Boris Yeltsin dies

Boris Yeltsin, who clambered on to a tank to bury the Soviet Union, then led Russia falteringly through its first years of independence, died aged 76.

World leaders showered Yeltsin with tributes for bringing freedom and democracy to Russia after decades of totalitarian rule, and pushing through market reforms that, though brutal, helped turn Russia into a vibrant economy.

But he was resented by millions of Russians who lost their savings to his economic "shock therapy", lost sons in his war against Chechen rebels and watched him - at times apparently drunk - blunder through international summits.