Yeltsin fired Primakov on 12 May 1999, ostensibly over the sluggish pace of the Russian economy. Many analysts believed the firing of Primakov reflected Yeltsin's fear of losing power to a more successful and popular person, although sources close to Yeltsin said at the time that the president viewed Primakov as being too close to the Communist Party. Primakov himself would have had good chances as a candidate for the presidency. Yevgeny Primakov had refused to dismiss Communist ministers while the Communist Party was leading the process of preparing unsuccessful impeachment proceedings against the president. Ultimately, Yeltsin resigned at the end of the year and was succeeded by his last prime minister, Vladimir Putin. Primakov's dismissal was extremely unpopular with the Russian population: according to a poll, 81% of the population did not approve of the decision, and even among the liberal pro-Western party Yabloko supporters, 84% did not approve of the dismissal.