Boris Yeltsin Is A Mess
Boris Yeltsin looks bloated and glassy-eyed. He slurs his words and has difficulty walking, let alone climbing a few low stairs, CBS News Correspondent David Hawkins reports.
It's not exactly news that the Russian president hasn't been feeling well lately. Since undergoing heart surgery three years ago, he's spent more time in his sick bed than at his desk. But sources inside the Kremlin say that even though Yeltsin mustered the strength to fight off impeachment, his health is getting worse.
A Kremlin aide tells CBS News that Yeltsin is so sick, "he should have died months ago." The Russian president, we're told, suffers from frequent blackouts due to a lack of oxygen reaching his brain. Another Kremlin source says that to keep the president going, doctors are shooting him up with drugs day and night.
Our sources aren't doctors and don't know the exact nature of Yeltsin's illness or what drugs he's receiving. But they do say that the president's doctors are finding it harder and harder to revive Yeltsin for public appearances.
Officially, the Kremlin denies that the president is in poor health and calls reports to the contrary totally bewildering.
Yeltsin is drinking again too, against doctors orders, our sources say, and that's part of the problem. Having survived his political opponents attempt to impeach him, Yeltsin appears to be losing the battle against a more formidable enemy - himself.
CBS Worldwide Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed