Attacked, eventually, even by Mr Gorbachev, he left the Politburo in 1988 and, within two years, the Communist Party. But Mr Yeltsin, the party outcast, still commanded popular support. In August 1991, hardline conservatives attempted a coup. Mr Yeltsin rallied the liberals and restored Mr Gorbachev to office. Nonetheless, he used the coup to discredit Mr Gorbachev as well as the plotters and emerged as the first elected President of Russia, a titular post so long as the Soviet Union existed, but it was not to last.
Soviet Union falls apart By the end of the year the Soviet Union had fallen apart.
Mr Yeltsin was now president of an independent Russia. Within two years the Russian Parliament was again under siege, but this time the tanks were ordered in by President Yeltsin. He tried to clear away his opponents and call new elections. They resisted, barricaded themselves inside parliament and attempted to take over state television. The parliament building was blasted by troops loyal to Mr Yeltsin.