Former Russian president Boris Yeltsin has died at the age of 76.
Former Russian president Boris Yeltsin pictured last year
Mr Yeltsin engineered the final collapse of the Soviet Union and pushed Russia to embrace democracy and a market economy as the country's first post-Communist president.
Kremlin spokesman Alexander Smirnov confirmed Mr Yeltsin died, but gave no cause of death or further information. The Interfax news agency cited an unidentified medical source as saying he had died of heart failure.
Although Yeltsin was initially admired abroad for his defiance of the monolithic social system, many Russians will remember him mostly for presiding over the steep decline of their nation.
He was a contradictory figure, rocketing to popularity in the Communist era on pledges to fight corruption — but proving unable, or unwilling, to prevent the looting of state industry as it moved into private hands during his nine years as Russia's first freely elected president.
He also led Russia into a humiliating war against separatist rebels in Chechnya that ended with Russia's pullout. Mr Yeltsin, who suffered from severe heart problems during his time in office, resigned on New Year's Eve 1999, several months before his term was to end.
In Russia, the reaction has been muted. Russian President Vladimir Putin this afternoon offered his condolences but made it clear that Yeltsin's legacy is a mixed one.
"I express the very deepest condolences to the family of the deceased on whose shoulders rest major events for the good of the country and serious mistakes. A tragic fate," Mr Putin said.
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern said he was "greatly saddened" by the death of Mr Yeltsin.
"As Russia's first democratically-elected President, he displayed courageous leadership and political vision in charting the way forward for his country following the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
"He led Russia's democratic transition and successfully resisted a violent attempt to return the country to a totalitarian past. The Government is conveying its deep condolences to the Russian president and government," Mr Ahern said in a statement.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair said it was "with sadness that I learned of the death of former president Yeltsin. He was a remarkable man who saw the need for democratic and economic reform and in defending it played a vital role at a crucial time in Russia's history."
Agencies