LOCAL : Communist Party Hierarchy Dealt 3 Major Defeats by Soviet Voters

The Soviet Communist Party hierarchy suffered a major upset today when election results in Leningrad showed the defeat of three leading party figures, including a junior member of the ruling Politburo.

Leningrad radio said the regional Communist Party chief, Yuri Solovyov, a candidate member of the Politburo, was not on a list of successful candidates read out as results became official. Leningrad residents said Solovyov, who was running unopposed, had failed to secure the necessary 50% of the poll in a massive vote of no-confidence.

Another name missing from the list was that of Leningrad’s mayor, Vladimir Khodyrev. And the Leningrad city party first secretary, Anatoly Gerasimov, was defeated by a virtually unknown engineer, who took 74% of the poll.