because of my health, but because of all the problems taken together. A new generation is taking my place, the generation of those who can do more and do it better. In accordance with the constitution, as I go into retirement, I have signed a decree entrusting the duties of the president of Russia to Prime Minister Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin. This is an edited extract from President Boris Yeltsin's farewell New Year's Eve message to the Russian people in 1999