JOINT ARMY NAVY INTELLIGENCE STUDY EUROPEAN U.S.S.R. PEOPLE AND GOVERNMENT

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP79-01144A000200010010-8
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 45
• Document Creation Date: December 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: May 6, 2003
• Sequence Number: 10
• Content Type: IS

2003/05114 79-01
? ent.son ains.information affecti g the national defense of r, V I e h
a ' o the Espionage Act, .50 U.S. 31 and 32 as _amended; r
, 1.....,..?_ 4 mission or t
10 of Its contents in any manner to n unauthorized Person is PTO b ' , by la ?
? DOCUMENT NO.
Kea IN its
ED
Kass. SHAllralirTet
EDITORIAL FILE
ileciplligiEle: tiKrtetwee
Approved For Release DCPROT ill I
Approved For Release 2003/05/14: CIA-RDP79-01144A000200010010-8
LIST OF EFFECTIVE PAGES, CHAPTER X
CHANGE IN
SUBJECT MATTER EFFECT
Cover Page Original
List of Effective Pages and Table of Contents, Chapter X
(inside front cover) Original
Text Original
Figure (insert, reverse blank) Original
Text Original
Figure (insert, reverse blank) Original
Text and Figures Original
Text (reverse blank) Original
Figure (insert, reverse blank) Original
Imprint (inside back cover, reverse blank) Original
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGE NUMBERS
unnumbered
unnumbered
pp. to X-4
Figure X-1
pp. X-5 to X-18
Figure X-2
pp. X-19 to X-36
pp. X-37
Figure X-6
unnumbered
Note: This chapter is based upon material available in Washington, D. C., on 1 August 1947.
100. INTRODUCTION
A. Summary
B. Historical setting
C. Political subdivisions of area
101. POPULATION: NUMERICAL
DISTRIBUTION
A. Density and distribution
B. Ethnic groups
102. POPULATION: CULTURAL AND PHYSICAL
CHARACTERISTICS
A. General characteristics
(1) Languages and other characteristics
of ethnic groups
(2) Religion
(3) Physical characteristics
(4) Social stratification
(5) Social groups
(6) Education
(7) Dissemination of information . . .
B. Regional culture groups: Great Russians,
Ukrainians, and Belorussians . . .
(1) Great Russians
(2) Ukrainians
(3) Belorussians
C. Western and northwestern cultural groups
(1) Poles
(2) Lithuanians
(3) Letts (Latvians)
(4) Estonians
(5) Karelians (and Finns)
(6) Nentsy (Samoyeds)
(7) Lapps
D. Ugro-Finnic peoples of the interior of
European USSR
(1) Mari (Cheremis)
(2) Mordva
(3) Udmurts (Votyaks)
(4) Komi
E. European Turko-Tatars
(1) Tatars
(2) Bashkirs
(3) Chuvash
Page
X - 1
X - 1
X - 1
X - 3
X - 3
X - 3
X - 5
X - 5
X - 5
X - 5
X 6
X - 7
X - 8
X 8
X - 9
X- 11
X - 11
X - 11
X - 12
X - 12
X - 12
X - 12
X - 12
X- 13
X - 13
X - 13
X - 14
X - 14
X - 14
X- 14
X - 14
X- 14
X - 15
X - 15
X - 15
X - 16
X - 16
Page
F. Southwestern ethnic groups X - 16
(1) Moldavians X - 16
(2) Greeks X - 17
(3) Bulgarians X - 17
G. Jews X - 17
H. Germans X -17
I. Kalmyks X - 17
103. LABOR X - 18
A. Supply ....... . X - 18
(1) Labor force X - 18
(2) Employment of women X - 18
B. Characteristics X - 18
(1) Hours and wages X - 18
(2) Working conditions X - 18
(3) Labor organizations X - 19
(4) Methods of obtaining workers X - 19
C. Key individuals X - 19
104. GOVERNMENT X -19
A. General characteristics X - 19
(1) Marxist orientation X -20
(2) One-party dictatorship X - 20
(3) Federal elements X - 21
B. Government of the USSR X -21
(1) Constitutional basis X - 21
(2) Supreme organs of power . . X - 22
(3) Central administrative agencies X - 23
C. Governments of the Union and
Autonomous Republics X -25
(1) Constitutional basis X - 25
(2) Organization of republican govern-
ments X - 25
(3) Union Republics of European USSR X -25
(4) Autonomous Republics X - 27
D. Local governments X -27
(1) Basic structure X - 27
(2) Regional governments X - 27
(3) District (raion) governments X - 28
(4) Cities and towns X - 28
(5) Smallest units X - 28
(Table of Contents continued, inside back cover.)
Approved For Release 2003/05/14: CIA-RDP79-01144A000200010010-8
Original
Approved For Release 2003/05/14: CIA-RDP79-01144A000200010010-8
Chapter X
PEOPLE AND GOVERNMENT
Prepared by the Research and Intelligence
Organization, Department of State
100. INTRODUCTION
The European USSR is the most important part of the
Soviet Union. The major elements of the area's im-
portance can be summarized as follows:
1) It possesses a high strategic value with regard to Europe,
the Arctic, and the eastern Mediterranean.
2) It is larger and more populous than any single European
country, including an area of 1,659,000 square miles and an
estimated population of 129,100,000 persons in 1946. This
area is four-fifths that of all other countries of Europe
(2,093,000 square miles), and its population is slightly less
than that of the continental United States (131,700,000 in
1940; Europe in 1939 had a population of 402,800,000 persons
exclusive of the USSR).
3) It contains the most important part of the RSFSR as well
as the Ukrainian SSR and the White Russian SSR, the sec-
ond and third most populous of the Soviet Republics.
4) It includes the most important centers of Soviet industry
and agriculture, despite the steady increase in the economic
significance of Asiatic USSR.
5) It embraces most of the ethnic group known as Great
Russians, who are recognized as the leading people of the
Soviet Union and are numerically the largest.
6) It is culturally the most advanced part of the country.
7) It contains the seat of the central Government in the city
of Moscow, (Moskva).
A. Summary
The USSR is a highly centralized state, controlled by a
single, disciplined political party. Formerly primarily an
agricultural country, the Soviet Union has undergone a
radical change and is now one of the great industrial states
of the world. Among the most important economic and
political developments in the USSR in recent years have
been the efforts to establish a self-sufficient economy and
to strengthen the domination of the Communist Party in
the state and of the Stalin faction within the Party. By
1947 the power of the Party and of Stalin's faction had be-
come absolute and unquestioned. The Soviet economy,
owing partly to the ravages of war, but chiefly to concen-
tration on heavy industry and to low productivity of labor,
is as yet unable to provide the people with an abundance
of goods.
The ideological basis of the Soviet Union and the Com-
munist Party is supplied by the writings of Marx, Lenin,
and Stalin. The USSR is regarded by its leaders as the
only socialist state in the world, since it has abolished pri-
vate ownership of the means of production, prohibits in-
dividuals from using hired labor in productive enterprises,
and organizes production under governmental or coopera-
tive management. It is one of the main theses of the
Original
Page X-1
Soviet leaders that the USSR will become a "communist
society" when industrial and agricultural products have
become sufficiently abundant to permit a distribution "to
each according to his needs" instead of the present distri-
bution "to each according to his work."
B. Historical setting
Pre-revolutionary Russia was a backward society, es-
pecially when compared with England, France, Scandi-
navia, or the United States. Its backwardness was par-
ticularly noticeable in the political field, since Russia
adopted a constitutional regime only a little over a decade
before the Revolution of 1917. This backwardness was
also very noticeable in the social and economic fields.
The capitalist system and industrialization were in an
early stage of development. The standard of living of
Russian peasants was considerably lower than that of the
corresponding groups in Western European countries.
The condition of the working class was also lamentable;
wages were low, working hours long; up to 1906 the right
to form trade-unions was not recognized. Russia was an
illiterate country. Nevertheless the upper classes of Rus-
sian society received an education similar to that offered
by Western European universities and high schools, and
the standard of Russian cultural life was high.
It is common to explain Russia's backwardness in terms
of the reactionary character of the Tsarist government,
which, it is generally believed, was fundamentally opposed
to any kind of progress. An objective study of Russia's
past should, however, take into consideration a number
of historical facts. At the dawn of its history, particularly
in the early eleventh century, Russia was a comparatively
advanced country, owing to its close relations with Byzan-
tium (now Istanbul) . In the middle of the thirteenth
century, however?at the time of the rebirth of intellectual
and artistic life in Western Europe that was to culminate
in the Renaissance?Russia was conquered by the Tatars,
who ruled it for two and one-half centuries. In contrast
to the Arabs, who at the time of their conquest of Spain
were among the leaders of progress and enlightenment,
the Tatars were barbarians, and their influence upon Rus-
sian life was detrimental. After the liberation from the
Tatar yoke (1480) another century was required by the
Russian state for the reconquest of the eastern part of the
Russian plain, while access to the west was blocked by
hostile states. Thus three and one-half centuries of prog-
ress were actually lost. Only Peter the Great (1682-1725)
made substantial progress in introducing Western influ-
ences to Russia.
Approved For Release 2003/05/14: CIA-RDP79-01144A000200010010-8
Page X-2
Approved For Release 2003/05/14: CIA-RDP79-01144A000200010010-8
JAN IS 40 NAI1010111
In modern times, the first brief period of "Great Re-
forms" in Russia coincided with the beginning of the nine-
teenth century. Emperor Alexander I (1801-1825) cre-
ated a State Council for the purpose of drafting statutory
laws. Twice during his reign the idea of granting Russia
a constitution based on elected bodies was given serious
consideration, but such plans could not materialize so
long as the largest class of subjects, the peasantry, re-
mained in a state of serfdom.
A second period of "Great Reforms" took place under
Alexander II (1855-1881). The serfs were liberated in
1861 and a new system of courts based on Western Euro-
pean patterns was introduced in 1864. Elected justices
of the peace handled minor cases, both civil and criminal;
trial by jury was inaugurated for major criminal cases;
and a Supreme Court was placed at the apex of the system.
All judges above the level of justices of the peace were ap-
pointed for life. The same period witnessed the introduc-
tion of a degree of self-government in rural districts and
municipalities. The large majority of persons who were
elected justices of the peace or members of agencies of
self-government (zemstvo) were imbued with a real spirit
of social service. The Russian autocracy appeared to be
tempering its age-old despotism. Once more the granting
of a constitution was envisaged, and once more this project
did not materialize, this time because of the assassination
of Alexander II on the very day that he had signed a mani-
festo proclaiming a new constitution. The reaction that
set in drastically reduced the effectiveness of the new
judiciary and the local governments.
A third period of "Great Reforms" marked the second
half of the reign of Nicholas II (1894-1917). Under the
pressure of defeat by Japan in 1905, the Russian autocracy
was forced to capitulate to popular demands. This time a
Chamber of Representatives (State Duma) was created
(1905-1906) , and no law could be enacted without its con-
sent. Russia did not become a democracy; the franchise
was carefully restricted, and the Emperor retained the
right to veto. Although the new system did not function
smoothly, a major step toward democracy had been made.
The distance covered by Russia along the road of political
progress since the early nineteenth century was consider-
able.
Progress in the social and economic fields started later
than in the political field, but proceeded more rapidly.
The impulse was provided by the liberation of the serfs.
The Russian peasants at the time of their emancipation in
1861 received not only freedom but also part of the land
which they had tilled under the landlords. They had to
pay for this land, however, and the payments were high.
Moreover, the Act of Emancipation did not give land as
individual property to the peasants, but made it the prop-
erty of rural communities (mir) composed of groups of
homesteads. The land was divided and, after a certain
number of years, redistributed among the homesteads.
It was allotted to the individual homesteads on the basis
of the number of family members or, in certain parts of
Russia, of adult male workers in each homestead. This
system was very uneconomic. A peasant could not be
expected to invest money, or even maximum labor, in land
which by the next redistribution might be assigned to
another homestead. The mir system also had distinct
psychological effects. Having no land of their own, the
Russian peasants could not develop that strong respect for
property which characterizes farmers in Western democ-
racies, and which as a rule fosters political conservatism.
Toward the end of the pre-revolutionary period of Rus-
sian history, however, the relation of peasants to their
land began to change. A provisional law of 1906, which
a few years later was replaced by a final one, allowed the
peasants to separate their allotments from the rural com-
munities. This reform, sponsored by A. Stolypin, Prime
Minister from 1906 to 1911, might have become an im-
portant step forward in the improvement of Russia's
agrarian conditions. The peasants seemed to have been
won over by the doctrine that only increased production
by means of improved technique could help them, and that
this was feasible only on the basis of individual ownership.
By 1916, 6.2 million homesteads (out of a total of approxi-
mately 16 million) had made applications for separation
from the min
Obviously, this reform was no more than a palliative.
Only peasants with means could avail themselves of the
opportunities offered by the Stolypin laws. These laws
represented a real threat for the poor peasants, since their
existence on the small farms became more precarious after
the withdrawal of their richer neighbors from the mir.
Eventually they had either to go to the cities, where in-
dustry was rapidly growing, or to move to free land in the
Asiatic part of Russia. Stolypin admitted that his pro-
gram aimed at the stabilization of the Russian society on
the firm foundation of well-to-do farmers. Meanwhile, a
large program of land reclamation was started to accel-
erate movement toward the Asiatic districts.
Russia at this time was making considerable strides
toward industrialization. S. Witte, the prominent Rus-
sian statesman and economic expert under Nicholas II,
realized that the future of Russia rested in a progressive
exploitation of its tremendous industrial potentialities.
The number of industrial workers doubled between 1890
and 1913 (from 1.5 million to 3 million), and industrial
production increased four times (from 1.5 billion to 6
billion rubles). Protective labor legislation limiting the
working day, especially that of women and children, and
prohibiting night work for women was enacted in the
1880's. In 1906 strikes ceased to be a punishable offense,
and in 1912 a limited program of social security covering
the risks involved in industrial accidents and sickness was
inaugurated. Throughout the years of Russia's indus-
trial growth the work day was progressively shortened,
wages were increased, and the standard of living among
workers was raised slowly but steadily.
