Restructured Politburo Seen as Gorbachev Victory

The Soviet Communist Party voted today to change its leadership structure in a clear victory for President Mikhail S. Gorbachev at the crucial party congress.

Delegates voted by a large margin to bring the party chiefs from the 15 republics into an expanded Politburo--a move that will almost certainly stop conservative hard-liners from forming a bloc against Gorbachev on the body.

Diplomats said the new setup favored the reformist Gorbachev, who would have much less difficulty controlling the republican party chiefs than contending with Moscow-based politicians.

The Politburo now numbers 12 full members, most of them with Moscow power bases. Gorbachev himself suggested that the total membership could be 23 or 24 after inclusion of specialist secretaries nominated by the Central Committee.

Delegates voted by a big margin to retain the post of party general secretary rather than create the new title of party chairman at the head of a presidium.

Gorbachev, 59, who is general secretary as well as state president, has been assured by both left and right in the party that he will be reelected party leader later this week.

The changes also provided for the new post of a deputy to the general secretary who would be a full Politburo member and, like the party chief, be elected directly by the congress.

The 28th Communist Party Congress, which opened July 2, has been the scene of bitter feuding between Gorbachev and his reform-minded allies on the one hand and conservative hard-liners opposed to his radical reforms on the other.

The atmosphere sharpened further today when a close ally of Gorbachev, Politburo member Alexander Yakovlev, said he was the target of a slander campaign.

The congress approved an investigation by the party after Yakovlev said documents falsifying recent comments he had made to political meetings were being circulated on the fringes of the congress.

“I want to tell those who are behind this campaign that they may shorten my life, but they will never manage to silence me,” the 66-year-old Yakovlev said.

Yakovlev, architect of Gorbachev’s policy of glasnost , or openness, said the documents contained “distortions” of comments he had recently made to young Communists and members of the Democratic Platform and Marxist Platform factions.

The falsified documents said he had encouraged them to quit the party.

But a 15-page document circulated later setting out what he said was the correct version of his remarks made clear he had urged them to stay in the party and cooperate in a renewal of its ranks.