragonfly, Havex , Crouching Yeti , and Koala. The FSB reportedly has two primary centers overseeing its information security and cyber operations. The first is the 16th Center, which houses most of

7398-469: The FSB in Ukraine to superiors in Moscow discussing the death of Vitaly Gerasimov were tapped and released publicly. Ukrainian intelligence reported that FSB members were leaking intelligence to them, including the location of the Chechen commandos sent to assassinate Zelensky. In late March, Ukrainian intelligence posted online the names, addresses, phone numbers, and more of 620 people they identified as FSB agents. None of these reports have been confirmed by

7535-601: The FSB is Sergei Korolev . He was appointed by Russian President Vladimir Putin on 24 February 2021. As of 2022 Eduard Chernovoltsev was listed the Head of scientific and technical service of the FSB. Below the nationwide level, the FSB has regional offices in all the federal subjects of Russia . It also has administrations in the armed forces and other military institutions. Sub-departments exist for areas such as aviation, special training centers, forensic expertise, military medicine, etc. Security agency For example,

7672-466: The FSB reportedly caught about 27 foreign intelligence officers and 89 foreign agents. Comparing the number of exposed spies historically, the then-FSB Director Nikolay Kovalyov said in 1996: "There has never been such a number of spies arrested by us since the time when German agents were sent in during the years of World War II." The 2011 figure is similar to what was reported in 1995–1996, when around 400 foreign intelligence agents were uncovered during

7809-591: The FSB since it was established; instances include researcher Igor Sutyagin , physicist Valentin Danilov , physical chemist Oleg Korobeinichev , academician Oskar Kaibyshev , and physicist Yury Ryzhov . Ecologist and journalist Alexander Nikitin , who worked with the Bellona Foundation , was accused of espionage. He published material exposing hazards posed by the Russian Navy's nuclear fleet. He

7946-425: The FSB was granted a major part of its functions, while other parts went to the Ministry of Defense . Among the reasons for this strengthening of the FSB were the enhanced need for security after increased terror attacks against Russian civilians starting with the Moscow theater hostage crisis ; the need to end the permanent infighting between the FSB, FAPSI and the Border Guards due to their overlapping functions; and

8083-438: The FSB's signals intelligence capabilities. The FSB also includes the 18th Center for Information Security, which oversees domestic operations and security but conducts foreign operations as well. The U.S. government indicted 18th Center FSB officers in 2017 for breaching Yahoo and millions of email accounts. In 2021, Ukrainian intelligence released information and recordings of 18th Center FSB officers based in Crimea as part of

8220-413: The FSB, the operation was planned over six months and made possible due to the FSB's increased activities in foreign countries that were supplying arms to the terrorists. Basayev was tracked via surveillance of this arms trafficking. He and other militants were preparing to carry out a terrorist attack in Ingushetia when FSB agents destroyed their convoy; 12 militants were killed. During the last years of

8357-424: The FSB. Media outlets of Ukraine, its allies in the West, and Russian dissidents report that Vladimir Putin has blamed setbacks in the military operations on the FSB and the Fifth Service. On 11 March 2022, investigative journalist Andrei Soldatov reported that Fifth Service head Sergey Beseda and his deputy, Anatoly Bolyukh were under house arrest due to Putin 's discontent with intelligence failures regarding

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8494-421: The FSB. Putin was reluctant to take over the directorship, but once appointed conducted a thorough reorganization, which included the dismissal of most of the FSB's top personnel. Putin appointed Nikolai Patrushev as the head of FSB in 1999. After the main military offensive of the Second Chechen War ended and the separatists changed tactics to guerilla warfare, overall command of the federal forces in Chechnya

8631-405: The Federal Security Service (FSB) by the Federal Law "On the Federal Security Service" (the title of the law as amended in June 2003) signed by the president on 3 April 1995. The FSB reforms were rounded out by decree No. 633, signed by Boris Yeltsin on 23 June 1995. The decree made the tasks of the FSB more specific, giving the FSB substantial rights to conduct cryptographic work, and described

8768-457: The Fifth Service had been sacked. The Times of London also reports that "it is thought that" the Fifth Service is now headed by Beseda's former subordinate, Grigory Grishaev . According to an article in the 11 April 2022 issue of The Washington Post : Several current and former officials described the Russian security service as rife with corruption, beset by bureaucratic bloat and ultimately out of touch. A Ukrainian intelligence official said

8905-450: The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, one of the republics of the Soviet Union . His family, who were ethnic Russians, had lived in this area of the Urals since at least the eighteenth century. His father, Nikolai Yeltsin, had married his mother, Klavdiya Vasilyevna Starygina, in 1928. Yeltsin always remained closer to his mother than to his father; the latter beat his wife and children on various occasions. The Soviet Union

9042-431: The SVR is legally forbidden from conducting espionage under the inter-government agreements. Such activity is in line with Article 8 of the Federal Law on the FSB. According to the Royal United Services Institute , FSB's Department for Operational Information "is responsible for compiling data on Russia's 'near abroad ' ", having taken over the work of KGB's Fifth Service, which ran counterintelligence inside territories of

9179-428: The Second World War , during which Yeltsin's paternal uncle, Andrian, served in the Red Army and was killed. From 1945 to 1949, Yeltsin studied at the municipal secondary school number 1, also known as Pushkin High School . Yeltsin did well at secondary school, and there took an increasing interest in sports, becoming captain of the school's volleyball squad. He enjoyed playing pranks and in one instance playing with

9316-447: The Soviet Union, transforming Russia into a representative democracy, and introducing new political, economic, and cultural freedoms to the country. Conversely, he was accused of economic mismanagement, abuse of presidential power, autocratic behavior, corruption, and of undermining Russia's standing as a major world power. Boris Yeltsin was born on 1st February 1931 in the village of Butka, Talitsky District , Sverdlovsk Oblast , then in

9453-532: The Soviet Union. In the summer of 2006, the FSB was given the legal power to engage in targeted killing of terrorism suspects overseas if ordered by the president. The Federal Border Guard Service (FPS) has been part of the FSB since 2003. Russia has 61,000 kilometers (38,000 mi) of sea and land borders, 7,500 kilometers (4,700 mi) of which is with Kazakhstan, and 4,000 kilometers (2,500 mi) with China. One kilometer (.62 miles) of border protection costs around 1 million rubles per year. The FSB

9590-461: The Soviet Union; unlike other republics in the country, the RSFSR lacked the same levels of autonomy from the central government in Moscow. In the early 1980s, he and Yurii Petrov privately devised a tripartite scheme for reforming the Soviet Union that would involve strengthening the Russian government, but it was never presented publicly. By 1980, Yeltsin had developed the habit of appearing unannounced in factories, shops, and public transport to get

9727-410: The Soviet government, ministry by ministry—including the Kremlin. On 6 November 1991, Yeltsin issued a decree banning all Communist Party activities on Russian soil. In early December 1991, Ukraine voted for independence from the Soviet Union. A week later, on 8 December, Yeltsin met Ukrainian president Leonid Kravchuk and the leader of Belarus , Stanislav Shushkevich , in Belovezhskaya Pushcha . In

9864-562: The Sverdlovsk obkom then unanimously voted to appoint Yeltsin as its first secretary. This made him one of the youngest provincial first secretaries in the RSFSR, and gave him significant power within the province. Where possible, Yeltsin tried to improve consumer welfare in the province, arguing that it would make for more productive workers. Under his provincial leadership, work started on various construction and infrastructure projects in

10001-632: The UPI volleyball team. He avoided any involvement in political organizations while there. During the summer 1953 break, he traveled across the Soviet Union, touring the Volga , central Russia, Belarus , Ukraine , and Georgia ; much of the travel was achieved by hitchhiking on freight trains. It was at UPI that he began a relationship with Naina Iosifovna Girina , a fellow student who would later become his wife. Yeltsin completed his studies in June 1955. Leaving