Up to the time of the emancipation of the peasants and
the creation of local self-government, the masses of Rus-
sia's population remained in a state of crass ignorance.
Then, especially through the activities of the zemstvos, a
program of public education was started; this program
progressed with increasing speed up to the start of World
War I. In 1908 the principle of universal public education
was officially recognized. A system of state subsidies to
local bodies was introduced, and a program aiming at the
creation of an adequate elementary school system within
10 years was formulated. It is possible that had peaceful
development continued, by 1920 all Russian children of
school age would have had access to elementary schools.
One measure of the effectiveness of this program is the
gradual decline of the illiteracy rate in pre-revolutionary
Russia. According to the census of 1897, of a population
of 90.3 million persons above the age of 10, 25.8 million, or
27.8 percent, were literate. No census was taken in Tsar-
ist Russia after 1897, and therefore no official figures are
available for the years immediately preceding World War
I. However, one estimate for 1914 puts the index of
Approved For Release 2003/05/14: CIA-RDP79-01144A000200010010-8
Or
Approved For Release 2003/05/14: CIA-RDP79-01144A000200010010-8
4msnolarm PEOPLE AND GOVERNMENT
Page X-3
literacy at 40.2 percent. The advance in literacy may also
be seen from the following facts. Among the army re-
cruits (men of 21) , 21.4 percent were literate in 1874, 37.8
percent in 1894, 55.5 percent in 1904, and 67.8 percent in
1914. Thus the progress achieved between 1897 and 1914
was considerable, though the elimination of illiteracy was
still far distant.
In politics, economics, and culture, Russia thus dis-
played great efforts before 1917 to overcome the back-
wardness caused by unfavorable historical circumstances.
There were many dark spots in Russian life. These in-
cluded the persecution of certain groups of religious dis-
senters (substantially mitigated in 1905) and of some
national minorities (particularly Jews) , which was in-
tensified in the last decades of the nineteenth century
when the policy of forced "Russification" received a new
impetus. A serious condition was created by the dis-
crepancy between the rapid growth of the rural population
and the slow advance of agricultural technique. However,
despite all their shortcomings, the reforms of the early
twentieth century created a possible basis for gradual im-
provement in the field of agriculture.
Another problem was created by the gap between the
relatively slow rate of political progress and the advances
made in the fields of economics and culture. The growth
of industry was accompanied by the rise of a bourgeoisie
and of an industrial proletariat. The growth of educa-
tion resulted in the rise of a numerous intelligentsia,
which felt called upon to struggle for far-reaching social
and political reforms. The rapid advance of education
among the higher strata of Russian society was in contrast
to the relatively slow spread of education among the lower
strata, and this discrepancy brought about a certain es-
trangement between ?the cultural elite and the masses of
the people.
Many of these social tensions, however, were on the de--
cline in the early decades of the twentieth century, thanks
to the constitutional reforms, the institution of a number
of social security measures, and the advances in the field
of education. Pre-revolutionary Russia might in a few
decades have been transformed into a society no longer
conspicuously backward; but the character of the regime
was such that reaction and relapses to absolutism re-
mained constant threats.
In March 1917 the Tsarist government collapsed because
reverses suffered in the course of World War I had exposed
its inherent incompetence. The moderate coalition gov-
ernment that succeeded it also proved unable to cope with
the deteriorating military and domestic situation, and on
November 7, 1917, the Bolsheviks seized power under
the slogans of peace, bread, and land for the peasants.
The promise of peace appealed to the masses of the pro-
letariat and the peasantry. The promise of bread applied
to the city workers, while the poor peasants, many of whom
still lacked land, were attracted by the promise of land.
During the ensuing Civil War and the period of foreign
intervention, a hastily organized system of communism
was established. After the end of the Civil War, the with-
drawal of Allied troops, and the termination of hostilities
with Poland, Russia was virtually in ruins, and the eco-
nomic life of the country had reached a primitive level.
Lenin, leader of the Bolsheviks, reversed the trend of War
Communism in 1921 and introduced the New Economic
Policy, which looked to private enterprise to set the eco-
nomic wheels in motion again while retaining control in
the hands of the state.
Original
By 1927 the prewar level of economic activity had in
general been restored, and Stalin?the winner in the
struggle for leadership of the Communist Party which
followed Lenin's death in 1924?soon inaugurated a series
of comprehensive five-year plans. While never perfectly
fulfilled, these plans have made the Soviet Union one of
the greatest industrial powers in the world, even though
at the cost of incalculable sacrifices on the part of the
people of the USSR. Under Stalin the Communist Party
has maintained absolute control of the state, and in a
series of purges has ended all dissent within the ranks of
the Party.
The Soviet people's capacity for sacrifice, combined with
the organizational drive of the Communist Party and the
existence of heavy industry created under the Soviet plans,
was largely responsible for the Soviet successes in the war
with Germany unleashed by the Nazi invasion of June 22,
1941. The war left the country exhausted and again
partly ruined. This time, however, no concessions were
made to private enterprise, and the government launched
a new Five-Year Plan to restore and expand the prewar
level of production. Again the people were compelled to
postpone satisfaction of their personal needs for the sake
of strengthening the economic and military power of the
state.
C. Political subdivisions of area
TABLE X-1 lists the major subdivisions of European
USSR.
101. POPULATION: NUMERICAL
DISTRIBUTION
A. Density and distribution
The present population of European USSR is estimated
at 129 million persons. The area contains 68 percent of
the total population of the USSR, now estimated at 190
million. In general, European USSR is well inhabited,
having a density of approximately 78 persons per square
mile. The areas of concentrated population are located
in the Moscow (Moskva) -Kalinin-Orel, Yaroslavl'-Gorki-
Kazan', Khar'kov-Dnepropetrovsk-Rostov, and Kiev
(Kiyev) -L'vov-Odessa regions (FIGURE X-1) . The northern
section of European USSR in the vicinity of Arkhangel'sk
and Komi ASSR and the Stalingrad-Astrakhan' area in
the south are sparsely populated.
Significant population movements have taken place
during the war and since its end. Much of the western
section of the area is devastated and large numbers of
people formerly residing there have been unable to return.
Although Stalin in 1946 said complete reconstruction
would take at least six to seven years, work has begun and
it is probable that this region will soon regain some of its
former population. However, the number of persons
evacuated to the east during the war who will return to
their original homes may not be very large, since the
Soviet Government intends to continue to concentrate its
strategic industries in the area beyond the Urals (Ural'skiy
Khrebet) . Within European USSR there is likely to be
a shift of population from the concentrated areas to the
sparsely inhabited regions, in line with the Soviet Govern-
ment's plans for the location of consumer's goods indus-
tries in the latter areas.
Approved For Release 2003/05/14: CIA-RDP79-01144A000200010010-8
???pomi
Page X-4
Approved For Release 2003/05/14: CIA-RDP79-01144A000200010010-8
JANIS 40
TABLES X-1 to X-4 give the distribution of the population
of European USSR, as well as the total population, the size
of the area, and the political subdivisions.
TABLE X - 1
DENSITY OF POPULATION IN EUROPEAN USSR, BY ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISIONS (1946-1947 ESTIMATE)
Percentage of Percentage of Population
Approximate total area Population total population density
Administrative divisions area
European (1,00W European (persons per
(1,000 sq. miles) Republic Republic
USSR USSR sq. mile)
European RSF'SR
1,201
72.4
100.0
72,700
56.3
100.0
60
Moskovskaya Oblast' (Region)
20
1.2
1.6
9,900
7.6
13.6
495
Leningradskaya Oblast'
33
2.0
2.7
4,700
3.6
6.4
142
Gor'kovskaya Oblast'
29
1.7
2.4
3,600
2.7
4.9
124
Tatar ASSR
26
1.5
2.1
3,000
2.3
4.0
115
Tul'skaya Oblast'
9
0.5
0.7
1,200
0.9
1.6
133
Murmanskaya Oblast'
58
3.5
4.8
300
0.2
0.4
5
Ukrainian SSR
223
13.4
100.0
* *
40,500
31.4
100.0
181
Kiyevskaya Oblast'
16
0.9
7.2
3,400
2.6
8.3
212
Stalinskaya Oblast'
10
0.6
4.4
3,000
2.3
7.4
300
Khar'kovskaya Oblast'
12
0.7
5.4
2,300
1.7
5.6
192
Dnepropetrovskaya, Oblast'
13
0.8
5.8
2,100
1.6
5.0
162
Voroshilovgradskaya Oblast'
10
0.6
4.4
1,800
1.4
4.4
180
Zaporozhskaya Oblast'
10
0.6
4.4
1,500
1.1
3.7
150
White Russian SSR
80
4.8
100
7,200
5.5
100.0
90
Lithuanian SSR
31
1.9
100
2,600
2.0
100.0
84
Moldavian SSR
13
0.8
100
2,700
2.1
100.0
207
SSR
25
1.5
100
* *
1,800
1.4
100.0
72
,Latvian
Estonian SSR
17
1.0
100
*
1,000
0.8
100.0
58
Karelo-Finnish SSR
69
4.2
100
*
600
0.4
100.0
9
Total
1,659
100
129,100
100
78
* Only most important subdivisions listed.
** 1947 estimate.
TABLE X - 2
PREWAR DISTRIBUTION OF URBAN AND RURAL POPULATION OF EUROPEAN USSR,
Administrative divisions
BY ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISIONS
Rural Urban
Absolute Percentage Absolute Percentage
Total
population
European RSFSR*
47,159,785 65.7
24,589,779
39.3
71,749,564
Moskovskaya Oblast'
2,650,058 29.7
6,268,331
70.3
8,918,389
Leningradskaya Oblast'
2,315,846 36.0
4,119,230
69.0
6,435,076
Gor'kovskaya Oblast'
2,657,374 68.6
1,218,900
31.4
3,876,274
Tatar ASSR
2,297,564 78.7
621,859
21.3
2,919,423
Tul'skaya Oblast'
1,338,710 65.3
711,240
39.7
2,049,950
Murmanskaya Oblast'
45,817 15.7
245,371
84.3
291,188
Ukrainian SSR *
19,764,601 63.8
11,195,620
36.2
30,960,221
White Russian SSR *
4,195,454 75.3
1,372,522
24.7
5,567,976
Moldavian SSR *'
Not available
Estonian SSR
776,587 68.9
349,826
31.1
1,126,413
Latvian SSR 'fi;*
1,256,757 63.8
710,920
36.2
1,967,677
Lithuanian SSR tt-;-
2,288,445 91.5
211,084
8.5
2,499,529
Karelo-Finnish SSR **
Not available
Total European USSR
75,441,629 66.3
38,429,751
33.7
113,871,380
* 1939 census of the USSR.
Does not include western Ukraine and western White Russia.
** The Moldavian SSR and Karelo-Finnish SSR did not exist at the time of the 1939 census. Both republics were created in 1940.
1- 1934 census of Estonia. (Estonia was slightly larger than Estonian SSR.)
it 1935 census of Latvia. (Latvia was slightly larger than Latvian SSR.)
1935 census of Lithuania. (Lithuania was much smaller than Lithuanian SSR, which includes Lithuania and some territory
around Vil'nyus, formerly Polish.)
Original
Approved For Release 2003/05/14: CIA-RDP79-01144A000200010010-8
Page X-4
Approved For Release 2003/05/14: CIA-RDP79-01144A000200010010-8
JANIS 40
TABLES X-1 to X-4 give the distribution of the population
of European USSR, as well as the total population, the size
of the area, and the political subdivisions.
TABLE X - 1
DENSITY OF POPULATION IN EUROPEAN USSR, BY ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISIONS (1946-1947 ESTIMATE)
Percentage of Percentage of Population
Approximate total area Population total population density
Administrative divisions area
European (1,00W European (persons per
(1,000 sq. miles) Republic Republic
USSR USSR sq. mile)
European RSF'SR
1,201
72.4
100.0
72,700
56.3
100.0
60
Moskovskaya Oblast' (Region)
20
1.2
1.6
9,900
7.6
13.6
495
Leningradskaya Oblast'
33
2.0
2.7
4,700
3.6
6.4
142
Gor'kovskaya Oblast'
29
1.7
2.4
3,600
2.7
4.9
124
Tatar ASSR
26
1.5
2.1
3,000
2.3
4.0
115
Tul'skaya Oblast'
9
0.5
0.7
1,200
0.9
1.6
133
Murmanskaya Oblast'
58
3.5
4.8
300
0.2
0.4
5
Ukrainian SSR
223
13.4
100.0
* *
40,500
31.4
100.0
181
Kiyevskaya Oblast'
16
0.9
7.2
3,400
2.6
8.3
212
Stalinskaya Oblast'
10
0.6
4.4
3,000
2.3
7.4
300
Khar'kovskaya Oblast'
12
0.7
5.4
2,300
1.7
5.6
192
Dnepropetrovskaya, Oblast'
13
0.8
5.8
2,100
1.6
5.0
162
Voroshilovgradskaya Oblast'
10
0.6
4.4
1,800
1.4
4.4
180
Zaporozhskaya Oblast'
10
0.6
4.4
1,500
1.1
3.7
150
White Russian SSR
80
4.8
100
7,200
5.5
100.0
90
Lithuanian SSR
31
1.9
100
2,600
2.0
100.0
84
Moldavian SSR
13
0.8
100
2,700
2.1
100.0
207
SSR
25
1.5
100
* *
1,800
1.4
100.0
72
,Latvian
Estonian SSR
17
1.0
100
*
1,000
0.8
100.0
58
Karelo-Finnish SSR
69
4.2
100
*
600
0.4
100.0
9
Total
1,659
100
129,100
100
78
* Only most important subdivisions listed.
