In May 1999 Yavlinsky joined forces with the Communist Party in an attempt to impeach Yeltsin. The news media had been full of speculation that if the Duma goes ahead with impeachment, Yeltsin may retaliate by firing the communist-backed Cabinet of Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov. That would precipitate a political crisis and possible dissolution of the Duma, threaten the political stability that Primakov has brought Russia since previous summer. Of the four items of impeachment, the article that got the most support from both parties was the one charging Yeltsin with abuse of power in connection with war in Chechnya. This was a warning, Yavlinsky said, to all politicians that they will be judged for their actions. Just as the Communists began to nod their assent, Yavlinsky attacked them, dismissing the other charges as politically inspired. He said Yeltsin made very serious mistakes, sometimes fateful, in the course of reform, that led to the bankruptcy of the country, not out of a desire to destroy Russia but because he could not overcome his past and that he did not have the intent to destroy or liquidate anyone, he did not have such a conscious goal. In his final speech, Yavlinsky declared: