Previously, Diachenko had kept out of politics and the public limelight, but in 1996 she was persuaded to take an official position as the president’s image manager. Soon Diachenko became the chief conduit of the oligarchs’ influence on Yeltsin. It is doubtful that she possessed the necessary experience or expertise to understand the complex problems facing the nation. It was also rumored that her financial and commercial interests, entangled with those of the oligarchs, could have influenced several important political decisions.

In the final two years of Yeltsin’s presidency the effective control over most important decisions and appointments passed into the hands of Yeltsin’s inner circle, which the media dubbed the “Family.” This preeminent clan was composed of a small circle of Yeltsin’s aides and top officials, a few of the oligarchs, and the president’s blood relations. The growth of its influence was a direct result of the president’s ill health and his inability to fulfill routine presidential duties.

Alongside Tatiana Diachenko, the Family was rumored to include Valentin Yumashev, a journalist who had entered Yeltsin’s circle in 1990 by helping him to write his first book of memoirs; Alexander Voloshin, an economist who was put in charge of the presidential administration; Roman Abramovich, a talented young businessman and a protégé of Boris Berezovsky; and the ubiquitous Berezovsky himself.

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