10138-698: The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is an internal intelligence, security and law enforcement agency, while the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is an external intelligence service, which deals primarily with intelligence collection overseas. A similar relationship exists in Britain between MI5 and MI6 . The distinction, or overlap, between security agencies, national police , and gendarmerie organizations varies by country. For example, in

10275-426: The United States in September 1989, an allegation which appeared to be confirmed by a TV account of his speech; however, popular dissatisfaction with the regime was strong, and these attempts to smear Yeltsin only added to his popularity. In another incident, Yeltsin fell from a bridge. Commenting on this event, Yeltsin hinted that he was helped to fall by the enemies of perestroika , but his opponents suggested that he

10412-626: The Ural Polytechnic Institute, Yeltsin was assigned to work with the Lower Iset Construction Directorate in Sverdlovsk; at his request, he served the first year as a trainee in various building trades. He quickly rose through the organization's ranks. In June 1956 he was promoted to foreman ( master ), and in June 1957 was promoted again, to the position of work superintendent ( prorab ). In these positions, he confronted widespread alcoholism and

10549-645: The Yeltsin-backed candidacy of Yegor Gaidar for the position of Russian Prime Minister . An agreement was brokered by Valery Zorkin , president of the Constitutional Court , which included the following provisions: a national referendum on the new constitution; parliament and Yeltsin would choose a new head of government, to be confirmed by the Supreme Soviet; and the parliament was to cease making constitutional amendments that change

10686-474: The agency was reformed by a decree signed on 17 June 2000. In the resulting structure, the FSB was to have a director, a first deputy director and nine other deputy directors, including one possible state secretary and the chiefs of six departments: Economic Security Department, Counterintelligence Department, Organizational and Personnel Service, Department of activity provision, Department for Analysis, Forecasting and Strategic Planning, Department for Protection of

10823-482: The balance of power between the legislative and executive branches. Eventually, on 14 December, Viktor Chernomyrdin , widely seen as a compromise figure, was confirmed in the office. The conflict escalated soon, however, with the parliament changing its prior decision to hold a referendum. Yeltsin, in turn, announced in a televised address to the nation on 20 March 1993, that he was going to assume certain "special powers" to implement his programme of reforms. In response,

10960-564: The basis of the relevant main directorates of the defunct KGB: Foreign Intelligence Service (Russia) (SVR, the former First Main Directorate ) and the Federal Agency of Government Communications and Information (FAPSI, merging the functions of the former 8th Main Directorate and 16th Main Directorate of the KGB). In January 1992, another new institution, the Ministry of Security, took over domestic and border security responsibilities. Following

11097-507: The changes to be an attempt to undermine FSB Director Nikolay Patrushev 's influence, as his team from the Karelian KGB Directorate of the late 1980s  to early 1990s suffered most, and he had been on vacations during the events. By 2008, the agency had one Director, two First Deputy Directors and 5 Deputy Directors. It had the following 9 divisions: Beginning with the Moscow theater hostage crisis in 2002, Russia

11234-534: The city of Sverdlovsk, including a subway system , the replacement of its barracks housing, new theaters and a circus, the refurbishment of its 1912 opera house, and youth housing projects to build new homes for young families. In September 1977, Yeltsin carried out orders to demolish the Ipatiev House , the location where the Romanov royal family had been killed in 1918, over the government's fears that it

11371-442: The constitution, Yeltsin announced in a televised address his decision to disband the Supreme Soviet and Congress of People's Deputies by decree. In his address, Yeltsin declared his intent to rule by decree until the election of the new parliament and a referendum on a new constitution, triggering the constitutional crisis of October 1993 . On the night after Yeltsin's televised address, the Supreme Soviet declared Yeltsin removed from

11508-467: The country's disastrous economic performance in the 1990s. Many politicians began to quickly distance themselves from the programme. In February 1992, Russia's vice president, Alexander Rutskoy denounced the Yeltsin programme as "economic genocide". By 1993, conflict over the reform direction escalated between Yeltsin on the one side, and the opposition to radical economic reform in Russia's parliament on