** 1947 estimate.
TABLE X - 2
PREWAR DISTRIBUTION OF URBAN AND RURAL POPULATION OF EUROPEAN USSR,
Administrative divisions
BY ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISIONS
Rural Urban
Absolute Percentage Absolute Percentage
Total
population
European RSFSR*
47,159,785 65.7
24,589,779
39.3
71,749,564
Moskovskaya Oblast'
2,650,058 29.7
6,268,331
70.3
8,918,389
Leningradskaya Oblast'
2,315,846 36.0
4,119,230
69.0
6,435,076
Gor'kovskaya Oblast'
2,657,374 68.6
1,218,900
31.4
3,876,274
Tatar ASSR
2,297,564 78.7
621,859
21.3
2,919,423
Tul'skaya Oblast'
1,338,710 65.3
711,240
39.7
2,049,950
Murmanskaya Oblast'
45,817 15.7
245,371
84.3
291,188
Ukrainian SSR *
19,764,601 63.8
11,195,620
36.2
30,960,221
White Russian SSR *
4,195,454 75.3
1,372,522
24.7
5,567,976
Moldavian SSR *'
Not available
Estonian SSR
776,587 68.9
349,826
31.1
1,126,413
Latvian SSR 'fi;*
1,256,757 63.8
710,920
36.2
1,967,677
Lithuanian SSR tt-;-
2,288,445 91.5
211,084
8.5
2,499,529
Karelo-Finnish SSR **
Not available
Total European USSR
75,441,629 66.3
38,429,751
33.7
113,871,380
* 1939 census of the USSR.
Does not include western Ukraine and western White Russia.
** The Moldavian SSR and Karelo-Finnish SSR did not exist at the time of the 1939 census. Both republics were created in 1940.
1- 1934 census of Estonia. (Estonia was slightly larger than Estonian SSR.)
it 1935 census of Latvia. (Latvia was slightly larger than Latvian SSR.)
1935 census of Lithuania. (Lithuania was much smaller than Lithuanian SSR, which includes Lithuania and some territory
around Vil'nyus, formerly Polish.)
Original
Approved For Release 2003/05/14: CIA-RDP79-01144A000200010010-8
Approved For Release 2003/05/14: CIA-RDP79-01144A000200010010-8
PEOPLE AND GOVERNMENT
Page X-5
TABLE X - 3
DENSITY OF POPULATION OF EUROPEAN USSR, BY
ECONOMIC REGIONS (1946-1947 ESTIMATE)
Approximate
Average
Economic region
Population
area
density
(1,000)
(1,000 sq.
miles)
(persons per
sq. mile)
Northern Region *
3,200
442
7
Northwest Region **
7,400
192
38
Central Region ***
47,600
396
120
Volga Region t
13,500
226
CO
Southern Region ft
44,300
246
180
Western Region fft
13,100
157
83
Total
129,100
1,659
78
* Northern Region includes Arkhangel'skaya Oblast', Vologod-
skaya Oblast', and Komi ASSR.
** Northwest Region includes Murmanskskaya Oblast', Lenin-
gradskaya Oblast', Novgorodskaya Oblast', Pskovskaya Oblast',
and Karelo-Finnish SSR.
*** Central Region includes Moskovskaya Oblast', Velikoluk-
skaya Oblast', Kalininskaya Oblast', Yaroslavskaya Oblast', Kos-
tromskaya Oblast', Ivanovskaya Oblast', Vladimirskaya Oblast',
Gor'kovskaya Oblast', Kirovskaya Oblast', Penzenskaya Oblast',
Tambovskaya Oblast', Voronezhskaya Oblast', Kursaya Oblast',
Orlovskaya Oblast', Bryanskaya Oblast', Tul'skaya Oblast', Kaluzh-
skaya Oblast', Ryazanskaya Oblast', and Smolenskaya Oblast'
Udmurt ASSR, Mari ASSR, Chuvash ASSR, and Mordovian ASSR.
t Volga Region includes Ul'yanovskaya Oblast', Kuybyshev-
skaya Oblast', SarSovskaya Oblast', Stalingradskaya Oblast',
Astrakhanskaya Oblast', Rostovskaya Oblast', and Tatar ASSR.
ft Southern Region includes Krymskaya Oblast', Ukrainian
SSR, and Moldavian SSR.
f I I Western Region includes Estonian SSR, Latvian SSR, Lith-
uanian SSR, White Russian SSR, and Kaliningradskaya Oblast'.
TABLE X -4
POPULATION OF MAJOR CITIES, EUROPEAN USSR
City
1939
census
1946
estimate
Increase
Absolute
Percent
Moscow (Moskva)
4,137,018
4,500,000
+362,982
+8
Leningrad
3,191,304
2,800,000
-391,304
-12
Khar'kov
833,432
950,000
+116,568
+14
Gor'kiy (Gorki)
644,116
900,000
+255,884
+40
Kiev (Kiyev)
846,293
650,000
-196,293
-24
Kazan'
401,665
650,000
+248,335
+61
Kuybyshev
390,000
600,000
+210,000
+53
(Kuibyshev)
Dnepropetrovsk
500,662
600,000
+ 99,338
+19
Riga *
* 385,063
480,000
+ 94,937
+24
Kaliningrad **
368,433
300,000
- 68,433
-19
Vil'nyus (Vilnius)
t 195,071
250,000
+ 54,929
+28
Minsk
238,772
150,000
- 88,772
-37
Tallinn
it 137,792
150,000
+ 12,208
+8
Kishinev
114,896
110,000
- 4,896
-4
Murmansk
117,054
95,000
- 22,054
-19
* 1935 census of Latvia. .
** Formerly Konigsberg.
1. 1935 census of Lithuania.
ft 1934 census of Estonia.
B. Ethnic groups
The 1939 census of the USSR lists 49 ethnic groups of
20,000 persons or more. Of these 49 nationalities, persons
belonging to the 23 groups listed in Table X-5 are found
in European USSR (FIGURE X-2). In 1939 these 23 ethnic
groups in their entirety represented 86 percent of the total
population of the Soviet Union. Russians, Ukrainians,
and Belorussians make up the bulk of the population of
the USSR; in 1939 these three ethnic groups comprised 78
percent of the total. Within European USSR, Russians,
Ukrainians, and Belorussians represent substantially more
than 78 percent of the population.
Original
Each of the Soviet republics is named after the largest
ethnic group residing in the republic. In some cases the
dominant group represents only 30 to 35 percent of the
population. Within European USSR, however, the ma-
jority of the population of each republic is composed of
the ethnic group after which the republic is named. Al-
though Russians, Belorussians, and Ukrainians are scat-
tered throughout the USSR, they are principally located
in the RSFSR, the Ukrainian SSR, and the White Russian
SSR, respectively. Of the other national groups listed in
TABLE X-5, Tatars live mainly in the Tatar ASSR and in
the Crimea area; however, Tatars also reside in central
RSFSR and elsewhere in the Soviet Union. Those Jews
who survived World War II are scattered throughout the
USSR, having been evacuated from the Ukrainian and
White Russian SSRs. Poles reside mainly in the White
Russian, Ukrainian, and Lithuanian SSRs, while Kalmyks
lived mainly in the southeastern part of European USSR
until their exile to the eastern regions. Greeks are found
principally in Odesskaya Oblast' (Odessa Oblast). The
other ethnic groups listed in TABLE X-5 are dispersed
throughout European USSR.
TABLE X - 5
ETHNIC COMPOSITION
ACCORDING TO
OF POPULATION OF
THE 1939 CENSUS *
USSR
Nationality
Number of
persons
Percentage
of total
1. Russian
99,019,929
58.41
2. Ukrainian
28,070,404
16.56
3. Belorussian
5,267,431
3.11
4. Tatar
4,300,336
2.54
5. Jew
3,020,141
1.78
6. German
1,423,534
0.84
7. Chuvash
1,367,930
0.81
8. Polish
626,905
0.37
9. Udmurt
605,673
0.36
10. Mari
481,262
0.28
11. Komi
408,724
0.24
12: Greek
285,896
0.17
13. Moldavian
260,023
0.15
14. Karelian
252,559
0.15
15. Finnish
143,074
0.08
16. Estonian
142,465
0.08
17. Kalmyk
134,327
0.08
18. Lett and Letgaul
126,900
0.07
19. Bulgarian
113,479
0.07
20. Lithuanian
32,342
0.02
21. Czech and Slovak
26,919
0.02
22, Arab
21,793
0.01
23. Assyrian
20,207
0.01
Subtotal
146,152,253
86.21
24-50. Other
23,356,874
13.79
Total
169,509,127
100.00
* Excludes territory annexed after January 1, 1939.
102. POPULATION: CULTURAL AND
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
A. General characteristics
(1) Languages and other characteristics of ethnic groups
European USSR is essentially a Slavic country. Its
ethnic peculiarities are relatively simple:
1) A thin substratum of Finno-Ugrians, with varying and
strongly diluted ingredients of Mongoloid character, exists
in some sections of European USSR, mainly on the middle
and upper Volga and on the Kama; they represent the
remnants of the original native population that once coy-
Approved For Release 2003/05/14: CIA-RDP79-01144A000200010010-8
Approved For Release 2003/05/14: CIA-RDP79-01144A000200010010-8
Page X-6 JANIS 40
ered much of central and eastern European USSR.
2) Along the Baltic there are remnants of Finnish groups in
the north, and Letts (Latvians) and Lithuanians, of mixed
ethnic composition, farther south and west.
3) The southern portions of European USSR from remote
times formed a broad avenue for the movement of Asiatic
peoples westward. The racial and cultural influence of
these peoples, mainly of Turko-Tatar origin, on southern
European USSR can still be traced.
4) All the rest of the great expanse of European USSR is
Slavic: Russian (Great Russian) and Ukrainian (Little Rus-
sian) in the center, south, and east, and Belorussian (White
Russian) and Polish in the west (FIGURE X-2) .
The numerical dominance of Russians, Ukrainians, and
Belorussians and the gradual process of cultural assimila-
tion have lessened the significance of ethnic differences
pertaining to other national groups historically associated
with the development of European USSR. The old Finno-
Ugric and Turkic peoples in the Volga-Ural region differed
radically from the Russians in their cultural patterns 200
years ago. Today these groups?Mordva, Mari, Komi,
Tatar, Bashkir, Udmurt, Chuvash?still form concentrated
ethnic communities, but they are also represented in all
parts of the Soviet Union, especially in settlements in Si-
beria and in the Asiatic steppes. All of these peoples
have participated in varying degrees in the agricultural,
political, and cultural life of USSR and have become
gradually more assimilated to Russian patterns. Their
degree of literacy was somewhat, but not greatly, below
that of the Russians in 1926; the proportions of persons
in these ethnic groups who were able to read in some
language ranged from 23 percent among the Mordva to
38 percent among the Komi, as compared with 45 percent
among the Russians. The Soviet Government pursues
the policy of fostering the use of their national languages
by national minorities. Where a national minority forms
a considerable and compact group, its language is used
as the medium of instruction in the educational system
(with Russian as a secondary language in non-Russian
communities) and as the official language in the courts
and the administrative bodies. Thus, for instance, schools
in the Ukraine use Ukrainian as the language of instruc-
tion wherever Ukrainians form the majority; however, in
communities where other nationalities? Russians, Jews,
Poles, Czechs, Germans, etc.?predominate, their respec-
tive languages are used in schools. Efforts are being made
to encourage the development of cultural traditions of
national groups in the fields of literature, fine arts, drama,
and music. In some cases the invention of alphabets for
previously unwritten languages became necessary. The
Soviet Government, however, watches carefully the trends
that manifest themselves in the cultural life of national
groups; all currents that are not in unison with the funda-
mental Soviet policies are being eradicated. The Soviet
Government, in spite of favoring national cultures among
the heterogeneous population of the Soviet Union, upholds
the cultural supremacy of the major nationality?the
Great Russians; all other national groups are constantly
reminded of the exceptional part played by the Great
Russians in the life of the Soviet Union.
(2) Religion
The greater portion of the churchgoing population in
European USSR adheres to the Russian Orthodox Church.
Most of the remainder profess the Catholic, Protestant,
Moslem, or Jewish faiths. No estimate is available for
the number of Orthodox adherents, but throughout the
USSR some 22,000 Orthodox churches are said to be
functioning. Reports by foreign observers that at least
during the holidays the churches are filled to overflowing
would indicate that the Orthodox Church serves many
millions of people. Of the minority groups, the Catholics
are probably most numerous. Both Soviet and Catholic
sources estimate that there were about 10 million Catholics
within the 1941 USSR boundaries. These are concentrated
primarily in the western Ukraine, western White Russia
and Lithuania. The Protestants, consisting of Lutherans,
Evangelical Christians, and Baptists, form the second
largest minority religious group in the area. There are
said to be four million Baptists in the whole USSR, and
about two million Lutherans dwell in Latvia and Estonia.
Thus the Protestants as a group number approximately
six million. In 1939 there were slightly more than three
million Jews in the USSR, concentrated primarily in the
western areas. The Baltic States and eastern Poland,
occupied by the Soviet Union before June 1941, contained
approximately a million and a quarter Jews. Thus on
the eve of the German attack on the USSR there were well
over four million Jews in the USSR, living mostly in the
areas eventually occupied by the Germans. The number
of these who managed to stay alive despite the German
campaign to exterminate Jews has not been revealed.
Most of the Moslems in the USSR inhabit the Asiatic
areas of the country; about two million live in European
USSR. The largest single group of Moslems comprises
the million and a half Tatars of the Tatar ASSR.
Because sources of information are limited and be-
cause adherents to the Orthodox Church form the great
majority in European USSR, only that church is given
detailed consideration here.
