MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION ON TASHKENT

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: FOIA Collection
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 05634059
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 11
• Document Creation Date: March 8, 2023
• Document Release Date: August 13, 2019
• Case Number: F-2018-00127
• Publication Date: April 28, 1961

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A
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
This material contains information affecting the National Defense of the United States within the meaning of the Espionage Laws, Title
18, U.S.O. Secs. 793 and 794, the transmission or revelation of which In any manner to an unauthorized person is prohibited by law.
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COUNTRY USSR (Uzbek SSR)
SUBJECT Miscellaneous Information on
Tashkent Co. mo,c-kA7 c-(0117r
IN0N)&e.. rnsMat 1-1^�
V%pvIE.N Y194 \ C-4rret3 Trs . (=1C:1(Z
� sl-Te..e.T
Tecs..e c- cgsrld .T ern 6 t
DATE OF
INFO.
PLACE &
DATE ACQ.
SOURCE:
November 1958-1960
REPORT NO.
DATE DISTR.
NO. PAGES
REFERENCES
eve April 1961
2
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FIELD REPORT NO:
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SOURCE EVALUATIONS ARE DEFINITIVE.
APPRAISAL OF CONTENT IS TENTA
WE.
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The following attachments of miscellaneous information on Tashkent, dated
November 1958-1960, have been deposited in the CIA Library, where photocopies
are available.
Attachment 1: Construction of private houses, from May through September
1959, is the subject of this two-page report. Because it was practically
impossible to get construction materials in Tashkent, most prospective
home owners bought their matetials on the black market; they also
hired their workers at black-market wages. Wages and hours are compared
for illegal and legal labor.
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OCR
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(Note: Washington distribution indicated by "X"; Field distribution by "*".)
INFORMATION REPORT INFORMATION REPORT
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Attachment 2: During November 1958-May 1959 an unidentified military
construction organization was building housing projects at three loca-
tions, each of which seemed to be a headquarters for the organization.
One site was near the old fortress in the center of Tashkent, where
a brick apartment house was under construction on a lot of about 300
square meters. Near the civil airport, south of the main railroad
station and about 300 meters south of the end of streetcar line No. 10,
five or six single-story brick apartment houses were being built,
each about 35 by 8 by 4 meters. At a third location, about 500 meters
north of prospekt A. Navoi from a point source thought was about midway
bet1een2ulitsa Sabira Rakhimova and Poligraficheskaya ulitsa, construction
was taking place on several apartment houses similar to those being
built near the civil airport. Included in this three-page attachment
is a description of the work of a bricklaying brigade, together with a
sketch of bricklaying courses used by the organization.
Attachment 3: Street and trafficconditions are given in this two-page
report. By 1960 most of the streets in Tashkent were asphalt. In rainy
weather many of the streets were often flooded. In rural areas, aside
from the main highways, the roads were poor and covered with fine dust;
during the rainy season, they were impassable. Winter snowfalls, which
sometimes reached a depth of 20 to 30 centimeters, did not present any
particular hazard to driving except on steep grades. Source describes
truck traffic in some detail and also comments on bridges and some of the
steepest grades.
Attachment 4: In tliis two-page report, sources make brief remarks on
Tashkent's naturalgas, water, and electricity utilities as of 1960.
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FIELD INFORMATION WORT
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COUNTRY USSR (Uzbek: SSR)
SMUT Construction of Private Houses in
Tashkent
DAN OF
INFO.
tma a
DATE ACQ.
SOURCE
.-
May -
eptmnber 1959
REPORT NO.
DATE OF REPORT
Ha PAGES
REMENCES
1- OCT 196e
2
THIS Is UNEVALUATED INFORMATION,. SOURCE ORADINDS ARE DEFINITIVE. APPRASIAL OF CONTENT 191811mEnvt.
1. It was widely rumored among construction workers in Tashkent, Uzbek SSR,
in late 1959 that the Soviet authorities were considering tighter labor
laws. If enacted, such laws would be a major impediment to the construc-
tion of private houses in Tashkent, because private houses in Tashkent
were built with construction labor hired at black market wages. This
practice was so widespread that source knew of no houses built with
legally-hired I:bor. Source also kn.w of no houses built with legally-
acquired construction materials. Because it was almost impossible to
acquire construction materials in Tashkent through legal channels,
prospective home owners bought their materials on the black market.
Because their labor and materials were hired and bought at black market
rates, private house owners were said tobe engaged iniLlegal house
construction, although it WAS not illegal to build or own a house.
