He had major alcohol issues

During his first term as president of the Russian Federation, Yeltsin battled heart illness, which he most likely had for the remainder of his life. Immediately following his election as a member of parliament in March 1990, he is known to have experienced heart issues. Early in 1996, it was well known that he was recovering from a string of heart attacks. Shortly after, he underwent quintuple bypass surgery and spent months in the hospital rehabilitating.

The world press gave Yeltsin's personal and medical issues a considerable deal of coverage. Instead of the inspirational leader he had previously been, he was frequently perceived as becoming more and more inebriated and unstable as time went on.

Following his meeting with U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott after President Clinton's inauguration in 1993 and an incident during a flight stopover at Shannon Airport, Ireland, in September 1994, when the awaiting Irish Prime Minister, Albert Reynolds, was informed that Yeltsin was ill and would not be leaving the aircraft, Yeltsin's alcoholism was also a topic of media discussion. Bill Clinton alleged that Yeltsin was discovered on Pennsylvania Avenue in his underwear, intoxicated, and trying to hail a taxi cab to get to a pizza shop during a 1995 visit to Washington.