Well, due to my old age, i was already around when Yeltsin was in power and the man was such a breath of fresh air (maybe not up close, lol) from a Western point of view. He was the first (and only up to this date) Soviet/Russian leader who could put a smile on your face and didn't make you feel like he was an absolute enemy ready to destroy you (i remember Andropov, Chernenko or even Gorbatchev from when i was young, those guys were not funny).
During Yeltsin's time, it seemed like the Cold War was really behind us, that Russia had become a friendly country and could even join the Western bloc in international relations, the famous
Yeltsin-Clinton laughing moment really reflects how relaxed relations between Russian and the West were at that time.
It's weird to think back of those good times when you compare to what we have now with Putin which is basically Cold War II.
Yeltsin will be remembered in the West as a jovial guy who stood on a tank to defeat a coup. RIP Boris.