who became leader of russia after the collapse of the soviet union
History of Russia (1991–present) Prior to the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Boris Yeltsin had been elected President of Russia in June 1991 in the first direct presidential election in Russian history. This ensured that Yeltsin would be the political leader of the Russian successor state following dissolution. This situation resulted in political turmoil as the Soviet and Russian leadership wrestled for control, which culminated in the 1991 August Putsch, where the Soviet military attempted to overthrow Gorbachev. Although the coup was ultimately averted, this situation contributed to rising instability in the Soviet Union. By October 1991, as the USSR was on the verge of collapse, Yeltsin announced that Russia would proceed with radical reforms, including market-oriented reform along the lines of Poland's "big bang", also known as "shock therapy".