Yeltsin’s presence in 2004 was not that of a mere former president, but that of a key political symbol. He was used—and likely willingly so—as the ultimate validator of Putin’s rule, providing a crucial bridge of legitimacy from the turbulent birth of post-Soviet Russia to the consolidated, powerful state it was becoming under Putin.
This frame comes from Presidential Election 2004 – Polling Station Putin Voter Activity in the TVDATA archive. To license the clip, see licensing packages or email footage@tvdata.tv. On request, archive clips can be restored and AI-upscaled to 4K: see 4K archival footage.