The World - News from July 15, 1987

The premier of the Ukraine, Alexander P. Lyashko, has been ousted along with at least eight other high officials in a shake-up that may be related to the area’s economic problems. Not directly affected by the changes is Ukrainian Communist Party chief Vladimir V. Shcherbitsky--one of the last of the Soviet old guard to retain his influential seat on the country’s Politburo--but the departure of several of his key aides suggests his power base may have eroded. The reason for the reshuffling was not disclosed, but it appears to be another step in Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev’s effort to restructure the economy.