(a) Political significance.?The separation of church
and state, which was introduced by the Provisional Gov-
ernment after March 1917, was continued when the Bol-
sheviks gained power in November 1917. Religion was
considered to be a personal matter and was to be un-
hampered. In practice, however, measures were taken
which made worship notoriously difficult. The Soviet
Constitution of 1936 continued the earlier separation of
the church from the state and "the school from the
church." It also guaranteed "the freedom of religious
worship and the freedom of anti-religious propaganda."
In addition, the Constitution stipulated that religion was
not to be grounds for disqualifying any individual from
voting or holding government office. It must be noted,
however, that while freedom of religious worship?i.e.,
church attendance?was recognized by the Constitution,
the right to give religious education to the young was not
mentioned. Actually, unrestricted religious propaganda
has never been tolerated in the USSR.
Before the war the government supported antireligious
organizations such as the League of Militant Atheists.
This government-sponsored opposition to religion did not
meet with unqualified success. The head of the League
of Militant Atheists admitted in 1937 that at least one-
third of the people in the cities and two-thirds in the rural
areas were still religious. During the early stages of
the war, the Soviet Government found it advisable to alter
its attitude toward religious groups, to stop the activities
of antireligious societies, and to tolerate religious prac-
tices. This action was undoubtedly motivated by several
considerations: moral pressure from abroad for a change
in the Government's policy toward religion; the need to
avoid any action contributing toward disunity in the face
of the enemy; and recognition of the value to the Soviet
war effort of the actual and potential support of various
religious groups.
The changed attitude of the Soviet Government toward
religion did not result in any modification of the laws re-
Original
Approved For Release 2003/05/14: CIA-RDP79-01144A000200010010-8
Approved For Release 2003/05/14: CIA-RDP79-01144A000200010010-8
PEOPLE AND GOVERNMENT
Page X-7
garding religion. In practice, however, the Government
began in 1943 to aid in reopening churches and to permit
the printing of religious tracts, the publication of peri-
odicals on church activities, and the opening of theological
schools. Public instruction in religion for the laity con-
tinued to be restricted. While all religious denomina-
tions have been affected by the change, the Orthodox
Church has been the chief beneficiary.
The Orthodox Church has not only been allowed to ex-
pand its operations within the country but also en-
couraged to increase its activities abroad. Visits have
been exchanged with Orthodox hierarchs in the Far East,
the Near East, the Balkans, Northern, Central, and
Western Europe, and the United States. Through these
meetings the Moscow Church has tried to regain control
over the various schismatic "White" Russian church com-
munities and to resume active "spiritual" contact with
the other Eastern Orthodox Churches. lit seems obvious
that the Kremlin hopes that in time it may be possible to
weld the various Orthodox Churches into a world body
capable of serving as a counterpoise to Vatican influence.
Two government councils were established in the USSR
during the war to serve as liaison agencies between the
state and the various religious groups. In the autumn
of 1943 the Council for Orthodox Church Affairs was
organized, and in the summer of the next year a decree
was passed establishing the Council for Affairs of Re-
ligious Cults. The latter body was to deal with the mi-
nority religious groups. Both councils continue to func-
tion at present.
(b) Organization.?The highest official in the Rus-
sian Orthodox Church is the Patriarch. He is elected by
a church council composed of clergy and laity whenever
the patriarchal seat becomes vacant. The last election
was held in February 1945. Below the Patriarch in the
hierarchy are the metropolitans, the archbishops, the
bishops, and the local clergy. The Holy Synod, the most
important governing body, was revived in 1943 and ad-
ministers the affairs of the Orthodox Church.
(c) Leading personalities.?Patriarch Aleksii, now in
his late sixties, was elected in February 1945. Before his
elevation he had been Metropolitan of Leningrad and
throughout the siege of Leningrad he remained in the city
and urged his followers to resist the enemy. In recogni-
tion of these services the Soviet Government awarded him
the medal "For the Defense of Leningrad." In the sum-
mer of 1946, the Patriarch was presented with the "Order
of the Red Banner" for "outstanding services in the or-
ganization of patriotic work during . . . the Fatherland
War."
? Probably the second most influential individual in the
Orthodox hierarchy is the relatively young Metropolitan
Nikolai of Moscow (Moskva). Nikolai was appointed by
the Soviet Government in November 1942 to the Extra-
ordinary State Commission for the Investigation of Ger-
man Fascist Crimes. This was the first time the Soviet
authorities had ever appointed a clergyman to an official
position. Nikolai has been active in Pan-Slav groups.
In May 1943 he addressed the All-Slav Congress in Mos-
cow. In December 1946 he took part in the All-Slav
Congress in Belgrade (Beograd), where he called for the
strengthening of Slavic unity and declared that the Rus-
sian Orthodox Church "prayed for and urgently desired"
that this unity be "eternal and indestructible."
Another important member of the Orthodox hierarchy
is Metropolitan Grigorii of Leningrad. He has been sent
on missions abroad, reportedly, for the purpose of persuad-
ing various foreign orthodox groups to recognize the
Original
spiritual authority of the Moscow Patriarchate. In 1945
he went to Finland for this purpose, in 1946 to the Near
East, and recently he was appointed by the Patriarch to
carry on negotiations with the American Russian Ortho-
dox Church looking toward its canonical affiliation with
the Soviet Russian Orthodox Church.
(d) Role of the Orthodox Church.?It is obvious that
the Soviet Government is attempting to use the Orthodox
Church for its own ends. Religious teachings are being
interpreted in such a way as to lend support to the cur-
rent campaign for increasing production and for additional
sacrifices by the people. It is unlikely that the Orthodox
hierarchy will find it difficult to subscribe to the govern-
ment's contention that the Russian Orthodox Church "has
consistently taught its followers that the welfare of so-
ciety is more important than that of the individual." Nor
is it probable that it will object to reminding the faithful
that the sacrifices necessary to overcome the destruction
of the war are not only a patriotic duty but also a religious
obligation, since "sacrifice for the commonwealths is the
basis of all Christian teachings."
In at least two of its foreign activities the Soviet Gov-
ernment is using the new services of the Orthodox Church.
In its attempts to solidify a Slavic bloc, the Kremlin has
employed the visits of Russian Orthodox clergymen to
Slavic countries and of other Orthodox clerics to the USSR
to emphasize the historical friendship, kinship, and need
for cooperation between the Russian Orthodox Church
and its counterparts in the Balkan States. The Soviet
attacks on the Vatican have found support in the Russian
Church, which, along with other Orthodox Churches, has
long rejected the Pope's claim to be the representative of
Christ on earth and has condemned the Vatican for
allegedly supporting fascism.
(3) Physical characteristics
If pre-revolutionary Russia did not advance culturally
as much as the Western nations, the causes were not in-
herent or racial but historical and geographic.
The great Tatar invasion, which started early in the
thirteenth century and produced effects felt by the coun-
try for three hundred years thereafter, deeply affected the
cultural and racial aspects of southern Russia. The de-
scendants of the Tatars are still found in considerable
numbers along the Volga and its southern tributaries,
north of the Sea of Azov (Azovskoye More) , and in the
Crimea; some Tatar characteristics can be traced in many
of the southeastern Russian families. The Tatar mas-
sacres depopulated southwestern Russia and created such
terror that large numbers of the people fled westward
into Polish territory. It was at this time that southwest-
ern Russia, annexed to the combined state of Poland-Lithu-
ania, became known as the Ukraine (border province) or
Malorossiya (Little Russia). No such subdivision had
existed before the Tatar invasion, when the region of
Kiev (Kiyev), the capital of the Ukraine, was the tra-
ditional center and heart of all Russia. In the fifteenth
century a return to this southeasternmost part of the
Polish empire began. The bulk of the settlers who took
part in the recolonizing of the Ukraine were of purely
Russian origin, the descendants of the very Russians who
had fled westward from the Dnepr (Dnieper) in the
thirteenth century, and, though living among a Polish
and Lithuanian population, had preserved their national
characteristics.
At about the same time that the terms Ukraine or Malo-
rossiya (Little Russia) came into vogue, the designations
Velikorossiya (Great Russia) and Belorussiya (White Rus-
Approved For Release 2003/05/14: CIA-RDP79-01144A000200010010-8
Approved For Release 2003/05/14: CIA-RDP79-01144A000200010010-8
Page X-8 JANIS 40
sia) also began to be used; the terms Malorossy, Veliko-
rossy, and Belorussy were applied to their respective popu-
lations. The language of the Ukrainians developed cer-
tain dialectal differences. The White Russians, who oc-
cupy the westernmost part of Russia north of the Ukraine,
were affected in their language, though on the whole only
moderately, by their relations with the Poles and Lithu-
anians. The language of the Great Russians, who had
spread over the central, northern, and eastern regions, was
affected somewhat by their associations with peoples of the
Finno-Urgic stock, with whom they mingled and whom
they gradually absorbed.
The resulting differences?cultural, temperamental, and
somatological?between these three large subdivisions of
the Russian people are not greater than those between
some of the dialectic groups of Germany or of the popu-
lation in different parts of England. Anthropologically,
the peoples of European USSR, like most other large
human groups in modern times, are more or less admixed,
and they present many variations in stature, head form,
and all other features. Of the large groups perhaps the
most homogeneous are the Great Russians. Their
characteristics are well marked and include, on the aver-
age, light hair, bluish or gray eyes, rounded head, medium-
featured face, well-proportioned to sturdy body, generally
rather short but strong hands and feet, a nose which is
seldom overprominent, and strong jaws.
In all these respects the White Russians are much like
the Great Russians, but there are a few distinctive charac-
teristics among the Ukrainians, who generally show less
lightness of hair and eyes.
A distinctive place in the population of the southeastern
part of European USSR is occupied by the Cossacks. The
term Cossack is of Tatar derivation; it was applied by the
Tatars to light cavalry before the Russians began to use
it for troops formed along the southern frontiers of their
country. The Cossacks were settled in several areas along
these frontiers and became their hereditary defenders.
The original Cossacks of the fourteenth to sixteenth cen-
turies were in the main of Ukrainian origin, but in the
course of time new contingents were formed farther east,
and these were of mixed Russian and Asiatic composition.
The system originated in the fourteenth century when
certain Russians who had fled from the Tatar yoke settled
on some islands of the Dnepr (Dnieper) . Gradually they
developed into bold, resistant groups, loving the hard
frontier life with its liberties and dangers. Similar groups
developed in time all along the border of the southern
steppes, and became the scourge of the Tatars and the
Turks, though occasionally a source of trouble also to the
Poles and even to the Russians. Their military value was
recognized and led to the extension of the Cossack system
over southern Russia, the Caucasus, Central Asia, and Si-
beria, thus the Cossacks became the forerunners of the
Russian armies and Russian colonizers from the Danube
to the Pacific Ocean. Until World War I there existed
about 12 subdivisions of the Cossacks; the best known
among them were the Don Cossacks (the other famous
groups, all living in areas not treated in the present study,
were the Orenburg, Ural, Terek [Caucasus], and Siberian
Cossacks) . Their free, democratic institutions, their cus-
toms, and particularly their exploits in the conquest of
Siberia and in the Napoleonic Wars make their name
famous. In the period following the October Revolution
the main Cossack group, the Don Cossacks, remained for
a time on the side of the anti-Bolsheviks, but since then
the various Cossack groups have become integral com-
ponents of the Soviet population.
(4) Social stratification
Soviet theory usually recognizes the existence of three
major social groups in the USSR; workers, peasants, and
intelligentsia. The interests of these groups are said to
be "friendly" rather than antagonistic, unlike the conflicts
between classes that are alleged to be inherent in "bour-
geois society." At present the workers and peasants in the
USSR are still designated as classes while the intelligentsia
is viewed as a loose social stratum (prosloika) rather than
an independent class, since members of this group are re-
cruited from all layers of society. The intelligentsia is
broadly defined to include not only intellectuals but also
leaders in all fields of public activity.
Foreign observers tend to find four separate groups or
classes in the USSR. The largest group is the overwhelm-
ing majority of the population and consists primarily of
workers, whether in industry or in agriculture, who sub-
sist on a low standard of living, lack political influence,
of ten possess only the rudiments of education, and are
chiefly engaged in the struggle to obtain food and shelter.
This group also includes many clerical and semiprofes-
sional workers.
The second class includes the large army of petty offi-
cials, the middle rank of salaried employees, noncommis-
sioned and lower commissioned officers in the armed forces,
and some professional persons. They enjoy more privi-
leges than the lowest class and have a little better stand-
ard of living, although most of them do not belong to the
Communist Party. Some of the more skilled workers are
able to earn enough in wages and bonuses to be considered
in this group. This second class is roughly identical with
the lower half of the "Soviet intelligentsia," which num-
bered about 10 million persons in 1937.
The third group consists of the upper half of the in-
telligentsia, plus a few outstanding "Stakhanovite" work-
ers who earn high salaries and incentive bonuses by break-
ing production records. It includes the factory managers,
talented and successful artists, top scientific personnel,
high military leaders, many engineers, and other special-
ists. Members of this group are often elected to Soviet
legislative bodies and a majority of them belong to the
Communist Party.
The fourth class is formed by the several hundred
thousand senior members of the Communist Party (total
membership, 6 million) , who wield the greatest political
influence in the Soviet Union even though their material
rewards are sometimes smaller than those enjoyed by out-
standing members of the third group. The members of
the fourth class are the key administrators at all levels
of Soviet life, and as such have an important influence
on policy. The ultimate determination of policy, however,
rests with the handful of men who form the Politburo of
the Communist Party.
Soviet society is not as yet rigidly stratified. Consider-
able freedom of movement between the classes still exists.
In the topmost level of Soviet society, however, there has
been little change in recent years. The purges during
the 1930's removed the anti-Stalinist Bolsheviks from all
important posts, but in general the men on top today
have held positions of responsibility for many years.
(5) Social groups
The rulers of the USSR would view with suspicion any
social group which was not dominated by the Communist
Party, and it is believed that few Soviet citizens belong
to any such groups. The Constitution of the USSR lists
the types of public organizations recognized in the USSR.
