ABSTRACT
Russia's first ever freely elected President, Boris Yeltsin, surprised the world one more time on the last day of the twentieth century. Just as everyone was preparing for the New Year of all New Years, Yeltsin suddenly announced his resignation. His term of office had not yet expired; his mandate was until June 2000. In his resignation speech, Yeltsin maintained that a new century required new vigour and hence a new leader.1 But these words could hardly be taken at face value. Since Yeltsin had rarely shown himself to be a man who would put the interests of others, even his own people, before his personal ones in the late-1990s - when his amazing capacity to keep going despite very poor health served as a metaphor for the state of Russia - the timing of his departure had to be more than a generous gesture to his people. Hence his announcement initially appeared enigmatic. But within a few hours of his departure, at least part of the riddle was solved; the prime minister, and now acting president, Vladimir Putin, issued a decree (ukaz) granting Yeltsin immunity from prosecution. A corruption scandal had been developing around Yeltsin and his two daughters in the months preceding the resignation, and the decree appeared to guarantee that this would not result in any future problems for the outgoing president.2