11645-470: The country's problems. On 4 March 1990, Yeltsin was elected to the Congress of People's Deputies of Russia representing Sverdlovsk with 72% of the vote. On 29 May 1990, he was elected chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR), although Gorbachev personally pleaded with the Russian deputies not to select Yeltsin. A part of this power struggle

11782-507: The dissolution of the Soviet Union, Yeltsin resolved to embark on a programme of radical economic reform. Surpassing Gorbachev's reforms, which sought to expand democracy in the socialist system, the new regime aimed to completely dismantle socialism and fully implement capitalism, converting the world's largest command economy into a free-market one. During early discussions of this transition, Yeltsin's advisers debated issues of speed and sequencing, with an apparent division between those favoring

11919-416: The distinction, or overlap, between military and civilian security agencies varies between countries. In the United States, the FBI and CIA are civilian agencies, although they have various paramilitary traits and have professional relationships with the U.S.'s military intelligence organizations. In many countries all intelligence efforts answer to the military, whether by official design or at least on

12056-527: The economic and financial security of the country, and combating organized crime. In September 2006, the FSB was shaken up by a major reshuffle. Combined with some earlier reassignments – most notably those of FSB Deputy Directors Yury Zaostrovtsev and Vladimir Anisimov in 2004 and 2005 – the changes were widely believed to be linked to the Three Whales Corruption Scandal that had slowly unfolded since 2000. Some analysts considered

12193-507: The energy sector has raised concern within the U.S. government. The Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Bureau of Investigation have documented the unit's reconnaissance and noted the possibility of inserting malware to cause future damage in an attack. The U.S. government also has linked the unit to attempts to penetrate state and local government networks in 2020. Media reporting has documented close connections between

12330-455: The expansion of which was a major priority for the government. He gained a reputation within the construction industry as a hard worker who was punctual and effective and who was used to meeting the targets set forth by the state apparatus. There had been plans to award him the Order of Lenin for his work, although this was scrapped after a five-story building he was constructing collapsed in March 1966. An official investigation found that Yeltsin

12467-551: The federal forces to conduct efficient counterterrorist operations led to the government to transfer the responsibility of "maintaining order" in Chechnya from the FSB to the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) in July 2003. After becoming president, Vladimir Putin launched a major reorganization of the FSB. First, the FSB was placed under direct control of the President by a decree issued on 17 May 2000. The internal structure of

12604-538: The hastily called 9th Congress of People's Deputies attempted to remove Yeltsin from the presidency through impeachment on 26 March 1993. Yeltsin's opponents gathered more than 600 votes for impeachment but fell 72 votes short of the required two-thirds majority. During the summer of 1993, a situation of dual power developed in Russia. From July, two separate administrations of the Chelyabinsk Oblast functioned side by side, after Yeltsin refused to accept

12741-404: The ideological conformity that was expected within the authoritarian state. Yeltsin played along with the personality cult surrounding Brezhnev, but he was contemptuous of what he saw as the Soviet leader's vanity and sloth. He later claimed to have quashed plans for a Brezhnev museum in Sverdlovsk. While First Secretary, his world-view began to shift, influenced by his reading; he kept up with

12878-510: The injured Yeltsin from his hospital bed to the Moscow party plenum two days later where he was ritually denounced by the party faithful in what was reminiscent of a Stalinist show trial before he was fired from the post of First Secretary of the Moscow Communist Party . Yeltsin said he would never forgive Gorbachev for this "immoral and inhuman" treatment. Yeltsin was demoted to the position of First Deputy Commissioner for

13015-546: The job despite objections that he was not a longstanding party member. That year, Yeltsin and his family moved into a four-room apartment on Mamin-Sibiryak Street, downtown Sverdlovsk. Yeltsin then received his second Order of the Red Banner of Labor for his work completing a cold-rolling mill at the Upper Iset Works, a project for which he had overseen the actions of 15,000 laborers. In the late 1960s, Yeltsin