They are trade-unions, cooperative associations, youth or-
Approved For Release 2003/05/14: CIA-RDP79-01144A000200010010-8
Original
Approved For Release 2003/05/14: CIA-RDP79-01144A000200010010-8
PEOPLE AND GOVERNMENT
Page X-9
ganizations, sports and defense organizations, cultural,
technical, and scientific societies, and the Communist
Party. The Constitution specifies that the Communist
Party "is the leading core of all organizations of the work-
ing people, both public and state." The chief difference
between these public organizations and similar groups in
the United States is that in the USSR they are dominated
by the state and the Communist Party, while in the United
States they enjoy a maximum of freedom from outside in-
terference.
(6) Education
(a) Character and adequacy .?Education in the So-
viet Union is completely controlled by the state. The Con-
stitution of the USSR provides for universal, compulsory
elementary education (four years) , and guarantees the
right of all Soviet citizens to a free seven-year education.
Beyond this point government assistance in the form of
stipends is guaranteed only to outstanding students of the
higher schools. The Constitution also provides for free
vocational training. In actual practice this means that,
except for outstanding students, only persons whose fa-
milies can afford it are able to attend the secondary (10-
year) and higher schools. However, certain groups, in-
cluding veterans of World War II, are granted government
stipends; veterans are also granted certain exemptions
from the entrance qualifications for the higher schools.
The number of higher schools is not adequate to the de-
mands of those financially able to attend, and entrance to
them is based upon competitive examinations.
Since the institution of universal compulsory education
there has been a rapid decline in illiteracy. In 1939, 81.2
percent of the population of the Soviet Union above the
age of eight could read and write. The percentages were
generally higher for European USSR, with the exception of
White Russia, where literacy was 78.9 percent. In general
the urban population has a higher percentage of literacy
than the rural population, and similarly, those from the
ages of 9 to 49 are more literate than the older group of
50 and above. Despite the high rate of literacy, the gen-
eral level of education remains very low: in 1939 only 77.7
people in every thousand had a secondary education (10
years).
(b) Elementary and secondary education.?Formal
education in the Soviet Union is divided into two cate-
gories, general and specialized, with specialized or tech-
nical training beginning on the secondary level and con-
tinuing through the higher schools. Beyond this there is
a wide network of popular educational institutions such as
correspondence schools and evening schools for workers.
Primary education is considered to embrace the first
four years of school. Courses are limited to the elements
of reading, speaking, writing, and arithmetic until the
fourth year, when history, natural science, and geography
are added to the curriculum. Soviet educators claim to
have introduced a new type of education which differs from
our concept of general education and is called "polytech-
nical" because all students are introduced to the "basic
elements of the labor process." From the earliest years
pupils are trained to take a disciplined attitude toward
their studies and to take pride in work. During the war
this program was expanded to include instruction in
study-production workshops for fourth-year students. All
students above the age of 12 are expected to work at some
productive occupation for six hours a day during their
summer vacations.
The general secondary schools continue education up
through the seventh year (incomplete secondary schools).
Incomplete secondary schools provide a general back-
Original
ground for pupils who intend to finish their secondary
education in technical and special schools, while complete
secondary schools prepare their students for further work
in the higher educational institutions. In both types of
schools the instruction is "polytechnical." Technical and
scientific studies are stressed, in addition to the general
curriculum of social sciences and languages. A course on
the Constitution of the USSR is obligatory in the seventh
year. Such subjects as logic and psychology have recently
been introduced, and there is an increasing emphasis upon
foreign languages. In all schools of the USSR the prin-
cipal instruction is in the language of the predominant
nationality of the area in which the school is located; in
non-Russian areas Russian is a required subject for all
school children. In 1943 segregation of sexes was intro-
duced in the secondary schools.
In addition to the general secondary schools, there are
specialized one- to three-year institutes open to those who
have completed their seventh year. These schools for the
training of specialists with intermediate qualifications are
called tekhnikums. Some tekhnikums provide industrial
and agricultural training, while others offer pedagogical,
medical, or other professional disciplines.
Administration of the elementary and general second-
ary schools is the direct responsibility of the Ministry of
Education of each Republic, subject to the decrees of the
USSR Council of Ministers on important questions. The
latter makes possible a coordination on the All-Union level
of the work of the Republic Ministries. Further coordi-
nation is assured by the leading role of the RSFSR Min-
istry of Education; its example is generally followed by
the other Republics. Local organs of the ministries func-
tion in the krais (territories) , oblasts (regions) , raions
(districts) , and towns. Of these the oblono (oblastnoi
otdel narodnogo obrazovaniya?regional section of popular
education) is perhaps the most important. The Minis-
tries of Education are also responsible for adult education
activities.
The tekhnikums are not controlled by the Ministries of
Education, but are under the direction of the ministry in
whose field of specialization the curriculum falls, while
indirect supervision is exercised by the USSR Ministry of
Higher Education. Thus an agricultural tekhnikum
would be administered by the Ministry of Agriculture of
a Republic and indirectly supervised by the USSR Minis-
try of Higher Schools.
The number of elementary and secondary schools and
the number of pupils attending them in the various Re-
publics of European USSR are given in TABLE X-6.
TABLE X -6
NUMBERS OF ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY
SCHOOLS AND THEIR ATTENDANCE
1946-1947
Projected for 1950
in Five-Year Plan
Schools
Pupils
Schools
Pupils
USSR
193,000
31,800,000
RSFSR*
113,000
16,000,000
114,150
17,484,000
Ukrainian SSR
27,448
4,800,000
29,045
6,300,000
White Russian SSR
10,982
1,325,000
11,375
1,500,000
Estonian SSR
1,354
125,000
1,148
136,000
(1938-39)
Latvian SSR "
1,464
227,000
1,598
275,000
Lithuanian SSR
3,170
360,000
3,369
390,000
Karelo-Finnish SSR
500
80,000
652
95,000
(1940)
Moldavian SSR
1,879
400,000
1,920
422,000
*No figures are available for the European part of the RSFSR
alone; the figures given here are a total for the whole Republic,
including the eastern regions.
Approved For Release 2003/05/14: CIA-RDP79-01144A000200010010-8
Approved For Release 2003/05/14: CIA-RDP79-01144A000200010010-8
Page X-10 JANIS 40
The major responsibility for intermediate technical
training does not fall on the tekhnikums but on the voca-
tional schools of the USSR Ministry of Labor Reserves.
The trade, railway, and FZO (Fabrichno-Zavodskoye
Obucheniye?factory-plant training) schools were organ-
ized in 1940 to provide replacements for skilled and semi-
skilled labor drawn into the armed forces. These schools
supplanted the former factory-apprentice schools oper-
ated by various ministries and are all controlled directly
by.the Ministry of Labor Reserves. They are expected to
supply 4.5 million workers, or more than half of the 7
million workers scheduled to enter industry under the
current Five-Year Plan.
Students for the trade, railway, and FZO schools are
recruited by an enforced mobilization of rural and urban
youth, although in each call-up there are some volunteers.
In June 1947 the original law governing enlistments into
labor reserve schools was revised, raising the upper age
limit from 17 to 19 and extending into peacetime the war-
time draft of girls 15 to 18. Young people 14 to 17 are now
called up to the trade and railway schools, while youths
of 16 to 18 are enlisted in the FZO schools. It is not clear
whether the 19-year-old boys drafted for heavy work in
the mining, metallurgical, and oil industries receive any
training prior to their work assignment. Trade and rail-
road schools require at least an elementary education and
provide training lasting from two to four years. There
are no educational requirements for admittance to the
FZO schools. Their course of instruction lasts from six
months to one year. That morale in these schools is low
is indicated by the frequent number of desertions. In
contrast with the tekhnikums, the labor reserve schools
require no tuition and students are provided with mainte-
nance and a small amount of spending money.
Upon graduation from the trade, railway, and FZO
schools, students are mobilized in the labor reserves and
are obliged to work for four years in enterprises designated
by the Chief of the Ministry of Labor Reserves. This pro-
vides a ready source of labor which can be directed by the
government into different enterprises or to different parts
of the country in response to the needs of the economy.
Labor reserve schools and the tekhnikums combined are
responsible for the majority of the students receiving sec-
ondary education in the Soviet Union today. At present
there are 2,500 labor reserve schools training 700,000 stu-
dents. It is intended to increase the number of schools
to 5,400 and the number of students to 1.5 million by 1950.
Aside from the direct operation of the educational plant
by the various government agencies, absolute control of
education is guaranteed by Party supervision of the edu-
cational institutions. The Party Central Committee of
the Union and of each Union Republic contains a special
section for the supervision of school affairs. Frequent
party directives offer guiding instructions on important
school matters which the education ministries are obliged
to implement. Party publications, particularly Culture
and Life, publish criticisms of the school system. In ad-
dition to supervision by the top levels of the Party, there is
a Party section in each school and university made up of
Party members among the faculty and administration.
Further, both Party and non-Party members among the
teachers are organized in professional unions, which in
turn are controlled by the Communist Party.
A major responsibility for the execution of the Party pro-
gram within the schools is assigned to the Komsomol
(League of Communist Youth, for young people 14 to 26
years old) and the Pioneers (junior auxiliary of the Kom-
somol) for children 10 to 15). The Komsomol has lost
its former autonomy and freedom to criticize teachers and
curriculum. The duty of its members now is to assist the
teachers and school directors in achieving the tasks set
by the Party, to strengthen discipline and obedience to
teachers, and to set an example for the other students.
(c) Higher education.?All higher education in the
Soviet Union is specialized. There is no higher education
comparable to the program of an American liberal arts
college. Today there are 789 higher educational institu-
tions (vuzy) in the USSR, attended by 560,000 students.
Of these, 30 are universities and 20 are polytechnical in-
stitutes. The remainder give instruction in only one
specialty, such as mining, communications, economics, or
foreign languages. In 1946, 305 vuzy were transferred to
the direct administration of the new Union Republic Min-
istry of Higher Education. The remaining vuzy (of rail-
way transport, medicine, pedagogy, architecture, physical
culture, and the arts) continue under the control of the
respective Ministries or committees which control those
activities, although the Ministry of Higher Education
maintains indirect supervision over them.
The duration of study in the higher schools is from
four to five years. Since the need is urgent for leaders
and highly qualified cadres to direct the growing economy
of the state, particular attention has been given to the de-
velopment of the higher schools. The number of these
schools has been increasing rapidly. In 1946 the Repub-
lics of the European USSR had the following number of
higher schools: RSFSR (total includes the Asiatic regions) ,
486; Ukrainian SSR, 116; White Russian SSR, 26; Lithu-
anian SSR, 12; Karelo-Finnish SSR, 3; and Moldavian
SSR, 7. Statistics for the Estonian SSR and the Latvian
SSR are not available. The postwar Five-Year Plan for
the whole country projects an increase in the total num-
ber of students in higher schools to 674,000.
(d) Political impact.?Every educational measure is
a means for trainin,g the future Soviet citizen according to
a preconceived pattern. Current educational policy,
therefore, has important social and political implications
for the future.
The ideological training of the future Soviet citizen be-
gins with the inculcation of patriotism, which is inter-
preted to include love of the motherland, loyalty to the
Soviet system, and absolute faith in the leadership of the
state. During the war the study of Marxian theories was
definitely subordinated to the teaching of patriotism, but
recently Marxian studies have been given increasing em-
phasis. One of the chief assignments of the teacher is to
indoctrinate the students with a Marxian outlook, and the
Marxian view of society is supposed to be inculcated in
connection with instruction in all subjects.
School graduates are expected to be infused with "Com-
munist morality," that is, with devotion to duty, strong
character, and love of work. The young are supposed to
be trained to a strong sense of responsibility to the com-
munity and of service to the motherland and the people.
In this subordination they are taught to seek their own
highest personal happiness. Technical training is stressed
above all other training because of the urgent need for
skilled specialists.
During the war the need for a high level of military
preparedness was implemented in the schools by military
training from the very first year of school. Recently
military training has been abolished for all children in the
fifth through the seventh year, and for girls through the
tenth year. It has been partly replaced by physical train-
ing, while additional emphasis has been assigned to the
study of technical subjects and foreign languages.
Approved For Release 2003/05/14: CIA-RDP79-01144A000200010010-8
Original
Approved For Release 2003/05/14 : CIA-RDP79-01144A000200010010-8
amLeelligilemanim. PEOPLE AND GOVERNMENT
Page X-11
Soviet schools encourage atheism. A special place is
still given in the curriculum to "popular-materialist-scien-
tific" propaganda intended to discourage "prejudice" and
superstition. It is highly unlikely that wartime conces-
sions to religion will lead to a reinstatement of religious
teaching in the schools.
The introduction in 1943 of segregation of the sexes in
the secondary schools reflects most clearly the change-
over of the educational system from an instrument of
support for a revolutionary group to a tool designed for
the needs of an established government. This measure,
only partially realized up to now, was taken both to
strengthen discipline in the schools and to increase the
stability of the family by giving girls special training in
feminine pursuits related to their future role as wives and
mothers, while the boys received instructions in more
"manly" pursuits, such as military training.
Many serious difficulties face the Soviet educational sys-
tem, a great number of them brought on as a result of the
war and therefore particularly acute in European USSR.
The teaching cadres suffered sharply during the war. The
lack of teachers and the number of inadequately trained
non-Bolshevik instructors make it difficult to give pupils
the desired political indoctrination and adequate knowl-
edge of the subjects taught. The introduction of new sub-
jects into the curriculum has further complicated the situ-
ation. In many cases administrative and Party personnel
responsible for the schools have themselves had insufficient
education, so that the Ministries of Education have not
been functioning smoothly. Absenteeism among pupils,
which has been increasing rapidly, has had harmful conse-
quences for the school system and has contributed to the
growth of juvenile delinquency. There is lack of discipline
in the schools and an unwillingness on the part of the
pupils to obey their teachers.
