Russian President Boris Yeltsin will be remembered, among other things, for his sense of drama. Last Friday's announcement that he would be stepping down as president was perfectly in character. It focused international attention on him -- at least momentarily -- as the world prepared to meet the new millennium; it was a grand gesture, cloaked in the language of the national interest; and it effectively placed the burden for solving Russia's many problems on the shoulders of his heir apparent, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. Mr. Yeltsin leaves a mixed legacy, but it is far better that he go now. His record would have been much brighter had he left sooner.

Less than a decade ago, Mr. Yeltsin symbolized heroism. In one brave moment, he metamorphosed from party hack into the repository of all the hopes that the world placed in the Russian people as they made permanent their rejection of communism. In the eight years since then, Mr. Yeltsin has evolved again. Now the defiant politician is a sad reminder of the old order he replaced: a bloated geriatric, befuddled and out of touch, sustained by modern medicine and more concerned with his personal privileges (and those of his family) than the state of his country.

It did not have to be this way. Mr. Yeltsin was an accomplished politician. He helped consolidate democracy in Russia. Of course, he will be remembered for climbing aboard a Red Army tank during the August 1991 coup. But he remained committed to democratic principles and resisted the totalitarian temptation. Mr. Yeltsin was a capricious leader, but he obeyed the law. Despite regular whispering campaigns that a suspension of the constitution was imminent, he never took that step. There were continuing fears of a communist or nationalist resurgence, but democratic principles were embedded in Russian politics during the president's tenure. It is significant that no credible party now challenges the legitimacy of Russian democracy.