How did Boris Yeltsin rise to fame?

Answer 1

He was originally the party boss for the city of Svedlovsk (now called Yekaterinburg), the fourth largest city in Russia. He became part of Gorbachev's government in 1985, as the Moscow city party boss.

Answer 2

Borris Yeltsin was elected by popular vote to the position of President of the Soviet Federative Socialist Republic in June 1991. He won 57% of the vote against with 6 other candidates. When the USSR was dissolved in December, Yeltsin remained in office, becoming the first president of the Russian Federation. He was reelected in 1996.