THE foreign ministry on Friday praised outgoing Russian president Boris Yeltsin, who resigned on Friday, for leaving a legacy of democracy. “Yeltsin leaves a legacy of democratic governance which is indicative of the progress that humanity is making,” the foreign ministry said in a statement. “President [Thabo] Mbeki has fond memories of his visit to Moscow a little over a year ago and good relations exist between South Africa and Russia. “We congratulate [Yeltsin’s successor Prime Minister Vladimir] Putin and we look forward to further strengthening the good relations between our two countries.” Yeltsin named Putin as acting president until presidential elections scheduled for March.