Farewell, my Boris Nikolayevich.. LAST KISS BY YELTSIN'S TEARFUL WIDOW.Byline: By MARK ELLIS Mark Ellis is the name of:
SOBBING Naina Yeltsin shares a last private moment with her husband yesterday as the world says its public goodbyes. The widow's tender farewell kiss to the father of her children was a simple, stark expression of emotion amid a mass outpouring of grief. Boris Yeltsin “Yeltsin” redirects here. For other uses, see Yeltsin (disambiguation). Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin (IPA: [bʌˈrʲis nʲikoˈlajevɨtɕ ˈjelʲtsɨn] belonged to the world of power and politics - and the first president of independent Russia was buried with full state honours. An artillery battery In military science, a battery is a unit of artillery guns, mortars, or rockets, so grouped in order to facilitate battlefield communication and command and control, as well as to provide dispersion. fired three salvoes and the national anthem sounded as his coffin was lowered into the ground at Novodevichy cemetery Novodevichy Cemetery (Russian: Новоде́вичье кла́дбище in Moscow. Naina - married to Yeltsin for 50 years - was flanked by her weeping daughters. Before the threehour state funeral more than 20,000 people had filed past the coffin of Yeltsin, who died of heart failure on Monday at the age of 76. Former US presidents Bill Clinton and George Bush senior joined ex-Prime Minister Sir John Major and the Duke of York
The title Duke of York is a title of nobility in the British peerage. Since the 15th century, it has, when granted, been usually given to the second son of the British monarch. , representing the Queen, to pay their last respects. Chelsea's Roman Abramovich, who made his fortune under Yeltsin, was also at the ceremony. Russian President Vladimir Putin led the dignitaries in the service at the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. Naina and daughters Tatyana and Yelena sat by the open coffin as the mourners filed past. In a touching reconciliation ex-Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, left without a job by Yeltsin, kissed Naina and whispered words of condolence as he gripped Yelena's hand. Much has been written of Yeltsin's heavy drinking and eccentric behaviour. But yesterday was a tribute to a man who helped engineer Russia's move to democracy. Cleric Metropolitan Yuvenaly, who led the service in a cathedral blown up by Stalin and rebuilt by Yeltsin, said: "For the first time in 100 years we bid farewell to a head of state in a church with prayers." Not every Russian mourned. Communist deputy Viktor Ilyukhin said: "We will never give honour to the destroyer of the fatherland." Yet his voice sounded a rare sour note on a day of tears and tributes to Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin. m.ellis@mgn.co.uk CAPTION(S): RESPECT: Gorbachev; COMFORT: Major, Bush Snr and Prince Andrew; SUCCESSOR: Putin; MEMORIES: Clinton; GRIEF: Widow Naina's final kiss yesterday; BIRTH PLACE Wooden house in village of Butka; RESTING PLACE Novodevichy cemetery, Moscow |
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