24/04/2007

Yeltsin's body lying in state

The body of former Russian President Boris Yeltsin is lying in state in Moscow ahead of his funeral on Wednesday.

Mr Yeltsin died of heart failure on Monday, aged 76. His body is lying in state at the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, which was destroyed under the Communist regime and rebuilt during Mr Yeltsin's rule in the 1990s.

He will be buried in Moscow's Novodevichye Cemetery, where another former Soviet President Nikita Khrushchev is also buried.

Most other former Kremlin leaders are buried in Red Square.

Wednesday has also been declared a national day of mourning in Russia.

Mr Yeltsin is known for helping to lead Russia into democracy and a market economy.

He famously helped to defy an attempted coup against his predecessor Mikhail Gorbachev in August 1991, before he became the first President of the Russian Federation following the break-up of the Soviet Union later that year.

He served as Russian President between 1991 and 1999 until Vladimir Putin took over.

A number of world leaders are expected to attend tomorrow's funeral. According to reports, these will include Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich of Ukraine, President Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan and former US Presidents Bill Clinton and George Bush Senior.

(KMcA)


Related UK National News Stories
Click here for the latest headlines.

23 April 2007
Former Russian President Boris Yeltsin dies
Former Russian President Boris Yeltsin has died at the age of 76. The cause of death has not yet been released, although some reports have suggested that he suffered heart failure. Mr Yeltsin was known to have a history of heart trouble. Mr Yeltsin is known for helping lead Russia into democracy and a market economy.
25 April 2007
Yeltsin buried in Moscow
Former Russian President Boris Yeltsin has been buried in Moscow in a state funeral. The ceremony was held at the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in the Russian capital on Wednesday, which had also been declared a national day or mourning.
01 December 2006
Mystery surrounds former Russian Prime Minister's illness
A former Russian acting Prime Minister Yegor Gaidar is being treated in hospital following what may be some form of poisoning. Mr Gaidar, who was premiere for a time under the Boris Yeltsin regime, fell ill during a visit to Dublin last week and was treated at a Dublin hospital before being moved to Russia.
08 July 2008
Brown's Stance Praised By Litvinenko Widow
The widow of former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko has commended Prime Minister Gordon Brown for "standing firm" on his demand for the extradition of the main suspect in the assassination of the defector. Marina Litvinenko welcomed Mr Brown's continued "firm" calls for the extradition of Andrei Lugovoi, two years after Mr Litvinenko's poisoning.
20 October 2003
Liberian peace 'jeopardised' by former president
The peace process in West Africa remains in jeopardy so long as exiled former President Charles Taylor of Liberia, indicted for war crimes, is at liberty in Nigeria and continues to intervene in Liberian politics, the prosecutor for the Special Court for Sierra Leone has said.