Death and state funeral of Boris Yeltsin

Summary


Boris Yeltsin, the first President of Russia, died of cardiac arrest on 23 April 2007, twelve days after being admitted to the Central Clinical Hospital in Moscow. Yeltsin was the first Russian head of state to be buried in a church ceremony since Emperor Alexander III, 113 years prior.[1]

Death and state funeral of Boris Yeltsin
Funeral service for Yeltsin in the cathedral, 2007
Date23–25 April 2007
LocationCathedral of Christ the Saviour and Novodevichy Cemetery, Moscow
ParticipantsVladimir Putin, Sergey Sobyanin, Naina Yeltsina, Mikhail Fradkov, Dmitry Medvedev and others
Boris Nikolaevich Yeltsin

On the day Yeltsin died, President Vladimir Putin declared the day of his funeral, held on 25 April 2007,[2] to be a day of national mourning. The ceremony was broadcast live on the main Russian state TV channels, and was attended by current and former heads of state, with a number of them expressing their condolences. The lowering of the coffin into the grave was accompanied by an artillery salute.

Last illness and cause of death edit

Yeltsin died due to heart failure at 15:45 Moscow time, as a result of progressive multiple organ dysfunction syndrome.[3][4] Yeltsin was hospitalized for 12 days before his death.[5][6] He was mostly bedridden for the last week, experiencing a sharp deterioration in his health along with heart pain in the last three days. Yeltsin's condition improved slightly on the morning of his death, but then his heart stopped twice,[7] and doctors were unable to revive him the second time. According to Renat Akchurin, the heart surgeon who performed Yeltsin's bypass surgery in 1996, this heart failure was unexpected. An autopsy was carried out on the request of his relatives.

Shortly before his death, Yeltsin had traveled to the Middle East (Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian Territories), which may have contributed to his health deteriorating.[8]

President Vladimir Putin telephoned Yeltsin's widow Naina Yeltsina on 25 April 2007, to express his condolences. Others to express theirs were Angela Merkel, Jacques Chirac, George W. Bush, Lech Kaczyński, Helmut Kohl, Tony Blair and Bill Clinton. Students and staff of his native Urals State Technical University held a minute's silence and mourning to honor the former leader's memory.

Farewell ceremony and funeral service edit

 
Yeltsin's widow and daughters

The day after his death, a farewell ceremony was held at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, at 16:30 Moscow time. A half-couch casket and the Russian flag were placed in the center of the church, near a stand with Yeltsin's awards and portrait. The requiem liturgy was given by the Vicar of the Moscow Diocese Archbishop Arseny (Epifanov). An honor guard was present, formed of soldiers from the Kremlin Regiment. The church was open for viewing all evening and night, with around 25,000 people coming to pay their respects.[9] All through the memorial service, representatives were present to accept condolences to the Yeltsin family members: his widow Naina, daughters Elena Okulova and Tatyana Dyachenko, and his grandchildren.

After the civil ceremony, which ended at 12:30 on 25 April, there was a farewell held for officials and representatives of foreign states.

The funeral service was led by Metropolitan Krutitsy and Kolomna Juvenal (Poyarkov), assisted by Metropolitan Kirill (Gundyaev) and Clement (Kapalin). During the reading of the Psalms, the funeral rites and the liturgy, Yeltsin was remembered as "First President of Russia Boris Nikolayevich," as opposed to the usual "servant of God, Boris". This change emphasized the President as the modern Russian equivalent to the monarch: the use of titles and patronymic name was the same construction as the heave offerings that were given to the monarch and members of the royal house until the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II.

Burial edit

 
The coffin carried out of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior
 
Yeltsin's coffin being carried to the cemetery
 
Yeltsin's coffin lowered into the grave

After the burial service, Yeltsin's coffin was closed and carried outside into a hearse which was then escorted through the Novodevichy streets by motorcyclists. Officers draped with the national flag on the hearse and placed it on a gun carriage, whereby it was drawn to the cemetery gates by an armored personnel carrier. From there, the funeral procession continued with the gun carriage being manoeuvred on foot. Yeltsin's coffin was removed and carried by eight officers, with a bell of the Novodevichy Convent. The procession continued to the central avenue to where the grave was, with a small hearse in front of it. The flag was taken from the coffin and handed over to Sergey Sobyanin, who in its turn gave it to Naina Yeltsina.

The coffin was taken down and opened again. Metropolitan Juvenal called Yeltsin's family to approach the body one last time, first Yelena Okulova, then Tatyana Dyachenko, and finally, widow Naina Yeltsina. After that a final memorial was performed by Mn. Juvenal, with Mns. Kirill and Kliment assisting, while "Eternal Memory" was sung by a female chorus from the Novodevichy Convent. Metropolitan Juvenal then put a small wreath on Yeltsin's brow. By about 16:30, the coffin was closed, adorned with flowers and lowered into the grave. An artillery salute of three volleys rang out and a military band played the Russian anthem.

