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In 1992, Russia's first president, Boris Yeltsin, visited the United States for the first time after the collapse of the Soviet Union, when the president of the United States was George H.W. Bush.
Without the big tree of the Soviet Union, Yeltsin's treatment was naturally not as good as before, and later during his visit to the United States, he was ridiculed by then President Clinton.
When Clinton laughed in public, Yeltsin could only stand awkwardly, seemingly at a loss.
Yeltsin and Clinton
The tragedy of the collapse of the Soviet Union was not caused by Yeltsin, but it was inseparable from him. Without its biggest competitor, the United States has naturally become the world's only superpower.
The entire political situation will also be rewritten with the earthquake in Eastern Europe. Yeltsin's road is still long.
Why would the President of the United States mock the President of Russia in public? What other interesting things happened between Yeltsin and Clinton?
The collapse of the Soviet Union is to blame
In 1991, the greatest geopolitical upheaval in Europe and the world as a whole took place. The Soviet Union, the only country that was able to stand up to the United States and had the greatest influence in the camp of socialist countries, fell apart in this year.
Decades of glorious development seem to be still yesterday, and the color of the sickle, hammer, and red flag does not seem to be dim at all. But everything has changed, the USSR is no longer the USSR, and the red flag will no longer fly high over the Kremlin.
The former big brother, the moment he announced his disintegration, became a cold symbol in the history books. Those words that seem to have no temperature can really prove that it has existed and has been brilliant.
As for the reasons for the collapse of the Soviet Union, experts and scholars have analyzed and listed many, many times.
The Soviet Union's highly centralized planned economic system, highly centralized political system, increasingly rigid popular thinking, the cultural evolution policies of Western countries, and open and covert rivalries among high-level Soviet officials...... All these reasons contributed to the demise of the Soviet Union.
When an avalanche occurs, not a single snowflake is innocent, and this may be the truth.
However, the existence of objective environmental factors cannot wash away the infamy of Yeltsin, the first president of Russia. In fact, he is indeed to blame for the collapse of the Soviet Union.
In the eyes of Gorbachev, the last president of the Soviet Union, he was an out-and-out usurper. Moreover, the old president also believes that Yeltsin maintained secret contacts with US President George H.W. Bush.
Yeltsin and Gorbachev
In his memoirs, Gorbachev recounted in detail the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Of course, as an eyewitness, his perspective must not be fair and objective, but some of the views still have a certain truth.
In his opinion, Yeltsin was a talent who was trained by the Soviet system, but in the end became a betrayer of the Soviet Union. He was a fanatical Russian independent, who always placed the Soviet Union in a subordinate position to Russia.
In the perestroika advocated by Gorbachev, he has always complained that he has come under tremendous pressure from Russia's leadership. When he overstepped his authority and signed various official documents, such as decrees, the collapse of the Soviet Union became inevitable.
However, during the 819 incident, which directly affected the fate of the Soviet Union, Yeltsin briefly joined Gorbachev in protesting against the coup d'état initiated by the conservatives. Although the coup d'état ultimately failed, its impact was immeasurable.
On August 19, 1991, the Vice President of the Soviet Union, Yanayev, made an announcement to the public.
Yanayev
Gorbachev has serious health problems and is no longer able to continue his job as president, so he will continue to act as president.
This routine is simply very old-fashioned, and in the course of the development of China's feudal society, in the transformation and change of Western countries, such reasons have appeared many times.
Typically, it stands for two words, coup d'état. Alternatively, it can also represent four words, Li Dai Tao stiff.
All in all, Gorbachev's presidency was shaky at the time. If he had not been able to control the situation well and suppress the turmoil, Yanayev would not have been acting president, but would have become president.
In addition to announcing the order, he also set up a state emergency committee, making it look like he had completely hollowed out Gorbachev. They claim that Mr. President's reforms were a complete failure and brought the entire Soviet Union to a dead end.
Yeltsin, as president of Russia, resolutely protested against their coup d'état.
