Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has recently written an introduction to the book about the late Russian President Boris Yeltsin, saying he could not criticize the person who determined his future.
Yeltsin's biography, written by Boris Minayev, was published on the eve of the anniversary of Russia's August coup d'etat in 1991 which resulted in the ousting of President of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev and the proclaiming of Yeltsin as the new president of Russia.
Russian social political weekly Ogonyok published on Monday the introduction written by Putin, who succeeded Yeltsin to the presidency in 2000.
"I said several times that when Yeltsin's presidency was coming to an end, that I saw a different destiny for myself. But everything turned out differently. And this was the choice of my life," Putin wrote.
Putin said he personally could not judge Yeltsin objectively. "We contemporaries are definitely biased by everything that was happening before our eyes". RIA Novosti
