The candidate backed by Mikhail Gorbachev for President of the Russian Republic, Russian Aleksandr Vlasov, withdrew from the race today, strengthening the campaign of Boris Yeltsin, the populist who has repeatedly clashed with Gorbachev. Two other men remained in the race but the contest appeared to be between Yeltsin and Vlasov. Earlier, Yeltsin delivered a speech pledging to defend the republic from meddling by the national Soviet government but refrained from clashing with Gorbachev. ``If there was or is something personal, I'll set it aside,'' In his speech, Yeltsin said he would not seek re-election as president if he did not win an outright majority.
The candidate backed by Mikhail Gorbachev for President of the Russian Republic, Russian Aleksandr Vlasov, withdrew from the race today, strengthening the campaign of Boris Yeltsin, the populist who has repeatedly clashed with Gorbachev. Two other men remained in the race but the contest appeared to be between Yeltsin and Vlasov. Earlier, Yeltsin delivered a speech pledging to defend the republic from meddling by the national Soviet government but refrained from clashing with Gorbachev. In his speech, Yeltsin said he would not seek re-election as president if he did not win an outright majority.