Actually it was his constitutional reforms,
Which centralized power in the hands of the Presidency and ensured that Russia would remain an authoritarian state in the post-Soviet era for decades to come. At least in the post-Stalin era most dissidents just got locked up, now they get murdered.
and privatization,
Which made a few Russians (mostly those with government, intelligence service, and mafiya connections) really rich and fucked everyone else. Rampant homelessness, unemployment, drug addiction, and violent crime, along with a dramatic increase in the incarceration rate. Will someone please tell me how a country becomes "freer" when it locks up more of its citizens?
In 1995 Boris Yeltsin, came within three minutes of initiating a full nuclear strike on the United States because of a Norwegian scientific rocket Russians could not identify. All of his advises and top military leaders were telling him the Americans had done a nuclear strike on the USA, and we have to strike back immediately, thank full he didn't take (even knowing) that Russia would be destroyed and he only had 3 minutes to lunch all of the nuclear aresnel of Russia. He did not listen to anyone, even though his Generals were furious with him screening and shouting at him to give the order. Even counting the time down to him. Imagine that, that takes some serious balls.
By that logic, Lt. Col. Stanislav Petrov is the greatest Russian to have ever lived.
Why would the US launch a nuclear attack on Russia in 19 ninety fucking 5? Yeah we won the Cold War and were supportive of Yeltsin's regime, but let's just lob some nukes at Russia for fun? So basically Yeltsin is a great leader cause he wasn't a total idiot and didn't blow up the fuckin world? Setting the bar pretty low there, Tut.