New Era, Cautious Hope

Boris N. Yeltsin has performed one last service for Russia. His health shattered, his mental state unpredictable, of late more a national embarrassment than an effective leader, Yeltsin has resigned from the presidency to which he was twice democratically elected.

Under the constitution, Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin becomes acting president, with a new election required in three months. Yeltsin had already named Putin as his preferred successor. With the chance now given him to exercise power through March, and to end the war in Chechnya before mounting Russian casualties turn public opinion against it, the already popular Putin is a clear electoral favorite.

Putin’s first act on taking office was to issue a decree granting immunity from prosecution and other guarantees to Yeltsin and his family. Mounting evidence has implicated Yeltsin and certain relatives in large-scale corruption and profiteering. Many believe it was fear of legal retribution once he left office that kept the incapacitated president from stepping down earlier. What remains to be seen is what happens now to what Russians call the Family, the influential and very rich circle of oligarchs who benefited enormously from Yeltsin’s tenure and in turn took care of him and his political friends.

A few years ago Yeltsin’s resignation would have shocked and even alarmed Washington and its allies. The mood now is more one of relief. An erratic and increasingly incoherent leader has given way to a younger man--Putin is 47--who offers the chance for stable and decisive leadership. Illness and chronic alcohol abuse had increasingly sapped Yeltsin’s vitality and ignited episodes of bizarre behavior. His unscripted public remarks, including what recently seemed to be a war threat against the United States, had sent his aides scurrying to issue clarifications and denials. With his departure and with the recent election of a Duma in which power appears to have passed to centrists, more effective and pragmatic governance could become possible.

Until he posted a policy statement on an Internet site a few days ago, Putin’s economic and political views were largely a mystery. Now they are somewhat clearer. He favors a regulated, not unbridled, market economy. He believes in a democracy based on “Russia’s realities,” apparently meaning one in which the state wields a strong hand. He defends post-Soviet economic reforms, while acknowledging that many have suffered under them. Putin called on Russians to embrace patriotism, loyalty to the state and a sense of national power based on economic and technological strength, not military force. This is overall the stuff of a campaign platform, and like all such should be treated cautiously. But it’s also a statement many Russians can embrace.

Putin has said he wants better relations with the West and endorsed ratification of the long-stalled Start II nuclear weapons treaty. An early concrete gesture to Washington would not be surprising. An obscure figure until he was named prime minister five months ago, the former career intelligence officer now bodes to become Russia’s leader, perhaps through the whole of the new decade. The change from Yeltsin appears positive.

In the longer view, however, Yeltsin’s achievements will be remembered, and rightly so. He completed the transition that brought the Soviet Union to an end, established a democratic rule that endured through the recent Duma elections and instituted a form, however imperfect, of market economy. He chose the path and now steps aside.