Boris Silly
07-Jun-14
Liberty Triumphant Over A Dead Cow? Â Treasures From The Yeltsin Center Â
The New York Times reports another outbreak of American style presidentialish-ness, this time in the wilds of Russia.
The Boris Yeltsin Presidential Center looms over Yekaterinburg, where young Boris began his climb of the greasy Communist pole.  His previous boosts to local history  include destroying  the building where the Bolsheviks killed the Russian royal family.
Boris is going to get the full American cheese plate, with stirring versions of his “compelling personal story” and a reproduction of his tank-standing posture in the events leading up to the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
Tank-adjacent events apparently not to be marked include his killing hundreds while shelling the Parliament which had impeached him.  Americans still basking in the afterglow of Saint Ronnie’s miracle victory over Communism may not recall that in the aftermath of  Parliament’s defeat Yeltsin rewrote the constitution removing any limits on Presidential power, enjoyed two genocidal wars in Chechnya and elevated the obscure Vladimir Putin to greatness.  While looting the economy.
Visitors will thrill to a recreation [“not a replica” the Times stresses] of his presidential office, featuring the actual furniture.