Afterwards, at the reception in the Kremlin, Vladimir Putin gave his only speech.

Participants edit

 
Former US Presidents George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton

The ceremony was attended by more than thirty foreign visitors. These were the heads of state and government and other representatives of various countries, as well as many former heads of state and government, who had worked with Boris Yeltsin.

A total of 12 foreign leaders, 16 former leaders, 4 governmental delegates and 3 multilateral leaders attended the funeral. In total, 50 countries and 3 organizations was represented.

Representatives of States
  Armenia President Robert Kocharyan
  Belarus President
Former Chairman of the Supreme Soviet
Alexander Lukashenko
Stanislav Shushkevich
  Bulgaria Former President Zhelyu Zhelev
  Canada Former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien
  Estonia President Toomas Hendrik Ilves
  Finland Former President Mauno Koivisto
  France Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy
  Georgia Chairman of the Parliament Nino Burjanadze
  Germany President
Former Chancellor
Horst Köhler
Gerhard Schröder
  Hungary Former Prime Minister Peter Medgyessy
  Italy Former Prime Minister Giulio Andreotti
  Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev
  Kyrgyzstan Prime Minister
Former President
Almazbek Atambayev
Askar Akayev
  Latvia President
Former President
Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga
Guntis Ulmanis
  Lithuania President
Former President
Valdas Adamkus
Algirdas Brazauskas
  Poland Former President Lech Wałęsa
  Spain Chairman of the Constitutional Court María Emilia Casas
  Sweden Former Prime Minister Carl Bildt
  Tajikistan Prime Minister Oqil Oqilov
  Turkmenistan President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow
  Ukraine Former Presidents
Prime Minister
Leonid Kravchuk and Leonid Kuchma
Viktor Yanukovych
  United Kingdom Former Prime Minister
Duke of York
John Major
Prince Andrew
  United States Former Presidents George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton
  Uzbekistan President Islam Karimov
  European Union Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighbourhood Policy Benita Ferrero-Waldner
  CIS General Secretary Sergei Lebedev

Also, in addition to foreign leaders, there were many Russian politicians.

Representatives
President Vladimir Putin
Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov
First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev
First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov
Chairman of the Federation Council Sergey Mironov
Chairman of the State Duma Boris Gryzlov
Ministry of Economic Development Herman Gref
Head of the Republic of Bashkortostan Murtaza Rakhimov
Prime Minister of Republic of Karelia Pavel Chernov
Governor of Krasnoyarsk Krai Alexander Khloponin
Governor of Irkutsk Oblast Alexander Tishanin
Governor of Sverdlovsk Oblast Eduard Rossel
Governor of Moscow Oblast Boris Gromov
Governor of Saint Petersburg Valentina Matviyenko
Mayor of Moscow Yury Luzhkov
Former Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin
Former President of the Soviet Union & General Secretary of CPSU Mikhail Gorbachev
Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office Sergey Sobyanin

Gallery edit

Memorials and Memory edit

 
Unveiling Boris Yeltsin's gravestone memorial

Yeltsin was memorialised in several ways in 2008. On 8 April, a street in Yekaterinburg, formerly 9 January Street, was renamed "Boris Yeltsin Street". On 23 April, a grand opening ceremony at Novodevichy Cemetery was held for the monument to Boris Yeltsin, made by sculptor Georgy Frangulyan. The memorial is a broad headstone, made in the colors of the Russian flag – a white marble, blue Byzantine mosaics and red porphyry. On the pavement under the tricolor is an engraved Orthodox cross. The ceremony was attended by Yeltsin's family, including his widow, Naina, Russian President Vladimir Putin, the president-elect Dmitry Medvedev, Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov, Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office Sergey Sobyanin, government members, friends, colleagues and others who worked with Yelstin. On the same day, the name of the Ural State Technical University was changed to include "Boris Yeltsin".[10]

On 25 January 2015, the Boris Yeltsin Presidential Center opened in Yekaterinburg.[11]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Yeltsin, the man who buried communism"
  2. ^ "Decree "On the declaration of mourning over the death of the first Russian President Boris Yeltsin and his funeral"". Archived from the original on 4 August 2012. Retrieved 8 April 2016.
  3. ^ It named the cause of the death of Boris Yeltsin.
  4. ^ It named the official cause of death of Boris Yeltsin
  5. ^ Yeltsin was hospitalized for 12 days before his death
  6. ^ Doctors fought for Boris Yeltsin's life 12 days
  7. ^ "Yeltsin's heart stopped twice". Archived from the original on 9 October 2007. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
  8. ^ The first president could not stand the heart (Russian) (Eng. The first president's heart couldn't take it.
  9. ^ "At Yeltsin's funeral were about 25 thousand people". Archived from the original on 14 February 2008. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
  10. ^ Ural State Technical University was given the name of Boris Yeltsin
  11. ^ Opening Yeltsin Center