13152-404: The latter unambiguously condemned the Soviet intervention in 1968. Although restored to his position, Gorbachev had been destroyed politically. Neither union nor Russian power structures heeded his commands as support had swung over to Yeltsin. By September, Gorbachev could no longer influence events outside of Moscow. Taking advantage of the situation, Yeltsin began taking over what remained of

13289-593: The liberalization of foreign trade , prices , and currency. At the same time, Yeltsin followed a policy of "macroeconomic stabilization", a harsh austerity regime designed to control inflation. Under Yeltsin's stabilization programme, interest rates were raised to extremely high levels to tighten money and restrict credit . To bring state spending and revenues into balance, Yeltsin raised new taxes heavily, cut back sharply on government subsidies to industry and construction, and made steep cuts to state welfare spending. In early 1992, prices skyrocketed throughout Russia, and

13426-448: The list that day. The list had been available previously, but only through individual request. Commenting on the list, Yuri Sapunov, head of counterterrorism at the FSB, named three main criteria necessary for organizations to be listed. According to some unofficial sources, since 1999, the FSB has also been tasked with the intelligence-gathering on the territory of the CIS countries, wherein

13563-423: The need for more efficient response to migration, drug trafficking and illegal arms trading. In addition, the FSB was the sole power base of the new president, so the restructuring strengthened his position (see Political groups under Vladimir Putin's presidency ). On 28 June 2004, in a speech to high-ranking FSB officers, Putin emphasized three major tasks of the agency: neutralizing foreign espionage, safeguarding

13700-402: The new General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union , and thus de facto Soviet leader , in March 1985. Gorbachev was interested in reforming the Soviet Union and, at the urging of Yegor Ligachyov , the organizational secretary of the Central Committee, soon summoned Yeltsin to meet with him as a potential ally in his efforts. Yeltsin had some reservations about Gorbachev as

13837-424: The newly elected pro-parliament head of the region. The Supreme Soviet pursued its foreign policies, passing a declaration on the status of Sevastopol . In August, a commentator reflected on the situation as follows: "The President issues decrees as if there were no Supreme Soviet, and the Supreme Soviet suspends decrees as if there were no President." ( Izvestia , 13 August 1993). On 21 September 1993, in breach of

13974-484: The number rose to 45. In March 2010, Islamist militants organised the 2010 Moscow Metro bombings , which killed 40 people. One of the two blasts took place at Lubyanka station, near the FSB headquarters. Militant leader Doku Umarov —dubbed "Russia's Osama Bin Laden"—took responsibility for the attacks. In July 2010, President Dmitry Medvedev expanded the FSB's powers in its fight against terrorism. FSB officers received

14111-575: The other CIS states (which by this time included all of the remaining republics except Georgia), the Russian Federation took the Soviet Union's seat in the United Nations. The next day, Gorbachev resigned and handed the functions of his office to Yeltsin. On 26 December, the Council of the Republics , the upper house of the Supreme Soviet, voted the Soviet Union out of existence, thereby ending

14248-526: The other. Throughout 1992 Yeltsin wrestled with the Supreme Soviet of Russia and the Congress of People's Deputies for control over government, government policy, government banking, and property. In 1992, the speaker of the Russian Supreme Soviet, Ruslan Khasbulatov , came out in opposition to the reforms, despite claiming to support Yeltsin's overall goals. In December 1992, the 7th Congress of People's Deputies succeeded in turning down

14385-478: The party had addressed a leader of the party in such a manner in front of the Central Committee since Leon Trotsky in the 1920s. In his reply, Gorbachev accused Yeltsin of "political immaturity" and "absolute irresponsibility". Nobody in the Central Committee backed Yeltsin. Within days, news of Yeltsin's actions leaked and rumors of his "secret speech" at the Central Committee spread throughout Moscow. Soon, fabricated samizdat versions began to circulate – this

14522-464: The plane to Miami, he sat motionless, his head in his hands. 'What have they done to our poor people?' he said after a long silence." He added, "On his return to Moscow, Yeltsin would confess the pain he had felt after the Houston excursion: the 'pain for all of us, for our country so rich, so talented and so exhausted by incessant experiments'." He wrote that Mr. Yeltsin added, "I think we have committed

