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Last Updated: Tuesday, 24 April 2007, 13:07 GMT 14:07 UK
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Quiz: Boris Yeltsin 1931-2007
Boris Yeltsin with volleyball (1992)
Mr Yeltsin was a brilliant volleyball player in his youth
Boris Yeltsin's life and political career were as dramatic as any in the post-war history of the Soviet Union or Russia.

The phrase "larger than life character" is more than justified for the straight-talking builder who rose to the Politburo, was forced to resign and fought his way back to the top.

Test your knowledge of some of Mr Yeltsin's ups and downs in this quiz.

Question 1
Where did Mr Yeltsin fail to get off his plane to meet a head of state, in October 1994?
A: Shannon, Ireland
B: Kiev, Ukraine
C: Harare, Zimbabwe
Question 2
How did Mr Yeltsin describe Vladimir Putin when appointing him prime minister in August 1999?
A: My judo partner
B: Russia's best spy
C: Russia's next president
Question 3
Mr Yeltsin was fond of doing a musical turn after dinner. Which of the following was his speciality?
A: Playing with spoons (like castanets)
B: Playing half-empty bottles (like a xylophone)
C: Making wine glasses “sing”
Question 4
Mr Yeltsin refused to accept any money for public appearances during his first trip to the US in 1989. In what currency did he asked to be paid?
A: Computer chips
B: Disposable syringes
C: Maize seed
Question 5
On the same trip, Mr Yeltsin made one visit to a US shop - a supermarket near Houston. How did he respond?
A: He thought the excessive quantity and variety of food was ridiculous
B: He was appalled by the low pay received by shelf-stackers
C: He was pained by the gap between US and Soviet living standards
Question 6
Mr Yeltsin had no thumb or forefinger on his left hand. Why?
A: They were crushed by falling bricks on a building site
B: They were blown off when he hit a grenade with hammer
C: They were frostbitten after a drunken student party
Question 7
On 11 December 1994 Mr Yeltsin sent tanks into Chechnya. Where was he at the time?
A: In hospital, for a routine nose operation
B: At Camp David with Bill Clinton
C: Hunting in Siberia
Question 8
Mr Yeltsin sometimes asked for “the green one” at lunch-time in the Kremlin. What was it?
A: A soup made of sorrel
B: A vodka flavoured with herbs
C: A green salad, which he thought had invigorating properties
Question 9
When Mr Yeltsin visited the European Parliament in April 1991 he was introduced by a French Socialist MEP as a “provocateur” and a “deliberately irresponsible demagogue”. Why?
A: He had called a few weeks earlier for Mikhail Gorbachev’s resignation
B: He had called for a halt to the Soviet military withdrawal from Germany
C: He had described the European Union as a meddling superstate
Question 10
On 5 September 1996 Mr Yeltsin told Russians in a televised address that he wanted a society “based on truth”. What announcement was he making?
A: The banning of a book by his bodyguard, which described him as mentally unstable
B: An admission that his daughter had received gifts from oligarch Boris Berezovsky
C: His impending coronary bypass operation

 Press the button and see how you have done

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BORIS YELTSIN 1931-2007

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