BORIS YELTSIN, WHO HAD EMBARRASSED Gorbachev at his own party and then at the Spaso House reception hosted by Bush, was not just the popularly elected leader of the Union’s largest republic; he was also about to take control of most of the Union’s oil and gas resources. The state of the Union’s coffers and, possibly, the salary of Mikhail Gorbachev himself would depend on Yeltsin’s goodwill.
