Yeltsin Loses Membership on Soviet Politburo

Boris N. Yeltsin, former head of the Communist Party in Moscow and an outspoken advocate of radical reform, was dismissed Thursday as an alternate member of the Politburo.

Yeltsin’s ouster was the final step in his downfall, a process that began after he criticized top Soviet leaders at last October’s plenum of the party’s Central Committee.

Thursday’s action had been expected in light of the sharp criticism heaped on Yeltsin by Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev and others, who accused him of making “political mistakes.”

Yeltsin, 57, has been named deputy chief of the Ministry of Construction.

His ouster came two years to the day after his elevation to non-voting, or alternate, membership in the Politburo, which is the ruling body of the party and the nation as well.

Yeltsin has been a popular figure, often riding buses and shopping in Moscow stores along with ordinary citizens. His abrupt ouster touched off a few demonstrations by his followers, including students at Moscow State University.

He was condemned for “avant-gardism” and accused of trying to split the Politburo, reportedly by accusing Yegor K. Ligachev, the No. 2 Politburo member, of blocking Gorbachev’s reforms.

In other action Thursday, the Central Committee named Yuri D. Maslyukov, 51, who is the new head of Gosplan, the state planning agency, as an alternate member of the Politburo.

Georgy P. Razumovsky, the “enforcer” in dealings with lower-level party organizations, was also elevated to non-voting membership in the Politburo. Razumovsky, 52, apparently will continue his duties on the Central Committee staff as chief of the Department of Organizational Party Work.

Oleg D. Baklanov, 55, head of the ministry responsible for the production of ballistic missiles and spacecraft, was named a secretary of the Central Committee.

According to Western diplomats, Baklanov will probably take over the defense industry duties formerly assigned to Lev N. Zaikov, a senior member of the Polituro who was recently appointed first secretary of the party in Moscow, replacing Yeltsin.

The men promoted Thursday were all elected to the Central Committee in March of 1986, and this indicates that all had Gorbachev’s backing for advancement to the 307-member panel.

In an unusual step, the Central Committee announced that three of its candidate members had been promoted to voting status. They were identified as Valery I. Boldin, head of the General Department of the Central Committee and a personal aide to Gorbachev; Natalya V. Gellert, a machine operator on a state farm in Kazakhstan, and Viktor I. Mironenko, first secretary of the Young Communist League.

Western analysts said the changes in the Politburo were expected after Maslyukov’s replacement of Nikolai V. Talyzin as head of Gosplan, the State Planning Committee.

Talyzin will stay on as a non-voting member of the Politburo. He was named chairman of the ministerial-level Bureau for Social Development.