Witness History
Witness History
Boris Yeltsin's Surprise Resignation
Up next
January 1, 2018
9 minutes
Available for over a year
On New Year's Eve 1999 the Russian President went on TV and said he was leaving office. Tired and emotional, he apologised to the people for the state of the country. Dina Newman spoke to his widow, Naina Yeltsina, about that day.
Photo: Russian President Boris Yeltsin with his wife Naina in 1998. Credit: ITAR-TASS POOL/AFP/Getty Images