Gorbachev Rival Out of Politburo : ‘Health Reasons’ Cited by Tass in Romanov’s Ouster

Grigory V. Romanov, one-time rival of Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev, was ousted from the ruling Politburo today and replaced by a technocrat with a reputation for dealing ruthlessly with corrupt officials.

As further evidence of Gorbachev’s iron grip on power, two of his close allies were promoted to the positions of Central Committee secretaries--second in power only to Politburo membership.

The official Soviet press agency Tass said Romanov, 62, was relieved of his duties “for health reasons”--a euphemism generally used when a Politburo member is forced out.

The ouster was widely expected after weeks of speculation that the former Leningrad party boss had fallen into disfavor. The view was reinforced by the resurgence of old rumors about scandals involving him.

Replaced by Non-Russian

Romanov was replaced by Eduard Shevardnadze, 57, first secretary of the Communist Party of the Republic of Georgia. Shevardnadze was promoted from non-voting status to full Politburo status, becoming one of only two non-Russians on the 13-member ruling body.

The changes were approved at the regular biennial session of the Communist Party Central Committee, the country’s key policy-making body of 315 members that includes all ministers and regional party leaders as well as some workers.

The three new members Gorbachev swiftly added to his team--Shevardnadze, Lev Zaikov, 62, and Boris Yeltsin, 55--are all examples of the new generation of dynamic, anti-corruption technocrats that Gorbachev is bringing into the leadership in an effort to pull the country out of its economic doldrums.

Shevardnadze earned a reputation as a ruthless corruption-fighter after he took over the party in the scandal-plagued Republic of Georgia in 1972 and immediately dismissed scores of party officials.

Yeltsin and Zaikov, who now hold two of the nine secretarial posts in the Central Committee, have the technocratic experience that can help Gorbachev in his drive to modernize the economy.

New President to Be Named

The biennial session of the 1,500-member Supreme Soviet is to meet Tuesday to rubber-stamp Central Committee recommendations. A new president will be named at the session to fill the vacancy left by the death of Konstantin U. Chernenko.

Although most Western diplomats expect Gorbachev to follow the pattern of his three predecessors and assume the title of head of state, there were widespread rumors it would go instead to Foreign Minister Andrei A. Gromyko, 75.

Romanov, a one-time rival of Gorbachev for the leadership, has not been seen in public since May 9. Although officials said he was ill, travelers from Georgia reported seeing him on vacation recently.

Among the old stories of scandals involving the high-living Romanov that resurfaced in recent weeks was one in which guests at his daughter’s wedding broke some priceless china from the era of Catherine the Great that had been borrowed from the Hermitage Museum.

Another scandal involved Romanov being seen in the company of a popular young singer.