Putin told Yeltsin in 1999 that he was not ready to run for president

Russian President Vladimir Putin said that 25 years ago he told ex-President Boris Yeltsin that he was not ready to run for the position of head of state. He was prompted to refuse the proposal by the “historical and economic context in which the country was located,” as well as the “domestic political situation.”

“Not because I was scared of something, but because the scale of the tasks was enormous, and the number of problems grew every day, like a snowball,” Vladimir Putin said in an interview with journalist Dmitry Kiselev (quoted by website Kremlin).

According to the president, then he thought that he was not ready to solve all the problems. “God forbid, I do something even worse,” added Vladimir Putin.

As the head of state clarified, he decided to agree to the presidential nomination after conversations with Boris Yeltsin. According to Vladimir Putin, Mr. Yeltsin called him “an experienced man” and added that he “knows what he is doing and offering.” After that, Boris Yeltsin repeated this several more times, the president said.

After taking office as president, according to Vladimir Putin, work went differently and it became easier to distribute tasks. “When you get into the work, it’s a completely different story,” he said.

On December 31, 1999, Boris Yeltsin announced his resignation. Vladimir Putin, who at that moment served as Prime Minister, automatically became acting president. Early elections for the head of state were held on March 26, 2000. In the 2024 elections, which will be held this week, Vladimir Putin, who has already been elected president four times, is participating as a self-nominated candidate.