Hmm, what are those wooden Russian dolls called where they open up and there is a smaller one inside, then a smaller one inside that, and a smaller one inside that? My Russian friend gave me one of those where the biggest one was Yeltsin and inside him was another high ranking government guy, then another then another and so on down the ranks. This just reminded me of my little wooden Yeltsin.

Yeah, in the wider perspective of things he was good, still a crook, but perhaps a lesser crook than the current one. Poor Russia, communism sure screwed the hell out of you and recovery is a long process. Two steps forward, one step back.