Russian President Boris Yeltsin confirmed Sept. 1 that he would not seek a third term, saying he would make way for a younger, more energetic candidate. "My term ends in 2000," he told children returning to school. "I will not, of course, run again."

Yeltsin, 66, was elected to a second term a year ago despite worries about his health. Russia's postcommunist constitution, passed in 1993, allows the president only two terms in office.