2, The labor costs for an ordinary four-room And 1�mthroam brick house in
Tashkent were generally between 200051, and 30,000 rubles, depending on
the agreement between the owner and the labor contractor, the leader of
the labor team building the house. The agreement was a written and
legal document enforceable in Soviet courts; it covered only the labor
costs for the construction of the house, not the construction material,
and contracted the laborers for the construction of the house by indivi-
dual job, not for the house as one unit. There was no contract between
the labor contractor and the laborers on his team. The house described
above VAS usually constructed in about two and one-half to three months
by a six-man team working 12 hours a day. The contractor's wages were
the same ze those of each laborer.
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Althoui,h te daily earnings of thr- collruction laborers varied from
day to day, illerally-emnloyed wors ra,ie nom money than those who
were lsai1y employed. For examol,', whc,reas the Government rate was
70 to ,t1T rubles per 1:000 bricks, the black market rate for laying 1,000
bricks was 110 to 130 rubles; whereas laborers working legally worked
only aLoit eight hours a day an illegal construction worker could work
as mci, .1s he wanted, meaning as slaay as 12 or 1/1 hours n day during the
surer and filereas Government 1-:,; rain wore subject to reduction any
Time anyone avercroduced, black YI.,o:et x-es rovailiod constant for the
duration of a contret It was uc r iii2-1_cult for illegal construction
worke:- o colleet-L4-es for work � . lc '_,,criuse the 011-ter as anxious to
p)eal;e ;is Jr-wrkers and have his ial1v acquired ou3traction materials
used ' '1)20 t1,Z-::; were stoleno
n::trliction in Tashkentwa enerIly seasonal because of the
extrc trin.tcr weather Outdoor co'c,10 e done satisfactorily only
from ATiril or Nay through Septembev or October each year; only a little
indoor work could be done during winr months.
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FIELD INFORMATION REP'
COUNTRY USSR (Uzbek SSR)
SUEACT Miscellaneous Information on Public
Utilities in Tashkent
DATE OF
PLACE &
DATE ACQ.
s'cuacE
1960
REPORT Na
DATE OF REPORT
NO. PAGES
REFERENCES
2
mAR 1961
TINS IS UNEVALUATED INFORMATION. SOURCE GRAOINGS ARE DEFINMVE.
APPRASIAI. OF CONTENT
S TENTATIVE.
1. Tn September 1960 the Tashkent Cable Plant began to install gas lines
into the apartment houses it controlled.. Amona thpse werp some of the
apartment houses which belonged
administratively to the Cable Plant. This Oroject was expected to last
all winter. In the spring of 1961 the main gas line was scheduled to
reach this part of Tashkent, and the apartment houses would then be
connected with this line.
2, In May 1960 some parts of Tashkent were being supplied with natural gas
for the first time, Source had a friend who lived in a house on ploshchad,
Besh.Agach. This family, consisting of three persons, began to use gas
for cooking in May 1960. Their monthly bill was 50 to 60 rubles�
Until June 1960
was not connected with the Tashkent central water system� Water was -
brought in daily by truck from the Tube and Lamp Plant in Tashkent. In
June 1960 the settlement was connected with the cityls water mains.
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h. In the summer of 1960 source noticed that a trench was being dug three
to four meters deep along ulitsa Snota Rustaveli. Concrete tubing
about one and a half meters in diameter and with a wall thickness of
about 20 centimeters was being laid in the trench. The workers on
this construction project told source that this was to be a main sewer
line for Tashkent.
A high tension power line came from Chirehik to Tashkent along the
main Tashkent-Chirchik highway. The line reached the railroad line
at the Tashkent Cable Plant and then followed the railroad southward
to the main Tashkent railroad station. It then turned southeastward
to the electric power substation on the corner at the south side of
Bakinskaya ulitsa and the east side of Kuybyshevskoye shosse. The
high tension line ended at the substation. Source did not know the
name of the substation,
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FIELD INFORMATION REPORT
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Natti
COUNTRY WISR (Uzbek SR)
SUBJECT
Unidentified Military Construction
Organization in Tashkent
IrDATECf
pin November 1958 - May 1959
PLACE a
DATE ACQ.
REPORT NO.
