Statement to a Times reporter in 1990, as quoted in "The wit and wisdom of Boris" in Guardian Unlimited (23 April 2007)
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A man must live like a great brilliant flame and burn as brightly as he can. In the end he burns out. But this is far better than a mean little flame.
— Boris Yeltsin
What It Means
This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "A man must live like a great brilliant flame and burn as brightly as he can. In the end he burns out. But this is far better than a mean little flame." in the context of "Statement to a Times reporter in 1990, as quoted in "The wit and wisdom of Boris" in Guardian Unlimited (23 April 2007)" to mean that wisdom is timeless.
Source: Wikiquote: "Boris Yeltsin" (Quotes, 1990s)
The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
About Boris Yeltsin
Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin Бори́с Никола́евич Е́льцин (1 February 1931 – 23 April 2007) was a Russian and former Soviet politician who served as the first President of Russia from 1991 to 1999. A member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1961 to 1990, he later stood as a political independent, during which time he was viewed as being ideologically aligned with liberalism and Russian nationalism.
About Boris Yeltsin
Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin Бори́с Никола́евич Е́льцин (1 February 1931 – 23 April 2007) was a Russian and former Soviet politician who served as the first President of Russia from 1991 to 1999. A member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1961 to 1990, he later stood as a political independent, during which time he was viewed as being ideologically aligned with liberalism and Russian nationalism.
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