Boris Yeltsin: First President of Russia (Champions of Freedom)

Miller, Calvin Craig

ISBN 10: 1883846080 ISBN 13: 9781883846084

Publisher: Morgan Reynolds Pub, 1995

Synopsis

Traces the life of President Yeltsin, and describes the background of his times

About this title

From School Library Journal:

Grade 7 Up?Drawing heavily on Boris Yeltsin's Against the Grain (Summit, 1990; o.p.), Miller presents the Russian president as a rugged individualist and a champion of democratic government. The opening anecdote about young Boris's baptism at the hands of a drunken peasant priest is an apt introduction to a man who eschews the urbane manners and sophisticated tastes of politicians like Mikhail Gorbachev. Miller traces his subject's rise to power and his struggle with hard-line communists, a critical electorate, and economic instability. He also includes some bits of history, such as the fact that in 1976 Yeltsin ordered the razing of Ipatiev House, the last residence of Tsar Nicholas II and his family. The text is informal and easy to read, but at times oversimplification causes inaccuracies, e.g., the Duma is defined as "parliament" when in fact it is the "lower-house" of the Federal Assembly. Though bland, the 11 black-and-white photographs are adequately reproduced; a map of the Commonwealth of Independent States, replete with shadings, is difficult to interpret. The superficial index fails to include some important entries. While Kate Schecter's Boris Yeltsin (Chelsea, 1993) is less current, it is more precise and better illustrated.?Pat Katka, San Diego Public Library
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist:

Gr. 6-9. Against the harsh reality of a Soviet farm collective upbringing in the 1930s, Boris Yeltsin "demonstrated a natural ability to lead, earning annual election as class leader from first grade on." Then the feisty and work-driven university graduate insisted on taking a laborer's position and working his way up through the industrial ranks. Joining the Communist Party in the early 1960s, Yeltsin became a controversial figure on a stormy government career path that would take him to the pinnacle of power in 1991. Miller's well-researched and well-written biography generally avoids a dry depiction of Soviet politics. Interesting anecdotes, particularly about Yeltsin's earlier years, keep the text flowing. A rich portrait of Russian life emerges as well, with the collapse of Communism, the downfall of Mikhail Gorbachev, and the severe difficulties facing the new Russia presented in an understandable context. This will be an asset to biography, world cultures, and modern world history collections. Black-and-white photos; source notes; chronology; glossary. Anne O'Malley

About this edition

• Publisher: Morgan Reynolds Pub
• Publication date: 1995
• ISBN 10: 1883846080
• ISBN 13: 9781883846084
• Binding: Library Binding
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 192