Boris Yeltsin

Acting

Boris Yeltsin

Born 1931-02-01 · Butka, Russian SFSR, USSR [now Russia]

Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin (Russian: Борис Николаевич Ельцин; 1 February 1931 – 23 April 2007) was a Soviet and Russian politician who served as the first 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 and Russian nationalism. Yeltsin was born in Butka, Ural Oblast. He grew up in Kazan and Berezniki. After studying at the Ural State Technical University, he worked in construction. After joining 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 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 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 was claimed by critics to be pervasively corrupt. Yeltsin transformed Russia's command economy into 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 a majority of the national property and wealth, while international monopolies came to dominate the market. A constitutional crisis emerged in 1993 after Yeltsin ordered 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. 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 a few months earlier. He kept a low profile after leaving office and was accorded a state funeral upon his death in 2007. ... Source: Article "Boris Yeltsin" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.

Acting credits

Soviet Union: The Rise and Fall - Part 2 poster
NR

Historic Russian battles to repel invaders serve as prelude to the story of events that redrew the map of Eastern Europe and parts of Asia in the 20th century. Following the turmoil of the Bolshevik Revolution, Communist Russia faces the venom of Nazi aggression. 1940's film footage reveals the harsh reality of total war, as the Red Army and Soviet civilians alike confront a brutal and tenacious enemy. The following decades are darkened by tensions between the USSR and foreign powers, and violent measures taken to silence voices of dissent. Finally, the Soviet people's yearning for a freer society leads to accelerating reforms and the ultimate dissolution of the USSR.

Soviet Union: The Rise and Fall - Part 2

1996

Khodorkovsky poster
5.0

Khodorkovsky, the richest Russian, challenges President Putin. A fight of the titans begins. Putin warns him. But Khodorkovsky comes back to Russia knowing that he will be imprisoned, once he returns. When I heard about it, I asked myself: why didn't he stay in exile with a couple of billions? Why did he do that? A personal journey to Khodorkovsky.

Khodorkovsky

2011

Russia, China, Iran: The Axis of Revenge poster
6.7

Russia, China and Iran: three former empires are determined to take their revenge and reassert their power after centuries of humiliation. Since the start of the war in Ukraine, they have never been so aligned on the international stage. Their common goal: to put an end to Western hegemony, restore their zone of influence and propose a new model of society. To achieve this, they are waging a hybrid war against the democracies: military, technological, economic, informational and ideological. Are they on the verge of joining forces to create a new world order?

Russia, China, Iran: The Axis of Revenge

2024

Putin's Witnesses poster
6.3

Russian Federation, December 31, 1999. After President Boris Yeltsin's unexpected resignation, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin becomes acting president of the country. From that day and for a year, Vitaly Mansky's camera documented Putin's rise to power. The story of a privileged witness. The harsh explanation of the reason why politics is the art of possibility of achieving the best with the support of many, but also of giving the worst in return.

Putin's Witnesses

2018

Baltic Storm poster
5.1

A journalist from Berlin, Germany, and a Swedish lawyer discover the truth behind the sinking of the "MS Estonia" in 1994, where more than 850 people drowned.

Baltic Storm

2003

The Shock Doctrine poster
7.1

An investigation of "disaster capitalism", based on Naomi Klein's proposition that neo-liberal capitalism feeds on natural disasters, war and terror to establish its dominance.

The Shock Doctrine

2009

No artwork available
8.0

The second film by Sokurov featuring Boris Yeltsin as the principal character. Now he is the President of Russia, invested with power, bearing the full responsibility for the destinies of his distant compatriots as well as his closest kin and friends.

An Example of Intonation

1991

Soviet Elegy poster
5.2

In "The Soviet Elegy" the long train of photos of the Soviet leaders, dead or alive, stops at the portrait of Yeltsin. At the time of shooting Yeltsin had fallen down from the assembly of the Communist Party deities, and participated in the earthly life through connections of different kinds.