14659-454: The power to issue warnings to citizens on actions that could lead to committing crimes and arrest people for 15 days if they fail to comply with legitimate orders given by the officers. The bill was harshly criticized by human rights organizations. Since 2014, the FSB devoted substantial resources to preparing for a Russian takeover of Ukraine. Although Russia's SVR and GRU (foreign and military intelligence services) were also involved, FSB had

14796-532: The powers of the FSB director. The number of deputy directors was increased to eight: two first deputies, five deputies responsible for departments and directorates and one deputy director heading the Moscow City and Moscow regional directorate. Yeltsin appointed Colonel-General Mikhail Ivanovich Barsukov as the new director of the FSB. In 1998, Yeltsin appointed Vladimir Putin , a KGB veteran who would later succeed Yeltsin as federal president, as director of

14933-450: The presidency for breaching the constitution, and Vice-president Alexander Rutskoy was sworn in as acting president. Between 21 and 24 September, Yeltsin was confronted by popular unrest. Demonstrators protested the terrible living conditions under Yeltsin. Since 1989, GDP had declined by half. Corruption was rampant, violent crime was skyrocketing, medical services were collapsing, food and fuel were increasingly scarce and life expectancy

15070-594: The rank of colonel . Also in 1978, Yeltsin was elected without opposition to the Supreme Soviet . In 1979 Yeltsin and his family moved into a five-room apartment at the Working Youth Embankment in Sverdlovsk. In February 1981, Yeltsin gave a speech to the 26th CPSU Congress and on the final day of the Congress was selected to join the Communist Party Central Committee. Yeltsin's reports to party meetings reflected

15207-476: The slow pace of reform in society, the servility shown to the general secretary, and opposition to him from Ligachyov making his position untenable, before requesting to resign from the Politburo, adding that the City Committee would decide whether he should resign from the post of First Secretary of the Moscow Communist Party . Aside from the fact that no one had ever quit the Politburo before, no one in

15344-454: The slow pace of reform in the Soviet Union as his major argument. Yeltsin's criticism of the Politburo and Gorbachev led to a smear campaign against him, in which examples of Yeltsin's awkward behavior were used against him. Speaking at the CPSU conference in 1988, Yegor Ligachyov stated, " Boris, you are wrong ". An article in Pravda described Yeltsin as drunk at a lecture during his visit to

15481-535: The speech as a "strong fresh wind" for the party. Yeltsin expressed a similar message at the 27th Congress of the CPSU in February 1986 and then in a speech at the House of Political Enlightenment in April. On 10 September 1987, after a lecture from hard-liner Yegor Ligachyov at the Politburo for allowing two small unsanctioned demonstrations on Moscow streets, Yeltsin wrote a letter of resignation to Gorbachev who

15618-509: The spot by FSB spetsnaz forces. Only one of the suspects, Nur-Pashi Kulayev , survived and was convicted later by the court. It is reported that more than 100 leaders of terrorist groups have been killed during 119 operations on North Caucasus during 2006. On 28 July 2006, the FSB presented a list of 17 terrorist organizations recognized by the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation , to Rossiyskaya Gazeta newspaper, which published

15755-629: The two-year period. In a high-profile case of foreign espionage, the FSB said in February 2012 that an engineer working at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome , Russia's main space center for military launches, had been sentenced to 13 years in prison on charges of state treason. A court judged that the engineer had sold information about the testing of new Russian strategic missile systems to the American CIA . A number of scientists have been accused of espionage and illegal technology exports by

15892-421: The unconstitutional dissolution of the Russian parliament , leading parliament to impeach him. The crisis ended after troops loyal to Yeltsin stormed the parliament building and stopped an armed uprising; he then introduced a new constitution which significantly expanded the powers of the president. After the crisis, Yeltsin governed the country in a rule by decree until 1994, as the Supreme Soviet of Russia

