After introducing "perestroika" in alliance with liberal reformers, Mr. Gorbachev shifted to the right last fall after losing faith in the radical reforms proposed by his liberal advisers, including Mr. Yavlinsky.

He and his liberal advisers know that if he tries another leftward lurch, Democrats in Congress will not fall on their swords to save his Presidency or their party.

Started by Congress in 1988, it struggled for years to raise money and find common ground between liberal advisers, who feared hagiography, and conservatives who feared a warts-and-all approach would focus on warts alone.

The plan was largely conceived by Robert Reich and Ira Magaziner, two liberal senior advisers who are both long-time friends of the candidate.

He began his career as a liberal academic and theological adviser to at the Second Vatican Council, supporting many efforts to make the church more open.

Mr. Gorbachev's shift from liberal advisers to an alliance with conservative forces in recent months has included a revival of the practice.

In addition to Mr. Shevardnadze, others among President Mikhail S. Gorbachev's most liberal advisers have quit while hard-liners have gained authority.

Mr. Gorbachev has progressively accumulated power, while steadily ridding himself of his liberal advisers and replacing them with yes-men and apparatchiks.

He has jettisoned many of his liberal advisers and replaced them with people who take a far harder line on the economy and foreign affairs.

"He's not full of himself," says Margery Tabankin, a liberal political and philanthropic adviser to Barbra Streisand and Steven Spielberg.