Boris Yeltsin seemed almost buoyant. He was not quite the man who hopped on a tank to denounce the would-be coupmakers of August 1991, but, reinvigorated by a Black Sea vacation, he still delivered a bone-crushing handshake that belied-as perhaps it was meant to-the persistent rumors of his declining health and drinking problems.
On the eve of both Russia's celebration of the 50th anniversary of V-E day and the latest superpower summit with Bill Clinton, Yeltsin came with a great deal to say, as well he might. He had just declared a holiday cease-fire-rejected by the rebels-in Russia's war with the...