Yeltsin Clinton Press conference 1995

As the world reacts to Boris Yeltsin’s death, many will remember his fondness for bluster and good strong drink. It didn’t seem to bother him when he appeared in public under the influence. When I covered the Clinton administration, I remember a few press conferences between Bill Clinton and Yeltsin when it seemed the Russian president seemed inebriated. Perhaps the most memorable occurred in 1995 at Hyde Park in New York, where Clinton and Yeltsin had a summit conference prior to an appearance at the United Nations. At the time, Yeltsin and Clinton were trying to work out a deal on Bosnia, but there were sharp differences According to a book by Strobe Talbott, the Clinton administration’s top Russian official, Yeltsin had polished off most of a bottle of wine at lunch and insisted on an after-lunch drink. He wanted nothing to do with the sweet dessert wine put before him. He wanted cognac. When they appeared before the press corps, Yeltsin went on the attack, directing his fire at a media that he said had pr