DATE OF REPORT
NO. PAGES
REFERENCES
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12 OCT two
3
rim is UNEVALUATED aireitairnos. scum 'RADOM Au strismve. APPOASIAL OF Gomm le MITATIVL
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1, A construction organization in Tashkent, Uzbek SSA, known to source only
as a.Ailitary Construction Organization (Voyennaya Stroitellnaya Organizatsiya)
was building housing projects at three locations, explained below, in November
1958-May 1959. The Organization appeared to have a headquarters at each of
these three sites.
a. A brick apartment house was under construction on a lot about
300 square meters in size located near the old fortress in the
center of Tashkent. The building faced an unidentified road
and was bordered on one side by a.two-meter high board fence,
on the other by another apartment house, and behind by an
empty lot. The apartment house had a basement about three
meters high and three floors and measured about 40 by 10 by 12
meters; it had 36 apartments, each with two or three small rooms.
The building was to have kitchens, baths, and flush toilets.
b. Five or six single-story brick apartment houses, each about
35 by 8 by 4 meters, were being built near the Civil Airport
south of the main Tashkent railroad station and about 300 meters
south of the end of streetcar line No. 10. These buildings were
constructed in a housing area of similar buildings. There were
open spaces surrounding these buildings.
c. Several apartment houses similar to those being built near the
Civil Airport were under construction about 500 meters north of
ulitsa Navoi from a point source thought was about midway between
ulitsa Sabira Rakhimova and Poligraficheskaya ulitsa. Source
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thought there were about three or five paved and unpaved streets
running north from ulitsa Navoi, The apartment houses were on a
side street running east of one of these unpaved streets.
There were two or three bricklaying-plastering brigades working on tho
construction at each nf thalie sites:
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ne or two brigades were composed of Soviet
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soldiers who were brought to the site daily by truck from an unknown
location. The soldiers did the same work the civilians did. The
military brigades were supervised by a Soviet military officer whom
source heard called a lieutenant colonel, who came to the site almost
daily to check on the progress of the building. The officer had silver
epaulets.
3. Source was hired at the construction site: a friend from Treat No. 157
introduced source to the Soviet foreman, who examined his papers and
hired him on the spot. The only connection source had with the main
offices of the Organization was the man who came to the site twice a
month to pay the workers. Source thought there was some connection
between this Military Construction Organization and Treat No. 157.
h. Source described the work his brigade did for this Organization as
follows:
a. One and two-story dwellings were usually built without basements,
directly on a concrete slab foundation. The walls of these
buildings were usually 25 centimeters thick, the length of one
brick. Each brick was 25 centimeters long, 1.2.5 centimeters
wide, and about 6,2 centimeters thick.
b. The first step in the construction of a multi-story building
was the excavation of the basement, with bulldozers. Then a
trench about 80 centimeters deep and 50 to 60 centimeters
wide was dug around the outside of this excavation; a cement
and coarse gravel mixture was poured into this trench for
the foundation of the structure� The walls for these -hulti-
story buildings varied in width from floor to floor. For
the basement walls, the bricks were laid two bricks thick,
with the bricks placed lengthwise, making the walls 50
centimeters thick. Usually the first course was laid as
sketched and labelled A on page 3 and the second course as
sketched and labelled B. The width of the upper walls
depended on the number of stories: if there were to be more
than three or four stories, the walls for the first floor
were also 50 centimeters thick; but if there were to be
fewer than three stories, the walls of the first floor were
37.5 centimeters thick, or the combined length of one brick
and width of another laid in the course sketched and labelled
C on page 3. The walls for the floors above the first floor
were 25 centimeters thick, or one brick laid lengthwise. The
courses used for these walls are labelled and E on page 30
All floors above the basement were usually of pine wood and
were supported by wooden beams. The roofs, usually gabled,
were also built on wooden frames; they were made of cement
tiles, each about one meter by about 50 centimeters, called
shifer.
,
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25
cm
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Bricklaying courses used by an unidentified Military Construction
Organization in Tashkent, Uzbek SSR
1205
cm
A
each brick
ta:ORR
Width of wall
Width of
wall
Width of
wall
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FIELD INFORMATION REPORT
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COUNTRY USSR (Uzbek SSR)
SUMO Street and Traffic Conditions in
Tashkent
I. DATE OF
INFO.
PLACE &
DATE ACC).
souncE
To 1960
REPORT NO.
DATE OF REPORT
NO. PAGES 2
REFERENaS
iPR 1951
TUIS Is UNEVALUATED INFORMATION. SOURCE GRAMM ARE DEFINITIVE. APPRASIAL OF coma IS TENTATIVE.
1. Ry 1960 most of the streets in Tashkent were surfaced with asphalt,
Only a few cobblestone streets remained, chiefly in the center of
the city around Skver Revolyutsii� where traffic was not heavy and
where trucks were not permitted. In hot summer weather the asphalt
streets became soft and gave way under traffic with the result that
"waves" and bubbles appeared in the streets. In the winter the
asphalt streets suffered considerable frost damage.
