Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin Biography and Timeline

Birth of Boris Yeltsin

Born in Butka, Sverdlovsk Oblast, into a family with roots in the Ural region.

Role range: 1917-1991

Family Moves to Berezniki

Moves with his family to Berezniki in the Perm region after his father's release from imprisonment.

Enters Ural Polytechnic Institute

Begins studying industrial and civil construction at the Ural Polytechnic Institute.

Ural Polytechnic Institute Graduation

Graduates from the Ural Polytechnic Institute with a degree in industrial and civil construction.

Role range: 1917-1991

Assigned to Uraltyazhtrubstroy

Begins professional work with the Uraltyazhtrubstroy construction trust after graduating as an engineer.

Learns Building Trades

Chooses to work through several manual construction trades before taking a supervisory engineering post.

Marriage to Naina Girina

Marries Naina Iosifovna Girina, whom he met while studying at the Ural Polytechnic Institute.

Role range: 1917-1991

Yuzhgorstroy Foreman

Begins a sequence of supervisory construction posts with the Yuzhgorstroy trust.

Senior Construction Management

Advances through senior foreman and engineering roles in the Sverdlovsk construction sector.

Joins Communist Party

Joins the Communist Party of the Soviet Union while working in the Sverdlovsk construction sector.

Role range: 1917-1991

House-Building Combine Chief Engineer

Becomes chief engineer of a major house-building combine in the Sverdlovsk region.

House-Building Combine Director

Becomes director of the house-building combine after serving as its chief engineer.

Sverdlovsk Party Construction Department

Becomes head of the construction department of the Sverdlovsk regional Communist Party committee.

Role range: 1917-1991

Construction Sector Party Administration

Expands his role in regional construction policy after moving from industry into full-time Communist Party administration.

Sverdlovsk Regional Party Secretary

Is elected a secretary of the Sverdlovsk regional Communist Party committee.

Role range: 1917-1991

Regional Infrastructure Expansion

Oversees major housing, road and industrial construction projects while leading the Sverdlovsk regional party organization.

Role range: 1976-1985

Sverdlovsk Regional First Secretary

Becomes First Secretary of the Sverdlovsk regional Communist Party committee.

Role range: 1917-1991 – 1976-1985

Ipatiev House Demolition

Carries out the central authorities' order to demolish the Ipatiev House, where the Romanov family was killed in 1918.

Role range: 1917-1991

Sverdlovsk Housing Programme

Promotes large housing projects intended to replace poor-quality barracks and communal accommodation in the region.

Role range: 1976-1985

Election to USSR Supreme Soviet

Is elected to the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union while leading the Sverdlovsk region.

Role range: 1917-1991 – 1978-1989

Sverdlovsk Road Development

Supports major road-building projects linking Sverdlovsk with northern industrial districts.

Role range: 1976-1985

Twenty-Sixth CPSU Congress Speech

Addresses the Twenty-Sixth Communist Party Congress before joining the party's Central Committee.

CPSU Central Committee Membership

Is elected to the Communist Party Central Committee at the Twenty-Sixth Party Congress.

Role range: 1917-1991 – 1981-1990

USSR Supreme Soviet Term

Continues service in the USSR Supreme Soviet while remaining Sverdlovsk regional party leader.

Role range: 1917-1991 – 1984-1985

Transfer to Central Committee Apparatus

Moves from Sverdlovsk to Moscow to head the Communist Party Central Committee construction department.

Central Committee Construction Secretary

Becomes a Central Committee secretary responsible for construction policy.

Takes Charge of Moscow Party Committee

Takes control of the Moscow City Communist Party Committee and begins a highly visible campaign against bureaucratic privilege.

Moscow City Party First Secretary

Becomes First Secretary of the Moscow City Communist Party Committee in December.

Role range: 1917-1991 – 1985-1987

Politburo Candidate Membership

Becomes a candidate, non-voting member of the CPSU Politburo.

Twenty-Seventh Congress Reform Speech

Uses the Twenty-Seventh Party Congress to criticize administrative inertia and call for faster reform.

Public Inspections of Moscow Services

Makes unannounced visits to shops, transport facilities and public services as part of his campaign against poor administration.

Letter Requesting Release from Politburo Role

Writes to Mikhail Gorbachev asking to be released from candidate membership of the Politburo and criticizing conservative resistance to reform.

October Central Committee Plenum Speech

Criticizes party conservatism and the emerging personality cult around Mikhail Gorbachev at a Central Committee plenum.

Role range: 1917-1991 – 1985-1986

Removed as Moscow Party Chief

Is removed as First Secretary of the Moscow City Communist Party Committee after criticizing the pace of reform.

Role range: 1917-1991 – 1985-1986

First Deputy Chairman of Gosstroy

After his removal as Moscow party chief, becomes First Deputy Chairman of the USSR State Construction Committee.

Role range: 1917-1991 – 1987-1989

Removed from Politburo Candidate Membership

Is removed from candidate membership of the CPSU Politburo.

Role range: 1917-1991

Nineteenth Party Conference Rehabilitation Appeal

Appeals publicly for political rehabilitation at the Nineteenth Party Conference but receives little support from the party leadership.

Moscow People's Deputy Election

Wins election as a USSR People's Deputy in Moscow with overwhelming support.

Role range: 1917-1991

Moscow Electoral Landslide

Wins more than ninety percent of the vote in his Moscow district during elections to the Congress of People's Deputies.

USSR Supreme Soviet Seat

Takes a seat in the USSR Supreme Soviet after a deputy yields a place to him.

Role range: 1917-1991