Yeltsin Fires Security Chief for Incompetence, Abuses : Russia: Dismissal of Barannikov feeds political turmoil. President’s foes accuse him of starting a purge.

In the highest-level dismissal yet linked to rampant corruption, the head of the KGB successor agency responsible for state security was fired Tuesday by Russian President Boris N. Yeltsin for alleged abuse of office and incompetence.

Security Minister Viktor P. Barannikov, who began his law enforcement career 22 years ago as a police cadet and district officer, was accused of improperly using his influence to arrange trips for relatives abroad. He was the first Cabinet member Yeltsin has removed on ethical grounds.

But the vaguely stated charge against Barannikov was small potatoes indeed compared to the colossal scale of Russian corruption, and Yeltsin’s enemies, who launched prosecutorial investigations last week of two key Yeltsin allies in the government, accused him of beginning a purge.

The president’s most powerful foe, conservative Parliament Chairman Ruslan I. Khasbulatov, denounced “attempts by democrats to demolish law enforcement organs by removing all professionals.” He announced that he intends to reconvene the Supreme Soviet to attempt Barannikov’s reinstatement.

The minister’s dismissal further fed the political turmoil and uncertainty touched off by the Central Bank’s weekend decision, watered down considerably by Yeltsin on Monday, to invalidate pre-1993 ruble notes.

In a speech to a national conference on the economy that he organized, Khasbulatov asserted that Yeltsin, who was on vacation over the weekend, had approved the bank’s original decision, which ignited a consumer panic as millions of Russians saw the bulk of their savings or bankrolls essentially declared worthless.

Khasbulatov charged that the incident shows that Russia’s reform-minded government is “totally incapable” of governing. Legally, however, the bank is also under the control of the legislature, and Khasbulatov’s own role in the affair was murky.

Lines of citizens eager to change their rubles into newer bank notes formed outside banks across Russia for a second straight day. At the symposium in Moscow, Khasbulatov demanded that the decision on exchanging old for new rubles--which Yeltsin modified by extending the deadline--be canceled by the end of the day Tuesday. But the president announced no action.

Yeltsin so far has kept mum about whether he approved Central Bank Chairman Viktor Gerashchenko’s decision. But whoever was ultimately responsible, the “government’s popularity” was the main loser, Deputy Prime Minister Sergei M. Shakhrai said.

Barannikov, 52, was also accused by Yeltsin of serious failings in his work, including in the leadership of Russia’s border guard detachments, which belong to his ministry. On July 14, a surprise attack by Tajik rebels and their Afghan sympathizers on an isolated Russian border post left 25 Russian servicemen dead.

At a Monday meeting of Russia’s Security Council, Yeltsin demanded to know “why we found ourselves totally unprepared.”

Yeltsin made public his decree dismissing Barannikov at a meeting with Security Ministry officials Tuesday, his press service said. Moving to retain the loyalty of the powerful administration whose headquarters is the dreaded Lubyanka that long housed the Soviet KGB, Yeltsin assured ministry officials that Barannikov’s firing did not “cast a shadow” on them.

There were signs, however, that more dismissals may be in the offing and that the reasons for Barannikov’s ouster go deeper than those cited by the presidential press service. On Yeltsin’s order, a special commission was formed to study the actions that led to the removal. No new minister was named; by law, the conservative-led legislature must approve Yeltsin’s candidate.

Like the ruble affair, the firing laid bare fissures in the Cabinet of Prime Minister Viktor S. Chernomyrdin. Barannikov “seems to have bet on Khasbulatov and lost,” said radical deputy Anatoly Y. Shabad. Shabad said he also has “suspicions,” so far unverified, that Chernomyrdin, who backed the Central Bank’s exchange plan, concluded an “alliance” with Khasbulatov.

Vigorously coming to Barannikov’s defense, hard-line legislative leader Sergei N. Baburin said he knew of at least two occasions, in December, 1992, and March of this year, when the deposed minister bravely “refused to carry out unconstitutional orders from Yeltsin.”

“It is most obvious that Barannikov is just the first link in a long chain of resignations and firings,” Baburin said. “Loyalty to the president: This will be the main criterion by which new people will be appointed.”

A key Yeltsin ally as Russia’s interior minister before the Soviet breakup, Barannikov was elevated to head the corresponding Soviet ministry after the failure of the August, 1991, putsch attempt.

In May, 1992, he was named to lead Russia’s Security Ministry, the agency charged with state security and counterespionage and whose pedigree extends back to the KGB. He rapidly prepared a list of Communist-appointed generals and other high-ranking holdovers for a purge. But critics say he didn’t follow through fast enough.