16029-501: The world's oldest, largest and most powerful Communist state. Economic relations between the former Soviet republics were severely compromised. Millions of ethnic Russians found themselves in newly formed foreign countries. Initially, Yeltsin promoted the retention of national borders according to the pre-existing Soviet state borders, although this left ethnic Russians as a majority in parts of northern Kazakhstan , eastern Ukraine, and areas of Estonia and Latvia . Just days after

16166-504: Was a necessity for career advancement. His career continued to progress during the early 1960s; in February 1962 he was promoted chief ( nachal'nik ) of the construction directorate. In June 1963, Yeltsin was reassigned to the Sverdlovsk House-Building Combine as its head engineer, and in December 1965 became the combine's director. During this period he was largely involved in building residential housing,

16303-529: Was absent. Secessionist sentiment in the Russian Caucasus led to the First Chechen War , War of Dagestan , and Second Chechen War between 1994 and 1999. Internationally, Yeltsin promoted renewed collaboration with Europe and signed arms control agreements with the United States. Amid growing internal pressure, he resigned by the end of 1999 and was succeeded as president by his chosen successor, Vladimir Putin , whom he had appointed prime minister

16440-504: Was accused of being a kulak in 1930. His farm, which was in Basmanovo (also known as Basmanovskoye), was confiscated, and he and his family were forced to reside in a cottage in nearby Butka. There, Nikolai and Ignatii's other children were allowed to join the local kolkhoz ( collective farm ), but Ignatii himself was not; he and his wife, Anna, were exiled in 1934 to Nadezhdinsk , where he died two years later. As an infant, Yeltsin

16577-631: Was acquitted in 1999 after spending several years in prison (his case was sent for re-investigation 13 times while he remained in prison). In August 2021, the FSB arrested plasma physics -expert Alexander Kuranov, chief designer of the Hypersonic Systems Research Center (NIPGS in Russian) in St. Petersburg . Kuranov is suspected of passing secret information to a foreigner about hypersonic technology; he oversaw concept design on

16714-470: Was also required to study Marxist–Leninist doctrine and choose a language course, for which he selected German, although never became adept at it. Tuition was free and he was provided a small stipend to live on, which he supplemented by unloading railway trucks for a small wage. Academically, he achieved high grades, although temporarily dropped out in 1952 when afflicted with tonsillitis and rheumatic fever . He devoted much time to athletics , and joined

16851-514: Was arrested in early 2024 in Yekaterinburg and charged with "treason" for sending $ 51.80 to Razom , a New York City -based nonprofit organization that sends humanitarian assistance to Ukraine . The FSB accused Karelina of taking part in "public actions to support the Kyiv regime." She initially faced life in prison, but pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 12 years in prison. In August 2024,

16988-487: Was attracting growing foreign and domestic attention. He was also responsible for punishing those living in the province who wrote or published material that the Soviet government considered to be seditious or damaging to the established order. Yeltsin sat on the civil-military collegium of the Urals Military District and attended its field exercises. In October 1978, the Ministry of Defence gave him

17125-588: Was christened in the Russian Orthodox Church ; his mother was devout, and his father unobservant. In the years after his birth, the area was hit by the famine of 1932–1933 ; throughout his childhood, Yeltsin was often hungry. In 1932, Yeltsin's parents moved to Kazan , where Yeltsin attended kindergarten . There, in 1934, the OGPU state security services arrested Nikolai, accused him of anti-Soviet agitation , and sentenced him to three years in

17262-538: Was faced with increased levels of terrorism . FSB Spetsnaz units Alpha Group and Vympel played a key role in hostage rescue operations during the Moscow theater siege and the Beslan school siege . Their performance was criticised due to the high number of hostage casualties. In 2006, the FSB successfully killed Shamil Basayev , who was behind the Beslan tragedy and several other high-profile terrorist acts. According to

17399-569: Was holidaying on the Black Sea. When Gorbachev received the letter he was stunned – nobody in Soviet history had voluntarily resigned from the ranks of the Politburo. Gorbachev phoned Yeltsin and asked him to reconsider. On 27 October 1987 at the plenary meeting of the Central Committee of the CPSU , Yeltsin, frustrated that Gorbachev had not addressed any of the issues outlined in his resignation letter, asked to speak. He expressed his discontent with