2, in the construction of an asphalt street the roadbed was of coarse
gravel about a foot deep, leveled by a roller, The asphalt was
poured on the gravel, and, in hot weather, a fine gravel was poured
on top of the asphalt.
3. In rainy weather many of the streets in Tashkent were flooded frequently,
up to one or two feet, because drainage existed only in the center of
the city and on new streets. The worst flood area in Tashkent was near
the main passenger railroad station at the junction of ulitsa Ohervyakova,
Sarykultskaya ulitsa, and Zheleznodorozhnaya ulitsa. After heavy rains
the Saler River overflowed in this area. In 1958 or 1959 source noticed
that the water in this area had risen to the height of the roofs of
trucks. Rail and vehicular traffic was halted, and fire brigades were
called to pump the water away.
4. Winter snowfalls, which sometimes reached a depth of 20 to 30 centimeters,
did not present any particular hazard to driving except on steep grades.
After a snowfall city trucks and other special machines cleared all the
main thoroughfares and dangerous spots of snow. Source never saw any
vehicles equipped with chains in Tashkent,
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5. The steepest grades source remembered in Tashkent were the following:
a, On ulitsa Pushkina on the approach to the bridge over the Salar
River from the south and west, a grade of about ten or twelve
degrees,
b. On shosse Lunacharskogo between the bridge over the Salar River
and the railroad tracks, a grade of about ten or twelve degrees.
c. On ulitsa Rotkina where it passed the Tashkent cemetery, a grade
of about 15 degrees. There were frequent traffic jams in this
area, particularly in the winter. :Wen in good weather this
section of the street was a bottleneck, because it was narrow and
not suitable for the heavy truck traffic that had to use it (see
paragraph 8).
6. The bridges over the Salar, Ankhor� and Burdzhar streams in Tasnkent
were suitable for vehicular traffic, including trucks. Source drove
his GAZ-51 truck over all of them. All the bridges had unlimited
vertical clearance, They were constructed of steel on concrete
foundations. The roadways were asphalted, and there were sidewalks
on both sides.
7. Truck traffic was excluded from the streets around Skver Revelyutsii
and the Detskiy Park im. Corikogo. Truck traffic usually took one
of the following routes through Tashkent:
a. From southwest Tashkent to northern Tashkent along ulitsa
Shota Rustaveli, Sapernaya ulitsa, ulitsa Lenin% and either
ulitsa Kh. Khodzhayeva, ulitsa Engell.sa and ulitsa jasyrova, or
Poligraficheskaya-ulitsa toward Chimkentskoye shosse.
b. 7rom southeast Tashkent along Kuylyukskoye shosse and ulitsa
KuYbysheva. Trucks then either turned left at ulitsa Chekova
to Sapernaya ulitsa and followed the same route as in a, above
or turned right on ulitsa Zhukovskogo to ulitsa Kablukova and
ulitsa ';;ngellsa. Traffic entering Tashkent from the southeast
along Kuylyukskoye shosse and going toward Chirchik turned right
at ulitsa Zhukovskogo and then followed ulitsa Karla 'Itarksa,
ulitsa Botkina, and ulitsa Voroshiloya to the Troitskiy Povorot.
C. Trucks and other vehicles by-passed the central part of Tashkent
on tne north by ulitsa Kablukova and ulitsa Uritskogo.
d, Farther north truck traffic moving in an east-west direction used
ulitsa Labzak and Karamurtskaya ulitsa. Ulitsa Labzak was asphalted,
but in poor condition; Karamurtskaya ulitsa was part cobblestone
and part asphalted. Both streets were wide enough. for large trucks
to pass.
8. o trucks were permitted on shosse Lunacharskogo, a good asphalt street
about eight meters wide. The street had no streetcar or bus routes.
It had a sidewalk from Pushkinskiy ?ark to the canning plant. Ulitsa
Voroshilova, which carried heavy truck traffic as far as the Troitskiy
Povorot, was always in bad condition.
9. Ulitsa ''lavoi� the widest and best street in Tashkent, had two streetcar
tracks in the center, a trolley-bus line on either side of the stteetcar
lines, and fro road about seven to eight meters wide on either side of
the trolley-bus lines. There were sidewalks on both sides and shade
trees nlanted alonp it. The street was comoletely asphalted and provided
with adequate drainage.
10. Tn rural areas, aside from the main highways, the roads were very poor
an covered with a very fine dust, During the rainy season they were a
sea of mud and impassable,
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