International

Thousands of Russians Honor Yeltsin in State

By Gregory Feifer

Published April 24, 2007 at 1:00 PM PDT

This story was published more than 17 years ago.

Russians have been paying their last respects to former President Boris Yeltsin, who died on Monday at the age of 76. Hundreds of people are filing by Yeltsin's open coffin in the massive Christ the Savior Cathedral near the Kremlin.

Last night, President Vladimir Putin paid tribute to his predecessor, calling him a man of courage and a bold national leader. Yeltsin will be buried on Wednesday, which has been declared a day of national mourning.

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Gregory Feifer

Gregory Feifer reports for NPR from Moscow, covering Russia's resurgence under President Vladimir Putin and the country's transition to the post-Putin era. He files from other former Soviet republics and across Russia, where he's observed the effects of the country's vast new oil wealth on an increasingly nationalistic society as well as Moscow's rekindling of a new Cold War-style opposition to the West.

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