DENVER-
The Mile High City was the scene of an international triumph for former Russian President Boris Yeltsin when his country was accepted as a member of the Group of Eight during a 1997 summit.
Yeltsin, who died Monday at age 76, had been invited to attend the Denver meeting of what had been the Group of Seven—or G7—an elite club of powerful capitalist nations that previously had shunned Russia.
As the Denver summit ended, Yeltsin proudly proclaimed, “The G-8 has become a reality.”
Then-President Clinton singled Yeltsin out for praise at the Denver conference, saying, “Russia’s role here at the summit reflects the great strides Russia has made in its historic transformation.”
But the city’s 5,280-foot elevation and the long, hot June weekend were tough on Yeltsin, then 66.
He had had quintuple-bypass surgery the year before, and he stumbled during one public appearance at the summit. He retired early one evening instead of joining the other summit members in an outing to sample some Old West atmosphere.
“This has all been stressful. He’s tired because of the stress, the temperature, the altitude. It’s not so easy for someone of his age or of any age,” Russian spokesman Sergei Yastrzhembsky said at the time.
But Yeltsin seemed to recover by the next day.
“I feel good. Denver is good,” he said. “The weather and the Group of Eight are also good.”
Even before the summit, Yeltsin was touting the historic consequences of Russia’s inclusion.
“I want very much for it to be written: ‘Denver conclusively agrees that the G-7 is transformed into a G-8,” he told reporters in Moscow before departing for the summit.