The physical plant of the school system in European
USSR suffered tremendously from the war. Many school
buildings were destroyed. Others were confiscated for
more essential purposes and have not yet been returned to
their normal use. Textbooks and school equipment are in
short supply.
These problems have been particularly acute in the ter-
ritories which were occupied by the Germans, where de-
struction and social disorganization were greatest. In
1946, in the lower schools of White Russia, every eighth
pupil failed to qualify for promotion to the next class. Re-
cently the Ministry of Education of the Ukraine was singled
out for stinging criticism because of the low level of in-
struction and of serious ideological perversions among the
instructors. As a result of these difficulties, the schools
have been failing to make their needed contribution to the
economy, and in 1945 the Government could meet only
one-fifth of the demand for persons with technical train-
ing.
(7) Dissemination of information
In European USSR, as in all the other parts of the Soviet
Union, there is strict control of all media of information,
and all of them are used to propagate Communist Party
doctrine. Newspapers, literary works, motion pictures,
the radio, and oral appeals of propagandists reach every
corner of the USSR and are used to impress the people
with the "superiority" of the Soviet way of life.
(a) Newspapers, radio, and motion pictures.?In the
Soviet Union as a whole there are over 7,000 newspapers
with a daily circulation of almost 30 million copies. It is
claimed that a newspaper is issued in every government
administrative unit down to the size of an American
Original
county. Probably about two-thirds of the newspapers are
published in European USSR. The adverse effect of the
German occupation on the newspaper industry of the oc-
cupied areas is indicated by the fact that in 1939 approxi-
mately 1,600 newspapers were published in the Ukraine,
whereas in February 1947 only about 900 newspapers were
being issued.
There are more than 100 powerful radio stations in the
USSR, broadcasting internally and to the outside world.
It is planned to build, in addition, 28 comparable trans-
mitters by 1950. The number of broadcasting stations in
European USSR has not been revealed, although probably
about two-thirds of the stations are located there. No
official estimate is available for the number of radio re-
ceiving sets in the USSR. Under the present Five-Year
Plan about 3 million new sets will have been produced
by 1950.
The Soviet motion picture industry operated about
15,425 cinema theaters with about 525 million admissions
in 1945. During the same year the trade-unions also
operated about 3,400 motion picture installations. Admis-
sions to their showings totaled 120 million. From these
figures it is apparent that the average Soviet citizen at-
tends a motion picture theater not much more than three
times a year. According to the present Five-Year Plan,
the number of cinemas in the USSR will be increased by
1950 to 46,700. Since two-thirds of the Soviet population
is in the European portion of the USSR, probably a larger
proportion of the motion picture installations is located
in that area.
(b) Other media.?A most important instrument for
inculcating desired attitudes in the Soviet population is
the immense network of political "agitators." During the
February 1947 elections to the highest legislative bodies
in the constituent Republics of the USSR, over 3 million
agitators worked "to get out the vote." In the RSFSR
alone almost 2 million propagandists "carried the Bolshe-
vik word to the masses." Over 800,000 agitators operated
in the Ukraine and White Russia.
The calling of mass meetings of workers in factories
and on farms is another method for guiding the thinking
of the Soviet citizen. Of ten at these gatherings pledges
are taken to fulfill and surpass the production norm as-
signed to- the particular enterprise. Another propaganda
instrument widely used, especially in large factories, is the
wall newspaper. This publication, resembling a bulletin,
generally contains information on local activities.
The propaganda sections at each level of the Communist
Party hierarchy have the responsibility of supervising the
activities of the local propaganda channels and instru-
ments. Thus strict control is maintained over the ideas
disseminated among the population.
B. Regional culture groups: Great Russians, Ukrain-
ians, and Belorussians
(FIGURE X-2)
(1) Great Russians
The Great Russians form the overwhelming majority
of the population of the Soviet Union; according to the
1939 census there were 99,019,929 Great Russians in the
USSR, and they represented 58.41 percent of the total
population (according to the 1926 census, they formed
73.4 percent of the population of the RSFSR) .
There is no single anthropological type of Great Rus-
sian, since Great Russians represent a mixture of several
elements. The two most common types are: 1) the east-
ern-Baltic type (light eyes and hair, moderately broad
Approved For Release 2003105114: CIA-RDP79-01144A000200010010-8
Page X-12
Approved For Release 2003/05/14: CIA-RDP79-01144A000200010010-8
JANIS 40
face, medium height?common in the Novgorod-Kalinin
region), and 2) the lower Oka type (darker eyes and hair,
smaller height?common in the central region of the
RSFSR).
As in the case of the Ukrainians and the Belorussians,
the majority of the Great Russians belong to the Russian
Orthodox Church. Their language, together with that of
the Belorussians and of the Ukrainians, forms the eastern
group of Slavic languages; it was crystallized in the elev-
enth and twelfth centuries. The language of the Great
Russians, from the phonetic and lexical point of view, is
divided in two dialects: the southern and the northern.
The original literary language, old Bulgarian (known also
as Church Slavonic), was foreign, though related to Rus-
sian. Modern literary Russian, based mainly on the Mos-
cow (Moskva) dialect, was born in the eighteenth century.
Apart from linguistic peculiarities the peasantry, which
forms the majority of the Great Russians, is divided terri-
torially into different groups, each with its own traditions
and customs. It was the policy of the Tsarist regime to
emphasize the dominant position of the Great Russians
among the peoples of the empire, a policy that was ex-
pressed in the popular principle "autocracy, orthodoxy,
nationality," referring to the Tsar, the Church, and the
Great Russian nationality. In recent years the Soviet
Government has reverted to emphasis on the predominant
part of the Great Russians in the life of the country.
(2) Ukrainians
The Tsarist regime refused to recognize the Ukrainians
as a separate nationality, considered them the "smaller"
branch of the Russians (hence the derogatory term
Malorossy?Little Russians), and systematically fought all
manifestations of Ukrainian nationalism, especially in
Ukrainian schools and Ukrainian publications. Accord-
ing to the 1939 census, there were 28,070,404 Ukrainians
in the USSR. The majority live in the Ukrainian SSR,
where they constitute 80 percent of the population (1926
census).
The language of the Ukrainians belongs to the Eastern
Slavic language group, and is represented by several dia-
lects (Eastern, Western, Carpatho-Russian, Polesye) . It
differs from Russian both morphologically (inflections)
and syntactically. The present literary language, based
chiefly on the Poltava parlance of the Eastern Ukrainian
dialect, was formed in the latter part of the eighteenth
century.
The Soviet Government's policy of spreading literacy
among the Ukrainians has been quite successful; in 1926.
53.3 percent of the Ukrainians over eight years of age were
literate; in 1930, 69 percent. The number of cultural in-
stitutions ministering to the needs of the Ukrainians is
substantial. Primary and secondary schools of different
types (29,878 in 1940-1941) have an enrollment of over
6.5 million. In 1941 there were in the Ukraine six universi-
ties and 160 different institutions of higher learning, with
an enrollment of 127,872; there were also 653 tekhnikums
and intermediate professional schools with 860,216 stu-
dents. Scientific research was conducted by the Ukrain-
ian Academy of Sciences and by over 200 research insti-
tutes. There were 21,485 public libraries and 150 mu-
seums; 1,120 dailies and 68 magazines were published.
(3) Belorussians
The Belorussians (White Russians, named after their
traditional garb of white homespun) form a distinct cul-
tural entity because of their language and national tradi-
tion. According to the 1939 census, there were 5,267,431
Belorussians in the Soviet Union, representing 3.11 per-
cent of its total population. The majority lives in the
White Russian SSR, but considerable groups of Belorus-
sians can be found in adjacent regions of the RSFSR and
the Ukrainian SSR.
The Belorussian language belongs to the Eastern Slavic
language group. Although closely related to Russian and
Ukrainian, it differs from them phonetically, morpho-
logically, syntactically, and particularly lexically. It is
represented by several dialects. The majority of the Belo-
russians are Russian Orthodox, but there is a considerable
Roman Catholic minority.
The Tsarist Government frowned upon the development
of Belorussian national culture and pursued a consistent
policy of Russification, prohibiting the use of the national
language. Since 1917 the Belorussians have made con-
siderable strides in the field of education. In 1940 the
White Russian SSR had 26 institutions of higher learning,
among them the Belorussian University in Minsk, a school
of engineering, pedagogical institutes, the Agricultural
Institute in Gorki, schools of medicine in Minsk and
Vitebsk, and a veterinary institute in Vitebsk. There were
41 scientific research institutes, headed by the Belorussian
Academy of Sciences. In 1940 there were Belorussian
theaters in Minsk and Vitebsk, and a Belorussian opera in
Minsk. In 1946, 192 newspapers were published in the
White Russian SSR.
C. Western and northwestern cultural groups
(1) Poles
The Polish population in Tsarist Russia, as a result of
Poland's partition in the late eighteenth century, was very
considerable. The Tsarist Government persistently ap-
plied to its Polish subjects a strict policy of Russification,
which became particularly severe after the suppression
of the Polish revolt in 1863-64. The schools in Poland
were forbidden to teach in Polish; school children were
punished for using Polish in conversation. The entire
administration of Poland was in the hands of Russian
officials. Only after 1905 were private Polish schools
authorized, and their graduates did not enjoy privileges
given to graduates of Russian schools. After World War
I, when Russia lost its Polish provinces, the number of
Poles living in Russia was greatly reduced. According to
the 1926 census, there were 782,000 Poles in the USSR
(1939 census, 626,905) . The overwhelming majority lived
within European USSR: 198,000 in the RSFSR, 477,000 in
the Ukrainian SSR, and 97,000 in the White Russian SSR.
Large numbers of Poles were deported from Poland to the
USSR during the war, and some Polish territory has been
annexed by the USSR. Many Poles have returned to
Poland from the USSR as the result of exchanges of popu-
lation and the liberation of some prisoners, but perhaps a
million of them still remain in the USSR, in addition to
the Poles who lived there before the war.
In 1927-28 there were 577 Polish schools, three teachers'
tekhnikums, and a number of professional schools. The
Herzen Pedagogical Institute in Leningrad had a Polish
section. There was one Polish theater. In 1931 the
Polish press in the USSR was represented by four news-
papers and two magazines.
(2) Lithuanians
The Lithuanians have dwelt in their present territory
since pre-Christian times; no other people seems to have
settled in the area before the coming of the Lithuanians.
Their language belongs to the Baltic group of Indo-
European languages. Bearing a marked resemblance to
Original
Approved For Release 2003/05/14: CIA-RDP79-01144A000200010010-8
Approved For Release 2003/05/14: CIA-RDP79-01144A000200010010-8
awevaffliewitwimh PEOPLE AND GOVERNMENT
Page X-13
Sanskrit, Lithuanian more than any other living Indo-
European language has preserved archaic phonetic and
morphological (highly inflected) forms. Because of many
contacts with the neighboring Slays, the Lithuanians re-
semble them in some respects; their anthropological type
is similar to that of the Slays, they underwent identical
cultural influences, and to a certain extent their language
uses the same vocabulary (terms for various minerals, for
agricultural utensils, and for certain household objects).
The Lithuanians are primarily peasants and as such
cling tenaciously to their customs and traditions. They
are devout Roman Catholics: in 1931, 80.5 percent of the
population of Lithuania professed the Catholic faith. In
spite of this fact, under the Tsarist regime the Catholics
were treated as a religious minority; priests had to be edu-
cated in Russia, and the Vatican was allowed little influ-
ence over the clergy. The result was that the Lithuanian
clergy, far from being Russified, became intensely nation-
alistic and played a leading part in fostering the Lithu-
anian national movement. During the years of Lithua-
nia's independence between the two wars the clergy, as a
whole, opposed the dictatorship of the Nationalist govern-
ment. During the period of the first Soviet occupation
(1940-1941) , the Catholic churches were permitted to re-
main open, although the activity of the clergy was strictly
controlled. Many priests were reported to have been
shot or deported.
The Tsarist Government strictly forbade the use of
Lithuanian in the schools; before 1905 the publication of
Lithuanian books was not authorized. As a result of these
measures, illiteracy was very high (over 60 percent in
1919) . During the years of political independence the
Lithuanian Government succeeded in considerably reduc-
ing the rate of illiteracy, which had sunk to 15 percent by
1939. Elementary education became compulsory in 1924,
and 99 percent of the school-age population in 1939 was
attending school. A number of schools of higher learning
were founded during the same period; among them were
the University of Kaunas (1922) , the Agricultural Acad-
emy at Dotnuva (1924) , and the School of Fine Arts and
Conservatory of Music (1920) . There is also a University
at Vil'nyus. During the first Soviet occupation, large
numbers of Lithuanian teachers were deported.
(3) Letts (Latvians)
The Letts have been a relatively homogeneous ethnic
entity for nearly 2,000 years, during which period they
have known many foreign masters. As a unified, inde-
pendent state Latvia lasted for barely 20 years prior to
1940.
The Latvian or Lettish language, together with the
Lithuanian, forms the Baltic branch of Indo-European
languages; that is, these languages resemble each other
as do German and Dutch or Russian and Polish, but they
are as different from German or Russian as those languages
are from each other. Latvian and Lithuanian have no
relatiOn to Estonian.
Under the Tsarist regime an aggressive policy of Rus-
sification was carried out. Until 1905 only Russian was
used in public schools; after 1905 Latvian became the lan-
guage of instruction in elementary schools, and Russian
was offered as a special subject in the school curriculum.
The Letts' higher cultural standards were due largely to
many educational societies in their communities. Accord-
ing to the census of 1935, the percentage of literacy among
persons over 10 years of age was 88.85 for Latvia as a
whole; among Latvians proper it was 92.09. The Latvian
educational system comprised primary schools (6 years) ,
Original
both academic and professional schools at the secondary
level, and a variety of trade schools for training in agri-
cultural and industrial techniques. For higher education
there were the University of Latvia (in Riga) , the School
of Fine Arts, and the Conservatory of Music. Education
in primary schools was free and compulsory.
