This is a CBSI in the world. I'm John Bats with my colleague and friend Gordon Chang at

Gordon G Chang. We're very pleased to welcome Rebecca Kofler to help us understand a moment in time at

the end of the 20th century in the beginning of the 21st that is still with us in the person

of Vladimir Putin running for another term, March 15th,

17th of 2024.

Rebecca, a very good evening to you.

Sudden resignation of a man named Yeltsin, New Year's Eve 1999,

led to Yeltsin, president of Russia,

the remnant of the Soviet Union to choose his Prime Minister Putin as a temporary

president for 90 days prior to an election. How did Yeltsin come to choosing Putin and how did he confer with the US about his decision?

Good evening to you Rebecca.

Good evening, John, to you and your audience.

Well, the Russians have always been good at rigging the

elections. Just as you pointed out, basically what Yeltsin has done is he gave Putin the gift of

incumbency for 90 days which effectively rigged the elections after which he was certain Yeltsin was that the Russians would elect Putin.

Prior to that, Yeltsin fired four prime ministers in the previous 17 months, a process

that he described in his memoirs as prime ministerial poker.

Why did he exactly choose Putin?

So Yeltsin supposedly, according to him,

him, of course, has done a very, very thorough research

into Putin.

He examined his dossier, his relationships, as he pointed out and he decided that Putin, of course, the former

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