Dec. 31, 1999 4:34 AM Reuters

MOSCOW, Dec 26 (Reuters) - Reigning world and European figure skating champions Maria Butyrskaya and Alexei Yagudin made the Russian team for the European championships in Vienna in February despite being beaten by younger rivals at the national championships.

Butyrskaya, whose BMW car exploded outside her apartment building in Moscow three days ago, lost her women's crown for the first time in six years when she was headed by Irina Slutskaya on Saturday.

Yagudin was beaten in the men's competition by 17-year-old former understudy Yevgeny Plyushchenko.

Double world champions Yelena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze and reigning European holders Maria Petrova and Alexei Tikhonov will contest the pairs title.

Double ice dancing world champions Anjelika Krylova and Oleg Ovsyannikov will not go to Austria because Krylova has a back injury.

Newly-crowned Russian champions Irina Lobachyova and Ilya Averbuch head the line-up instead.

Russians took all four titles at European and world level last season.