The majority of the Letts are Lutherans. In the middle
of the nineteenth century large numbers of Letts joined
the Russian Orthodox Church as a result of widespread
rumors that Orthodox peasants would be protected against
the landlords. Most of these Orthodox Letts remained
dissidents and continued to attend Lutheran churches; the
Russian Orthodox Church, however, continued to attract
many Letts because of the democratic attitude of the Or-
thodox clergy, which consistently defended the interests
of the peasants.
The Letgals, who are related to the Latvians and live in
Latgale, in the eastern part of Latvia, are for the most
part Catholics.
(4) Estonians
Threatened more than once in the past with wholesale
destruction, the Estonians not only managed to survive
as a distinct race but also succeeded in preserving their
national characteristics. An exceptionally homogeneous
group, the Estonians represent a branch of the Finnish
lineage of the Eastern Baltic ethnic group. According to
the census of 1934, there were 992,520 Estonians in Es-
tonia (88.2 percent of the country's total population) .
The Soviet census of 1939 showed that 142,465 Estonians
lived at that time in the Soviet Union.
The Estonian language belongs to the Western Finnish
group of the Finno-Ugric languages; it is closely related
to Finnish. The two main dialects are the Southern
(Tartu) and Northern (Tallinn) ; the latter forms the basis
of the literary language. The majority of the Estonians
are Lutherans..
The Estonians are a highly cultured national group.
Estonian schools, which had been numerous during the
Middle Ages and under Swedish rule in early modern times,
suffered a severe setback during the period of Russian
domination (1721-1917). The policy of ruthless Russifi-
cation, however, which became particularly drastic in the
1880's, only stimulated the national aspirations of the
Estonians. Even during the years of aggressive Russifi-
cation, 98 percent of Estonian recruits were able to read
and write in Estonian (1886) . After the revolution of
1905, the Estonian language once again was allowed to be
taught during the first two years in primary schools and
in all Estonian private schools. During the years of Es-
tonia's independence between the two wars, the fight
against illiteracy made considerable progress (national
average of illiteracy in 1934 was 3.9 percent, as compared
with 5.6 percent in 1922) . In 1936-1937 the following
educational institutions existed in Estonia: primary
schools, 1,281; secondary schools, 120; professional schools,
130 (35 agricultural, 12 commercial, 10 for individual ap-
prentices, 9 industrial, 2 nautical) ; 1 university (Tartu) ,
and 1 technical institute (Tallinn). There are two mu-
seums, the National Museum at Tartu and the Art Gallery
at Tallinn.
(5) Karelians (and Finns)
The Karelians belong to the western (Baltic) group of
the Finns. The Karelians and the Finns constitute al-
most 50 percent of the population of the Karelo-Finnish
SSR. They are found mainly in the west and southwest.
The Finns form a small minority, although their number
Approved For Release 2003/05/14: CIA-RDP79-01144A000200010010-8
Page X-14
Approved For Release 2003/05/14: CIA-RDP79-01144A000200010010-8
JANIS 40 fammialiffilte?
has been increased since new territory was ceded by Fin-
land to the Soviet Union.
(6) Nentsy (Samoyeds)
The name Samoyeds, which is considered derogatory
(meaning "people who eat one another") , has been of-
ficially replaced by the native expression Nentsy ("men,"
"people") . About 4,000 of this Mongoloid tribe live on
the Kola Peninsula (Kol'skiy Poluostrov) and in the Ne-
nets National District in the far northeast of European
USSR, mostly on the lower reaches of the Pechora (river) .
They came from the Altai region of south-central USSR,
where some (the Vriankhai) still live among the Mongols.
Their northwest push into northern Europe occurred only
in recent times. Physically they belong to the classical,
round-headed Buryat Mongoloid type, although some show
partially European features.
Still adhering to their traditional nomadic way of life
(they dwell in conical tents called chuma), the Nentsy live
by hunting, reindeer breeding, and fishing. Their lan-
guage is related to the languages of the Finno-Ugric group.
As for their religion, they adhere to shamanism, the primi-
tive religion of the Ural-Altaic peoples of Northern Europe
and Asia. The priests, or shamans, who are essentially
witch doctors, enjoy a high degree of authority among
them. In recent years the government has made serious
efforts to raise their standard of living and to reduce their
high mortality rate. Veterinary stations, elementary
schools, and cooperatives have been organized among them.
(7) Lapps
The Lapps number about 30,000 and are scattered
throughout northern Scandinavia, but a small group lives
on the Kola Peninsula (Kol'skiy Poluostrov) (according
to the 1926 census there were about 1,700 in the USSR) .
Members of this group are now called Saamis. Flat-faced
and racially Mongoloid, considerably intermixed with the
northern whites, the Saamis are reputedly the shortest
people in Europe, with an average stature of scarcely more
than five feet. Their language belongs to the Finno-Ugric
group. Their way of living is seminomadic, and their
occupations are reindeer breeding (a zootechnic station
has been founded to assist the breeders) , fishing, and hunt-
ing. In 1931, five elementary schools functioned in the
territory occupied by the Saamis.
D. Ugro-Finnic peoples of the interior of European
USSR
(1) Mari (Cheremis)
The Mad, previously known as the Cheremis, belong
to the Finno-Ugric group. They differ from the western
Finns by the darker coloring of their eyes and hair. Ac-
cording to the 1939 census, there were at that time 481,262
Mari in the Soviet Union. Over half of them live in the
Mari ASSR (Mari Autonomous Republic) .
Mentioned in Russian historical chronicles since the
twelfth century, the Mad came under Russian rule after
the fall of Kazan' in the sixteenth century; after frequent
rebellions they finally became pacified in the seventeenth
century. At the end of the eighteenth century the Gov-
ernment took drastic steps to convert the Mari to Chris-
tianity. In spite of these efforts, the Mari maintain many
old religious traditions, such as ancestor worship and
various ceremonial rites for obtaining good harvests and
avoiding disasters. The sacrifice of animals to national
deities was, until recently, a widespread practice. Tatar
influence is noticeable in some Mari customs, e.g., in the
interior decoration of their homes. The Mari show pref-
erence for white in their national garb, which is distinctive
because of its rich embroidery. They possess a rich folk-
lore. Their main occupations are agriculture, apiculture,
fishing, and hunting.
The Mari language embraces two dialects, that of the
"mountain" Mari (on the right bank of the Volga) and
that of the "meadow" Mari (on the left bank of the Volga) ;
the difference between the two groups manifests itself not
only in the peculiarities of their respective dialects but also
in customs. The "meadow" Mad show traces of a deep
Tatar influence in their way of living.
Illiteracy has traditionally been very high among the
Mari. In 1937, 12 tekhnikums and three schools of higher
learning (two pedagogical institutes and a school of for-
estry ( existed in the Mari ASSR (Mad Autonomous Repub-
lic) ; in the same year there were 58 public libraries and
three theaters.
(2) Mordva
In spite of representing a numerically large group, the
Mordva, of Finno-Ugric stock, do not live as a conglomerate
entity, but are mixed with other nationalities; this has
made them receptive to foreign influences, particularly
those of the Russians and the Tatars. According to the
1939 census the Mordva number 1,451,429; half of them
live in the Mordovian ASSR, forming about 38 percent of
its population.
Like some of the other Finno-Ugric peoples on the Volga,
the Mordva came under Russian rule in the sixteenth cen-
tury, after the fall of Kazan'. Soon afterward they were
forced to embrace Christianity. In protest against the
Orthodox Church, many Mordva joined various schismatic
sects; they also maintained numerous traditions of pagan
origin. Engaged in agriculture, the Mordva frequently
suffered because of insufficient land allotments; as a re-
sult, many of them migrated to Siberia.
Their language, embracing two dialects, Ersya and
Moksha, each with its phonetic and lexical peculiarities,
is used mainly in the Mordovian ASSR; however, it is also
used by Mordva groups scattered as far as Siberia and
Central Asia. Like the language of the Mari, it is related
to Finnish.
In 1938 the educational institutions in the Mordovian
ASSR included 1,250 schools, two pedagogical institutes,
and 363 public libraries; there were two Mordva theaters,
and four magazines were published in Mordva.
(3) Udmurts (Votyaks)
Formerly called Votyaks, this tribe is at present known
as the Udmurts (a native word; "ud"?the name of the
tribe; "murt"?man) . They live along the Vyatka and
the Kama. While the Volga Bulgarian Kingdom was in
existence (until the thirteenth century) , the Udmurts
formed part of its population; later they lived under the
domination of the Kazan khans and, after the conquest of
Kazan' by Moscow (Moskva) , passed under the rule of the
Russians. In 1939 the Udmurts numbered 605,673.
Two anthropological types are distinguishable among
the Udmurts: the northern or "forest" Udmurt, with light
hair and of small stature; and the "steppe" Udmurt, dark-
haired, sturdy, of medium stature, and with Turkic fea-
tures.
The Udmurts have preserved a number of customs re-
flecting both their material and their spiritual national
heritage. Their dwellings are architecturally peculiar.
In their social structure the woman occupies a prominent
and independent position. Udmurt girls, before their
marriage, enjoy great freedom. A sense of communal co-
Approved For Release 2003105/14: CIA-RDP79-01144A000200010010-8
Original
Approved For Release 2003/05/14: CIA-RDP79-01144A000200010010-8
PEOPLE AND GOVERNMENT
Page X-15
hesion and the practice of mutual assistance are strong
among the Udmurts.
The majority of the Udmurts were forcibly Christian-
ized in the seventeenth century and belong to the Russian
Orthodox Church, but many Udmurts?particularly the
southern ones?practice their original religion based on
the worship of ancestors and of nature. Their principal
deity is the god of the fields and the protector of harvests,
in whose honor domestic animals are sacrificed. They be-
lieve in the continuation of life after death, and the per-
sonal belongings of the deceased are buried with him.
Their main occupations are agriculture and lumbering.
Cattle raising, truck gardening, and hunting have lost
their importance.
The language of the Udmurts belongs to the Ugric group
of Finno-Ugric and is related to Magyar. It is represented
by two main dialects, the northern and the southern,
which correspond to the two distinct Udmurt groups.
Publications in Udmurt began to appear early in the nine-
teenth century; until 1905 most of them were sponsored
by missionaries and aimed at the Russification of the popu-
lation; after 1905 Udmurt novels, depicting the hardships
of the people, began to appear. In 1916 the first Udmurt
newspaper was founded. From the beginning, the Rus-
sian alphabet with some additional symbols for specific
Udmurt sounds was used. Modern Udmurt literature is
strongly influenced by the rich Udmurt folklore.
Since the 1917 Revolution, many Udmurt schools have
been opened. In 1929 there were 10 tekhnikums (peda-
gogical, agricultural, commercial), 75 public libraries, and
two museums in the Udmurt ASSR (Udmurt Autonomous
Republic) .
(4) Komi
Originally called the Zyrians, the Komi (numbering
408,724 people according to the 1939 census) live in the
tundra zone, which, until recently, was mostly inaccessible
because of primeval forests and the lack of roads. Pri-
marily tillers (communal cultivation of land has been
widespread among them for generations) , they also engage
in lumbering, hunting, ahd seasonal work; fishing is rela-
tively unpopular. Although the Komi were nominally
Christianized more than five centuries ago during the pe-
riod of the colonial expansion of Novgorod and Moscow
(Moskva) , they faithfully adhere to their pre-Christian
religion, which is based on ancestor worship and on a well-
developed concept of a life to come.
Their language, like that of the Udmurts, belongs to the
Ugric group of Finno-Ugric. The Komi vocabulary also
contains elements borrowed from Russian, Chuvash, and
Nenets. It has two main dialects: the Vychegda-Pechora
(formerly called Zyrian) and the Kama; the latter, also
called Permyak, is used by a branch of the Komi which
supposedly became detached from the main body of the
Komi around the fifteenth century and moved southward.
These Komi-Permyaks form the majority of the popula-
tion of the Komi-Permyatskiy Natsional'nyy Okrug in
Molotovskaya Oblast'.
Komi literature in its early stages was of a missionary
character. The rich folklore of the nation began to influ-
ence Komi writers in the nineteenth century. A consider-
able number of Russian classics have been published in
Komi. Since 1917 a press in Komi has been created. A
national theater exists in Syktyvkar. In 1936, 33,500 chil-
dren attended elementary schools; and in 1938, 4,470 stu-
dents were enrolled in the 12 tekhnikums and two schools
of higher learning in the Komi ASSR (Komi Autonomous
Republic).
Original
E. European Turko-Tatars
(/) Tatars
This conventional name is used to designate several
ethnic groups (on the Volga, in the Crimea, in Siberia,
and in the Caucasus) which use related Turkic dialects
but which otherwise have little in common as regards
their origin and cultural background; the groups show
varying degrees of mixture with the neighboring Slays,
Finno-Ugrians, Mongols, and others. Originally, the name
was used for Mongols, e.g., the tribe to which Ghenghis
Khan belonged. The hordes which invaded Russia in the
thirteenth century were led by the Mongol-Tatars, but the
majority of the invaders were of Turkic origin.
According to the 1939 census, the Tatars of the USSR
numbered 4,300,336. The Volga Tatars, numerically the
most important group, are divided into Kazan and As-
trakhan Tatars. The Kazan Tatars, descendants of the
population of the Golden Horde founded in the fifteenth
century, form the majority of the population of the Tatar
ASSR (Tatar Autonomous Republic) (over a million Ta-
tars) ; about one-half million live in the Bashkir ASSR
(Bashkir Autonomous Republic), and large groups are
found in the Molotovskaya Oblast', Gor'kovskaya Oblast',
and Saratovskaya Oblast'. Their chief occupation is
agriculture.
The Astrakhan Tatars, on the lower reaches of the Volga,
are descendants of the population of the Astrakhan Khan-
ate (fifteenth century). They number about 50,000, and
their main occupations are cattle raising, fishing, and
hunting.
