I’ll never forget New Year’s Eve 1999.
His resignation caught everyone by surprise, including the British press in Moscow. Since there was no correspondent available, I had to step in and write and broadcast my first BBC report.
“Boris Yeltsin always said he would complete his term,” I wrote. “Today, he told the Russian people that he had changed his mind.”
This marked the beginning of my career as a reporter.
It also marked the start of Vladimir Putin’s leadership in Russia.
Under the Russian constitution, after Yeltsin’s resignation, Prime Minister Putin became acting president. Three months later, he won the presidential election.
Before leaving the Kremlin, Yeltsin left Putin with a parting message: “Take care of Russia!”
As the war in Ukraine nears its third year, I’ve found myself reflecting on Yeltsin’s words more and more.
Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has had devastating effects, primarily for Ukraine, with massive destruction and loss of life, as well as nearly 20% of its territory occupied and 10 million displaced.
But Russia has also faced significant consequences:
- Russia has sustained heavy losses on the battlefield
- Drones regularly strike Russian towns and cities
- Ukrainian forces have occupied parts of Russia’s Kursk region
- Sanctions have placed immense pressure on Russia’s economy
- The country faces a dire demographic crisis
- Domestic repression has worsened
- I’ve been covering Putin since he came to power 25 years ago.12
On December 31, 1999, no one could have predicted that Russia’s new leader would still be in power today or that Russia would be at war with Ukraine and in conflict with the West.
I often wonder how history might have unfolded differently if Yeltsin had chosen a different successor. Of course, that’s purely hypothetical. History is full of “what ifs.”
But one thing I know for certain: Over the last 25 years, I’ve witnessed various sides of Putin.
And I’m not the only one.
“The Putin I met, did business with, and helped establish a NATO-Russia Council with, is vastly different from the megalomaniac we see today,” former NATO chief Lord Robertson told me in 2023.
“The man who stood beside me in May 2002 and said Ukraine is a sovereign nation that will determine its own security is now the same man who claims Ukraine is not a nation.”
Robertson continued, “Putin has a thin skin and a huge ambition for his country. The Soviet Union was once the second superpower, but Russia can’t make similar claims now. I think that has eaten away at his ego.”
One possible explanation for Putin’s transformation is his intense ambition to “Make Russia Great Again,” seeking to reverse what many view as Russia’s loss in the Cold War. This ambition has brought Russia into inevitable conflict with its neighbors and the West.
However, the Kremlin offers a different explanation.
From his speeches, Putin seems driven by resentment, feeling that Russia has been misled and disrespected by the West for years, with its security concerns dismissed.
But does Putin think he has fulfilled Yeltsin’s directive to “take care of Russia”?
I had the chance to ask him.
During his lengthy year-end press conference, after hours of questions, Putin invited me to ask mine.
“Boris Yeltsin told you to take care of Russia,” I reminded him. Considering the significant losses in your so-called ‘special military operation,’ the presence of Ukrainian troops in Kursk, the sanctions, and inflation, do you believe you’ve taken care of your country?
“Yes,” Putin replied. “And I haven’t just taken care of it. We’ve pulled back from the edge of the abyss.”
He framed Yeltsin’s Russia as a nation losing its sovereignty, accusing the West of exploiting Russia for its own interests while “patronizingly patting” Yeltsin on the shoulder. He claimed that he is doing everything to ensure Russia’s independence and sovereignty.
Is this Putin’s justification for the war in Ukraine, or does he truly believe in this narrative of Russia’s modern history?
I’m still unsure, but it seems to be a pivotal question.
The answer could significantly shape how the war concludes—and what direction Russia takes in the future.
