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Boris Yeltsin is dressed in green armor, holding a megaphone and a shield in red, white, and blue, the colors of the Russian flag, with a miniature drawing of the Russian parliament building in the top left corner. During the coup of August 1991, when Communist hard-liners under the banner of the State Emergency Committee attempted to oust Gorbachev from power,Yeltsin famously climbed atop a tank to defend democracy with the help of a megaphone.Yeltsin subsequently became the first popularly elected leader in Russia’s history.
Alexei Rezaev, The Knight of the White House, 1991
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In this painting Boris Yeltsin is represented in the likeness of St. George, the patron saint of Russia and a holy figure traditionally associated with the triumph of good over evil. At the top, the gold letters common in Russian Orthodox script spell out “Boris the Victorious.” This image references a ubiquitous Russian Orthodox icon that exhibits the saint slaying a dragon with a spear.Yeltsin holds the Russian White House topped with a Russian flag in his left hand, indicating his leadership of the Russian Federation after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The painting alludes to the failed coup attempt of August 1991. The Communist hard-liners are represented by the snake that Yeltsin is piercing with his spear, forming the Russian letters that transliterate to “GKChP,” an acronym for the State Emergency Committee formed by the so-called gang of eight who had attempted the original coup.
Mikhail Rozhdestvin, Boris the Victorious, 1991
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Three pairs of hands are in the act of shaking: the top ones have the thumb wrapped under the index finger, the middle ones have all fingers spread out, and the bottom ones are mid-handshake. The top gesture is known in Russia as the fig sign, a mildly obscene and sexual gesture. The bottom handshake reveals the sleeves, the right hand wearing a hammer and sickle, the left hand an American flag, symbolizing the period of successful negotiations between the two countries.
Viktor Dorokhov and Valentina Dorokhova, Untitled, 1989–1990
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