Soviet Elegy

1989

In the Grip of Gazprom poster
8.3

The war in the Ukraine has changed the way many European countries view Russian politics. Suddenly it became clear how dependent countries had become on Russian gas imports for decades and what Vladimir Putin was up to. However, no country needs more gas than Germany. It was only after Russia's invasion of the Ukraine that the German government realized that Russia had long used gas as a weapon to impose its will on states. The instrument created for this purpose is the natural gas production company GAZPROM. So how did Germany become so dependent on Russian gas? The documentary shows how, over several decades and several changes of government, a broad alliance of politicians and business representatives did everything possible to secure Germany's energy supply with cheap Russian gas, while the Kremlin's foreign policy became increasingly aggressive and the warnings of experts went unheeded.

In the Grip of Gazprom

2023

Connected poster
7.3

The film chronicles the final journey of 88-year-old Russian former top-secret scientist and philanthropist Dmitriy Zimin, alongside his longtime American friend Augie Fabela, acting US police officer, before Zimin’s scheduled euthanasia. Against the backdrop of geopolitical tensions between Putin’s Russia and the USA and the outbreak of war in Ukraine, the film captures the closing scenes of a life and a time of peace. Zimin’s story is an embodiment of the harsh historical cycles that have defined Russia over the past century.

Connected

2025

Day of Revelation poster
NR

About the leaders and the nature of the activities of informal groups in Moscow: “Democratic Union” and “People’s Front”.

Day of Revelation

1989

Belarus: An Ordinary Dictatorship poster
6.8

It’s the last dictatorship of Europe, caught in a Soviet time-warp, where the secret police is still called the KGB and the president rules by fear. Disappearances, political assassinations, waves of repression and mass arrests are all regular occurances. But while half of Belarus moves closer to Russia, the other half is trying to resist…

Belarus: An Ordinary Dictatorship

2018

No artwork available
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Георгий Вицин. Отшельник

2008

Latest News About Doomsday poster
10.0

A crazy documentary about the dawn of occult movements related to the expectation of the end of the world, after the collapse of the USSR!

Latest News About Doomsday

1991

Elvis Gratton 2: Miracle à Memphis poster
5.8

Elvis Gratton, dead for three days, comes back to life.

Elvis Gratton 2: Miracle à Memphis

1999

Citizen K poster
6.8

The strange case of Mikhail Khodorkovsky — once believed to be the wealthiest man in Russia — who rocketed to prosperity and prominence in the 1990s, served a decade in prison, and became an unlikely martyr for the anti-Putin movement.

Citizen K

2019

Moscow 1996, Vote or Lose! poster
7.6

Moscow, January 1996. Boris Yeltsin gets ready to run for a second mandate of the presidency of the young Russian Federation. Polls are in the single digits. A painful economic transition, war in Chechnya, and the rise of criminal groups have left the majority of Russians dissatisfied with Yeltsin… and willing to vote for the communist leader Gennady Zyuganov. Yet six months later, Yeltsin won the election with nearly 54% of the vote. How did that happen?

Moscow 1996, Vote or Lose!

2021

Dokument inifrån: Vad hände med försvaret? poster
NR

15 years ago, the Swedish defense took time out to become more modern and sharper. Today, the outside world and politicians are amazed at how little was left. What actually happened?

Dokument inifrån: Vad hände med försvaret?

2015

Day in the President's Family poster
NR

Eldar Ryazanov in conversation with Boris Yeltsin.

Day in the President's Family

1993

Nemtsov poster
10.0

A story told by those who knew Boris Nemtsov at different times: when he was a young scientist and took his first steps in politics; when he held high government offices and was considered Boris Yeltsin's heir apparent; when he led Russia's democratic opposition to Vladimir Putin.

Nemtsov

2016

The Man Who Was Too Free poster
6.5

A documentary about Boris Nemtsov, a prominent figure of Russian political opposition and an outspoken critic of Vladimir Putin. Nemtsov was murdered in Moscow in February of 2015.

The Man Who Was Too Free

2017

No artwork available
6.0

Documentary montage film by Alexander Vartanov, a subjective look at the beginning of the 21st century in Russia

.RU

2018

No artwork available
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Крым Юлиана Семёнова

2021

Salam Aleikum, Ingush people! poster
NR

Documentary film about ethnic cleansing in the Prigorodny district in October-November 1992.

Salam Aleikum, Ingush people!

1993