Democracy is ever a fragile thing, especially in states that have no tradition of democratic rule and have, instead, a tradition of self-serving rule by self-appointed and often brutal elites.
Former Russian President Boris Yeltsin, the country’s first elected president, was laid to rest in Moscow on Wednesday. Former U.S. Presidents Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush joined other dignitaries for the state funeral at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, the first such ceremony for a Russian leader to be held in a church in more than 100 years.