17536-422: Was instrumental in the formal dissolution of the Soviet Union in December of that year. With the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the RSFSR became the Russian Federation, an independent state. Through that transition, Yeltsin remained in office as president. He was later reelected in the 1996 election , which critics claimed to be pervasively corrupt. He oversaw the transmission of Russia's command economy into

17673-459: Was not culpable for the accident. Within the local Communist Party, Yeltsin gained a patron in Yakov Ryabov  [ ru ] , who became the first secretary of the party gorkom in 1963. In April 1968, Ryabov decided to recruit Yeltsin into the regional party apparatus, proposing him for a vacancy in the obkom 's department for construction. Ryabov ensured that Yeltsin got

17810-559: Was permitted to visit the West for the first time as he was sent on a trip to France. In 1975, Yeltsin was then made one of the five obkom secretaries in the Sverdlovsk Oblast, a position that gave him responsibility not only for construction in the region but also for the forest and the pulp-and-paper industries. Also in 1975, his family relocated to a flat in the House of Old Bolsheviks on March Street. In October 1976, Ryabov

17947-731: Was persuaded to invade Ukraine by a small group of his closest associates, especially Nikolai Patrushev , Yury Kovalchuk and Alexander Bortnikov . According to some experts, Bortnikov played a key role in Putin's decision to invade Ukraine. According to a report of the Royal United Services Institute citing interviews officers and analysts of Security Service of Ukraine , the FSB Ukraine team greatly expanded July 2021, and by February 2022 it had "around 200 officers" although most teams consist of only 10–20. Before

18084-529: Was promoted to a new position in Moscow. He recommended that Yeltsin replace him as the First Secretary of the Party Committee in Sverdlovsk Oblast. Leonid Brezhnev , who then led the Soviet Union as General Secretary of the party's Central Committee , interviewed Yeltsin personally to determine his suitability and agreed with Ryabov's assessment. At the Central Committee's recommendation,

18221-405: Was simply drunk. On 26 March 1989, Yeltsin was elected to the Congress of People's Deputies of the Soviet Union as the delegate from Moscow district with a decisive 92% of the vote, and on 29 May 1989, he was elected by the Congress of People's Deputies to a seat on the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union . On 19 July 1989, Yeltsin announced the formation of the radical pro-reform faction in

18358-509: Was the beginning of Yeltsin's rise as a rebel and growth in popularity as an anti-establishment figure. Gorbachev called a meeting of the Moscow City Party Committee for 11 November 1987 to launch another crushing attack on Yeltsin and confirm his dismissal. On 9 November 1987, Yeltsin apparently tried to kill himself and was rushed to the hospital bleeding profusely from self-inflicted cuts to his chest. Gorbachev ordered

18495-487: Was the opposition between the power structures of the Soviet Union and the RSFSR. In an attempt to gain more power, on 12 June 1990, the Congress of People's Deputies of the RSFSR adopted a declaration of sovereignty. On 12 July 1990, Yeltsin resigned from the CPSU in a dramatic speech before party members at the 28th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union , some of whom responded by shouting "Shame!" During May 1991 Vaclav Havel invited Yeltsin to Prague where

18632-425: Was then under the leadership of Joseph Stalin , who led the one-party state governed by the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Seeking to transform the country into a socialist society according to Marxist–Leninist doctrine, in the late 1920s Stalin's government had initiated a project of mass rural collectivisation coupled with dekulakization . As a prosperous farmer, Yeltsin's paternal grandfather, Ignatii,

18769-478: Was transferred from the military to the FSB in January 2001. While the army lacked technical means of tracking the guerrilla groups, the FSB suffered from insufficient human intelligence due to its inability to build networks of agents and informants. In the autumn of 2002, the separatists launched a massive campaign of terrorism against the Russian civilians, including the Dubrovka theatre attack . The inability of

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