Boris Yeltsin shocked the world Friday when, on the last day of the millennium, he resigned as the president of Russia. Because of this unanticipated move, the Russian presidential election, originally scheduled for June, will take place in March. Yeltsin’s resignation came in the midst of several events of international significance, including the fighting in Chechnya and an investigation of Russian money laundering that implicated several Kremlin administrators, including Yeltsin himself.Despite the controversy that has surrounded his resignation, we cannot underestimate the impact Yeltsin has had on Russia and the world. President Clinton recently hailed Yeltsin as “the father of Russian democracy” and said that Yeltsin deserves a large share of the credit for Russia’s transfer to a democratic form of government.Yeltsin was a dedicated leader who was determined to keep Russia on the democratic path – that cannot be denied. However, his recent actions can only be seen as undemocratic. Yeltsin, Russia’s first democratically elected president, appointed Prime Minister Vladimir Putin acting president until elections can be held in March. Not surprisingly, one of Putin’s first official actions was to grant Yeltsin and his family immunity from prosecution over the Russian money laundering investigation.By appointing Putin acting president, which appears to have been a move to secure clemency for himself and his family, Yeltsin violated the very roots of democracy. If he is in fact guilty of a crime, he should not be cleared of any wrongdoing just because he was a great leader.In addition, Yeltsin’s resignation has disrupted the democratic process he worked so hard to implement. Putin has been virtually guaranteed victory in the March election as a result of Yeltsin’s resignation, showing that Russia may be moving closer to dictatorship than democracy. Political campaigning has been shortened by three months, thus denying other candidates the necessary time to compete. It also minimizes the chances that any new developments in Chechnya might hurt Putin’s chances of being elected president.Many Yeltsin supporters feel that only he can preserve democracy in Russia. They are concerned that his departure could allow Russia to reject democracy and once again come under communist rule. However, Yeltsin’s manipulative actions have shown a lack of respect for the basic principles of democracy. A guaranteed election in exchange for immunity? Yeltsin’s outgoing actions might have done more to destroy than to build democracy in Russia.