Yeltsin
He held a press conference at the government building in Russia to tell everyone that Yanayev and his party were all rebels and that their National Emergency Committee was completely illegal.
He called on the Russian masses to revolt against the rebels and give them a powerful response.
When the committee gave specific tasks, Yeltsin also refused to cooperate, and his attitude can be described as very resolute. He also organized political strikes, as if to fight Yanayev and others to the end.
When he did this, he naturally had his own considerations and plans.
In the final analysis, Yeltsin and Gorbachev are not the same kind of people, and their political positions and styles are very different. What the former wants is for Russia to be able to truly exercise its sovereignty. And what the latter wanted, or clinging to the position of president of the Soviet Union.
Yeltsin and Gorbachev
Clearly, the world has changed, and even if Gorbachev declared on August 21 that he was in full control of the situation, the Soviet Union would not be able to go back.
Before the start of the coup d'état, there were already quite noticeable centrifugal forces within the USSR. Many people were dissatisfied with Gorbachev's reforms, and the control and management of the CPSU Central Committee was further weakened.
And in the 819 coup, the Russian Federation seized the opportunity to seize more central power, such as direct leadership of certain military branches.
That's what Yeltsin really wants, and if Yanayev really pushes Gorbachev out of power, he might not be able to get that power.
In addition, the emergence of anti-communist waves in the Soviet Union one after another was a fatal crisis for a socialist country. If people lose faith in communism, then there will be little left of the spiritual core of the Soviet Union.
On August 24, Gorbachev announced his resignation from the post of general secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU and put forward the idea of having the Central Committee dissolve itself. At this time, the Soviet Union was actually close to a state of disintegration.
The more frustrated Gorbachev became, the closer Yeltsin came to his goal.
However, the collapse of the Soviet Union did not represent his victory. Because there is no Soviet Union, as the president of Russia, his status is not the same as before.
In the United States, he has also received some controversial treatment.
Visiting the United States, met with laughter
In 1992, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Yeltsin visited the United States for the first time as president of the independent state of Russia. President George H.W. Bush at the time gave him the hospitality of an "old friend."
This is not Yeltsin's first visit to the United States, but it is the first time that he has stood on the same level as the president of the United States, so the meaning is always different.
This meeting, strictly speaking, should be regarded as an informal summit. At Camp David, the two leaders put forward new thoughts and ideas on the concerns of Russia and the United States in relation to the relations between the United States and the Soviet Union during the previous Gorbachev period.
Bush Sr. believes that after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the United States and Russia stood on the threshold of the new world.
If you want to say that the most proud person at that time, I am afraid that it is the Americans. How severe the Cold War was, and how proud the United States was after losing the Soviet Union, its biggest competitor.
They have become the only superpower in the world, and a world pattern of one superpower and many powers has gradually taken shape.
At the end of 1992, Clinton became the winner of the US presidential election. In early 1993, he successfully entered the White House and began his own era of rule.
Next, the exchange of leaders between Russia and the United States is that between Yeltsin and Clinton.
When Yeltsin visited the United States in 1995, Clinton also made controversial moves, which even embarrassed the parties for a time.
It was October 23, 1995, at the closing ceremony of the summit in New York, and Clinton and Yeltsin, as leaders of the two countries, naturally received the most attention.
The two of them often exchanged words, as if they had a lot to say to each other. Under the circumstance that the situation of relations between major powers is still unclear, the interaction between the two people is still a little sensitive.
When Yeltsin spoke, he responded very frankly to the reporter's question. Previously, most reporters thought that his meeting with Clinton could turn out to be a disaster, but he felt that such a view was biased, and that it was the journalists who were the disaster.
At first glance, this statement seems to emphasize the friendly relationship between him and Clinton. And Clinton, who was standing beside him, couldn't help but laugh, and the laughter continued for a while.
There are many different speculations and interpretations about this seemingly somewhat anachronistic laugh.
Some people believe that Clinton is smiling to express his satisfaction with Yeltsin's remarks. Under the main theme of peace, it is true that the major powers should not be too-for-tat, at least not too obvious.
