The first President of Russia, Boris Yeltsin, has died aged 76. It was during his tenure in office that homosexuality was decriminalised in Russia. He became the country's first elected leader in June 1991 and will be remembered as a man who stood up for democracy. Russian gay activist Nicolas Alexeyev spoke to PinkNews.co.uk from Moscow today about Yeltsin's legacy: "He was a man who, risking his life, gave freedom to us, a man, who underpinned democratic values of contemporary Russia. "The Russian gay community will always remember Boris Nikolaevich Yeltsin as a man who put an end to almost sixty years of criminal prosecution for male homosexual relations. "The law that he signed in April 1993 came into force on 27th May 1993. "This day entered into the Russian history of LGBT movement. Boris Yeltsin is a whole epoch in Russia's history. "He is a man who will always be remembered by our ancestors irrespective of the future development of Russia. His name is forever written into the history of free and democratic Russia. "When such people as Boris Yeltsin leave this world everything is shaking inside. Democratic Russia is losing its best people. It is sad that no-one is coming to replace them. "Boris Yeltsin gave Russian people freedom, but people, unfortunately, did not learn how to value it. "Let him rest in peace! Boris Yeltsin will always stay in our hearts." Ref: Pinknews.co.uk (m)