ABSTRACT
the years 1985–91 were dominated by Mikhail Gorbachev but he bowed out a defeated man. Had he had his way Boris Yeltsin would never have moved into the Kremlin. The years 1991–99 were dominated by Boris Yeltsin but when he stepped down voluntarily, in December 1999, he was judged a failure. However, he was able to choose his successor, Vladimir Putin.