But others believe that he is laughing at Yeltsin. Because judging from the video records at the scene, after he burst out laughing, the expression on Yeltsin's face was really a little embarrassed, and the whole person looked very cramped.
This speculation is not without reason.
In the past, the leaders of the Soviet Union could openly argue with the President of the United States, and the United States did not dare to be too presumptuous in its treatment of the Soviet Union, because war was not what they wanted.
Therefore, the Soviet Union is a thigh that can be relied on, and it is good to enjoy the shade with its back against a big tree, and this sentence is true.
However, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the big tree collapsed, and Russia may not be taken into account by the United States for the time being.
It is precisely because of this that some netizens later said that Yeltsin's promotion of the collapse of the Soviet Union can really be called stupid.
Interesting facts, just a few more
During his visit to the United States in 1995, Yeltsin also had some funny and intriguing anecdotes.
In his dealings with Clinton, his attitude was strong, and his language was also tough. Speaking about the issue of NATO enlargement and the bombing of Bosnia, he expressed his position very firmly.
Yeltsin hoped to establish closer and more stable ties with Clinton, and also hoped that the two would be able to openly express their views in front of the media.
In the eyes of others, some of his actions can be called exaggerated, and even have a certain sense of performance.
However, this does not prevent the two leaders from intersecting.
Clinton sent Yeltsin a gift, elaborate cowboy boots. Speaking of which, a few years ago, former US President George H.W. Bush also gave him a pair of very similar shoes.
In front of the media, Clinton asked Yeltsin to take off one of them so that he could compare the style and size. His gift, apparently, pleased the recipient, and Yeltsin smiled and suggested that the two of them could wear each other's shoes to the press conference.
Under the gaze of several pairs of eyes, both of them invariably showed a friendly side. Sometimes, this friendliness can also make Russian etiquette officials very frightened, lest the media pull them by the pigtails.
The leader of Russia often makes surprising remarks and makes some news that makes people laugh and cry.
And most of these interesting past events are related to his behavior after getting drunk.
It was during this trip that Yeltsin, naked, wearing a pair of shorts, stood on the street and chatted with the taxi driver, looking very happy.
The American agent, who was always paying attention to the environment where he was staying, naturally noticed the unusual behavior of this distinguished guest. He hurriedly stepped forward to see what was wrong with Mr. President, but he didn't expect to smell the smell of alcohol.
It turned out that Yeltsin at this time was already drunk and not very sober. He was talking to the driver because he wanted to take a taxi to get pizza.
And this is nothing, the next day, Yeltsin was still drunk.
He sneaked out of the room, avoided the bodyguards, and ran to the basement of the hotel to take a look. The people around him couldn't find him, and he almost panicked out of his body.
And after discovering him acting strangely in the basement, the hotel security almost took him for a dangerous person who broke in. Fortunately, the two sides later resolved the misunderstanding, and the drunken oolong incident did not escalate into bigger news.
Drinking and making mistakes, this sentence is really not wrong at all. Not only did Yeltsin make a lot of jokes because he was drunk, but he also had an unshakable nature when communicating with Germany.
During a visit to Germany in 1994, he did not control himself at a luncheon and drank more champagne, and became dizzy.
Yeltsin danced on stage
He ran to the conductor of the military band, snatched the baton from someone else, and insisted on conducting the music himself, and the scene was very comical.
In addition to the serious work outlook, Yeltsin's image is actually vivid and three-dimensional. There is also a lot of room for his friendship with Clinton and other politicians.
When the wheel of history moves forward, Yeltsin is only one part of it.
Yeltsin with his daughter Tatiana
epilogue
The collapse of the Soviet Union is related to Yeltsin, but even without him, the shortcomings of the Soviet political economy are so prominent, I am afraid that they will not be able to maintain a long life.
After Russia's independence, Yeltsin's visit to the United States and other European countries as president also left many important moments in international political history that are worth remembering, which is a different kind of achievement.
Reference:
China Daily
Overseas network
People's Daily Online
"The Friendship between Clinton and Yeltsin", Leadership Digest, No. 2002.11