According to popular belief, the first president of Russia, when announcing his resignation in a New Year's Eve televised address, used the phrase: “I'm tired, I'm leaving.” We checked whether Boris Nikolaevich pronounced it.

The popularity of the quote in the above version is widespread. It sounds in movies and on television, it can be read in books and on information sites. The phrase became the basis for memes, and in everyday life often replaces traditional words of farewell. Of course, in many cases people directly say that they are quoting Yeltsin - for example, this is what is written in biographies humorist and governor of the Altai Territory Mikhail Evdokimov.

The legendary recording of Yeltsin’s televised address was already the second one at that time. The first one, with a traditional New Year's speech, was recorded three days before the holiday, but then Boris Nikolaevich unexpectedly told the film crew that the video would be re-recorded on December 31. He spoke in detail about the events that followed in his book. "Presidential Marathon".

According to Yeltsin, until December 28, only Vladimir Putin knew about his decision, then the president told the news to the head of his administration, Alexander Voloshin, and his predecessor (and his future son-in-law) Valentin Yumashev. A little later he shared it with his daughter Tatyana and only on the morning of December 31st with his wife Naina. And here's what millions of television viewers saw at noon on December 31, 1999:

“Today, on the last day of the passing century, I resign.” “I'm leaving. I’m leaving ahead of schedule.” “I'm leaving. I did everything I could." And no “I’m tired, I’m leaving.” Where did the first half of this catchphrase come from?

It is believed that this phrase came to the people thanks to... KVN. And if the issue is from 1998, in which a member of the Ural Dumplings team in the voice of Yeltsin speaks: “Listen to me, free, you understand, flock. I'm leaving for the vacation valley. You need a new leader. I’m talking about Mowgli” - can be considered a very successful prediction; after the resignation of Boris Yeltsin, speeches appeared in which the words of the ex-president were heard in precisely the now popular version. One of the first, if not the first, performance of this kind was the performance of the “Team of the 20th Century” in the “KVN special project”, shown on Channel One on November 8, 2002:

The following year, 2003, the first mentions this phrase on the Internet. In March it will repeat "ChP" team from Minsk. And Alexander Maslyakov in his book “KVN is Alive” will later write that “the phrase “I’m tired, I’m leaving” hovered for a long time in subsequent KVN seasons.”

This quote is a typical example of the so-called "Mandela effect"when in the mass consciousness certain information is fixed in the same false form. In fact, Boris Yeltsin uttered a slightly different phrase in his New Year's address in 1999.