President Dmitry Medvedev unveiled a huge monument to his predecessor Boris Yeltsin on Tuesday, praising him for leading Russia through its difficult first years after the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union.
The 10-meter (33-foot) marble obelisk was unveiled in Yeltsin’s hometown of Yekaterinburg the 80th anniversary of his birth. The city is 900 miles (1,500 kilometers) east of Moscow.
Yeltsin died in April 2007 at age 76.
Yeltsin’s legacy remains controversial in Russia, with some praising him for promoting civil freedoms and democracy and others despising him for the corruption and economic suffering that marked his presidency.
Medvedev said today’s Russia should be thankful that Yeltsin "did not turn away from the path of change during the most difficult period in the history of the country."
The Russian president was joined at the ceremony by Naina Yeltsina, Yeltsin’s widow; Yelena Okylova and Tatyana Dyachenko, Yeltsin’s daughters and Boris Yeltsin, his grandson.
