He told the Russian people that the coup was bad, advised all the people of Moscow against the coup, and openly supported Gorbachev.
Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin was a Soviet and Russian politician and the first President of the Russian Federation, holding office from 1991 to 1999.
Yeltsin arised under the perestroika reforms as one of Gorbachev's most powerful political opponents.
On 29 May 1990, he was elected the chairman of the Russian Supreme Soviet.