The Crimean Tatars consist of two distinct groups.
One of these is the "steppe" Tatars (about 125,000 in
1931), who inhabit the steppes and the plateaus of north-
ern Crimea. Their anthropological type shows definite
Mongol traits. Their main occupation is agriculture and
cattle raising. The second group is the "mountain" Ta-
tars (about 54,000 in 1931), who live in the southern sec-
tion of the Crimea, both in the mountains and along the
seashore. In their appearance they resemble the south-
ern European type?perhaps a result of a strong southern
European admixture (Greeks, Anatolian Turks, Genoese) .
Their main occupations are horticulture, truck gardening,
tobacco raising, and viticulture. The mountain Tatars
are called "Tat" by the steppe Tatars, while the latter are
called "Nogai" by the mountain Tatars.
The majority of the Tatars are Moslems and belong to
the Sunnite sect. A small minority of the Kazan Tatars
are Orthodox.
The language of the Tatars belongs to the northwestern
group of the Turkic tongues. The Tatars in the northern
Crimea use a dialect related to that of the Kazan Tatars,
whereas the dialect of the South Crimean Tatars is closer
to Osmanli. After the defeat of the Kazan Khanate in
the sixteenth century, the Russian authorities tried to
interfere with the development of national culture among
the Tatars. Not until the nineteenth century did an era
of Tatar cultural renaissance set in. The literature cre-
ated by this movement at first had a religious imprint,
The literary language differed considerably from the
spoken one, and only toward the end of the nineteenth
century were the two languages brought closer together.
At the same time literature shook off the influence of the
clergy, and more attention was given to the study of the
rich folklore and to the adoption of Western culture.
After the Revolution of 1905, a Tatar national theater and
a press were created (the first Tatar newspaper in the Cri-
mea appeared in 1873).. At present there is a Tatar opera
Approved For Release 2003/05/14: CIA-RDP79-01144A000200010010-8
Approved For Release 2003/05/14: CIA-RDP79-01144A000200010010-8
Page X-16 JANIS 40
and a drama theater in Kazan. Originally the Tatar lan-
guage, like other Turkic languages, used the Arabic alpha-
bet; the present Tatar alphabet is based on Russian. The
Tatars are very artistic; they are best known for their
handicraft made of dyed leather, jewelry made of silver,
and embroidery and ceramics.
Because of alleged disloyalty during World War II, the
majority of the Crimean Tatars were exiled by the Soviet
authorities to Siberia and Central Asia; the Crimean Au-
tonomous Republic was abolished in 1945.
(2) Bashkirs
The Bashkirs are a mixed group in which the predomi-
nant Turkic elements are combined with Mongolian and
Finnish elements. Their anthropological type is Turkic
(medium height, dark hair and eyes, brachycephalic) .
According to the 1926 census there were in the USSR
713,000 Bashkirs, of whom 673,000 lived in the Bashkir
ASSR (Bashkir Autonomous Republic) , forming 23.6 per-
cent of its total population. The 1939 census registered
842,925 Bashkirs.
Brought under Russian domination in the sixteenth
century after the fall of the Kazan Khanate, they repeat-
edly rose in revolt against their new masters but were
finally subdued late in the eighteenth century. The na-
tional tradition of the Bashkirs is uncertain; some con-
sider themselves descendants of the Bulgarians, others of
the warriors of Genghis Khan. Repeated efforts to Chris-
tianize the Bashkirs failed and they have remained Mos-
lem, though their attitude toward their religious dogmas
is rather free.
At the present time they have given up their original
nomadic life and have become cattle raisers and farmers.
However, some customs dating back to the nomadic pe-
riod still survive; for instance, the southern Bashkirs
leave their villages every summer and spend the warm
season in the steppes in temporary dwellings. Another
survival of the nomadic era, when the stealing of cattle
was widespread, is the frequent occurrence of horse steal-
ing, which, according to local tradition, is considered only
a minor transgression.
The language of the Bashkirs belongs to the Turkic
group, and consists of two main dialects: the mountain
dialect and the steppe dialect. Except for some lexical
differences, the Bashkir language is similar to that of the
Kazan Tatars. The Bashkirs possess a rich national folk-
lore.
(3) Chuvash
The Chuvash (numbering 1,367,930, according to the
1939 census) , besides inhabiting the Chuvash ASSR (Chu-
vash Autonomous Republic) , live in Kuybyshevskaya Ob-
last', in the Tatar ASSR and the Bashkir ASSR, and in
Western Siberia. Of Turkic origin, the Chuvash an-
thropological type presents the following characteristic
features: dark complexion, large, dark eyes with the Mon-
gol eyelids, sparse beard, a broad flat nose. Traditionally
engaged in agriculture, the Chuvash enjoy a reputation
as expert apiarists. They are believed to be related to
the Volga Bulgars, whose historical destiny they have
shared. They came under the Tatar domination after the
defeat of the Volga Bulgarian Kingdom. When in the
sixteenth century Tsar Ivan the Terrible attacked Kazan,
the Chuvash peasants supported him in his fight against
the Tatars. Subsequently the Chuvash repeatedly re-
belled against the Russian authorities; in the middle of the
nineteenth century they participated in the so-called
"potato" riots caused by the efforts of the government to
introduce potato growing. The history of the Chuvash
records the stubborn resistance of the nation to the
proselytizing efforts of the Orthodox Church, which for
centuries tried to destroy the old Chuvash religious cus-
toms. Under the influence of the Tatars many Chuvash
became Moslems. Many Chuvash national traditions
were kept alive in the nineteenth century (ancient festivals
with communal sacrifices, traces of group marriages,
matriarchal system etc.) ; at present only female garments
and ornaments, together with some seasonal holidays, re-
flect Chuvash traditions.
The Chuvash language, which belongs to the Turkic
language group, has influenced the language of the Finno-
Ugric peoples who live in their vicinity (Mordvan, Mari,
Udmurt, Komi) ; even distant Finno-Ugric peoples like the
Magyars have Chuvash elements in their language. On
the other hand, the Chuvash have borrowed words from
many other languages (Arabic, Persian, Tatar, Russian,
and Finno-Ugric) . Chuvash is spoken at present by more
than one million people.
The first Chuvash school was founded at Simbirsk (now
Ul'yanovsk) in 1871; in 1876 it was transformed into a
teachers' seminary. Up to 1917 over 1,000 Chuvash teach-
ers had graduated from it. The number of Chuvash
schools has considerably increased since 1917. In 1934,
25 tekhnikums functioned in the Chuvash ASSR (Chuvash
Autonomous Republic) . In Cheboksary, its capital, there
is a national theater; studies of Chuvash are carried on
by the Chuvash Research Institute.
F. Southwestern ethnic groups
(1) Moldavians
The Moldavians are related to the Rumanians; both na-
tionalities resulted from the mixture of the Dacians and
other local tribes with the Roman colonists and soldiers
during the Roman domination over Dacia (second and
third centuries) . At the present time the two peoples
are distinct, since their historical evolution took place
under different social, economic, and cultural conditions.
For centuries the Moldavians in Bessarabia were sub-
jected to the influence of heterogeneous national groups?
Goths, Huns, Slays, Bulgars, and Turks; they absorbed
large numbers of Ukrainians and Walachian (Rumanian)
peasants who escaped to Bessarabia from Rumanian serf-
dom. Before the occupation of Bessarabia by Rumania in
January 1918, 47.6 percent of its population was Moldavian.
According to the 1939 census, the Moldavians then inside
the USSR numbered 260,023. In 1940 an additional four
million persons from Rumania were reportedly added to
the USSR; many of them were Moldavians.
Moldavian is a Romance language; represented by two
dialects (northern and southern) . It was used in literary
works of the seventeenth century. It has strong Slavic
admixtures of archaic origin; 30 percent of its roots are
Slavic, and during more recent centuries Moldavian has
been influenced by Russian and Ukrainian. It also con-
tains Turkish elements. In contrast, Rumanian has been
influenced much less by Slavic languages but contains
many words of Magyar origin. The Moldavians, asserting
their cultural independence, resisted Rumanian influences
during the years of Rumanian rule (1918-1945) ; only 6 per-
cent of the Moldavians adopted the Rumanian language.
Moldavian schools were organized after the 1917 Revolu-
tion; simultaneously textbooks in Moldavian began to
appear. In 1946 a university was opened in the Moldavian
SSR.
Approved For Release 2003/05/14: CIA-RDP79-01144A000200010010-8
Original
Approved For Release 2003/05/14: CIA-RDP79-01144A000200010010-8
PEOPLE AND GOVERNMENT Page X-17
(2) Greeks
Large numbers of Greeks migrated to Russia in the
latter part of the eighteenth and during the nineteenth
centuries. In European Russia they settled in the Novo-
rossiya region, that part of southern Russia along the
Black Sea and Sea of Azov (Azovskoye More) comprising
in the early twentieth century the districts of Bessarabia
(now Moldavian SSR) , Kherson, Ekaterinoslav (now
Dnepropetrovsk) , and Stavropol', and Don Oblast*. Ac-
cording to the 1939 census, there were in the USSR 285,896
Greeks. Their chief occupations were agriculture, cattle
raising, and commerce.
(3) Bulgarians
The Bulgarians who live within the USSR are descend-
ants of the Turkic tribe that came from eastern Russia
and settled in the Danube region in the fifth and sixth
centuries. There they mixed with Slays and founded in
the seventh century a kingdom which first was ruled by
Turkic Khans. In the ninth century they were converted
to Christianity.
According to the 1939 census, there were 113,479 Bul-
garians in the USSR. They live in southern Bessarabia
and the southern Ukraine; their numbers have increased
somewhat owing to wartime Soviet annexations of ter-
ritory. Their main occupation is truck farming. Their
language belongs to the southern group of Slavic lan-
guages.
The Volga Bulgarians, of whom no trace remains today,
were of mixed Finno-Turkic origin. Between the eighth
?and thirteenth centuries they formed a powerful kingdom
along the middle reaches of the Volga and along the Kama,
with Bolgary (near Kazan') as their capital. Their cul-
tural influence upon the minor tribes living in that region
was considerable. In the thirteenth century they were
conquered by the Tatars and completely dispersed in the
Kazan Tatar Khanate.
G. Jews
The oldest Jewish group in western USSR is that in the
Caucasus; Jews settled in the Crimea in the first century
A. D. After the destruction of the Khazar Kingdom in
the eleventh century they infiltrated into the principality
of Kiev (Kiyev) and into Lithuania. When Poland was
partitioned in 1796, Russia annexed Belorussia (White
Russia) with its large Jewish population. With the excep-
tion of the Ekaterinoslav (now Dnepropetrovsk) and
Taurida ** districts, which were colonized under Catherine
II, the Jews were excluded from other Russian districts;
thus the Jewish "Pale" in White Russia and parts of the
Ukraine was created.
The wave of pogroms which started in the 1880's and
continued intermittently until 1905 caused a large emigra-
tion of Russian Jews to foreign countries. The census of
1897 registered 5,189,401 Jews in Russia (4.13 percent of
the total population) . After World War I, Russia lost a
considerable percentage of its Jewish population through
cession of territory to Poland, the Baltic States, and Ru-
mania. The 1926 census registered 2,672,000 Jews within
Soviet Russia, and the 1939 census, 3,020,141. During
World War lithe Jewish population of White Russia and
the Ukraine was tremendously reduced.
* Don Oblast'. Oblast' Voyska Donskogo (Territory of the Don
Cossacks) includes most of Rostovskaya Oblast' and parts of
Stalinskaya Oblast', Voroshilovgradskaya Oblast', Stalingradskaya
Oblast', and Krasnodarskiy Kray.
** Taurida includes the present Krymskaya Oblast', part of
Khersonskaya Oblast', and most of Zaporozhskaya Oblast'.
Original
As a result of political, social, and economic conditions,
a relatively small percentage of the Jews is engaged in
agriculture; the Jewish population remains predominantly
urban.
Yiddish, used by many Jews in Soviet Russia (over 72
percent consider it their mother tongue) , belongs to the
German group of the Germanic languages. It was carried
to Eastern Europe by immigrants from the Rhineland in
the late middle ages. Its vocabulary contains many ele-
ments borrowed from Polish, Russian, and Ukrainian. Its
two dialects, the Lithuanian or "0" dialect and the Polish-
Ukrainian or "U" dialect differ from one another both
phonetically and lexically. Literary Yiddish is based pri-
marily on the Lithuanian dialect; it uses the Hebrew
alphabet. Yiddish is used as the official language in
schools, courts, and administrative offices in communities
with a large Jewish population (in the Ukraine and in
White Russia)
H. Germans
After World War I the German population of Russia
considerably diminished. According to the 1897 census,
1,790,500 Germans lived in Russia, but in 1926 there were
only 1,238,486; the rest remained in territories detached
from Russia, i.e., Poland, the Baltic States, and Bessarabia.
The census of 1939 registered 1,423,534 Soviet Germans.
The Germans in Russia are descendants of German im-
migrants who settled in the Neva region under Peter I
(1682-1725) , and on the Volga (Saratov district) , on the
Black Sea, and in the Dnepr region under Catharine II
(1762-1796) and her successors. The overwhelming ma-
jority of these settlers were engaged in agriculture. A
manifesto issued by Catharine II in 1763 granted them
religious freedom and other privileges (exemption from
taxation and military service, assignment of 65 hectares
to each household) . As a result of these privileges, and
because of a degree of self-administration and the use of
relatively advanced methods of agriculture, the German
communities prospered. In 1870 the attitude of the Tsar-
ist government toward the German colonists changed
radically; many privileges were annulled (among other
things the German communities lost the right of self-ad-
ministration) , and a drastic policy of forced Russification
was inaugurated. Many Germans moved from the Volga
region and the Ukraine to more distant regions (northern
Caucasus, Siberia, and Central Asia) .
Under the Soviet regime the Germans repeatedly re-
belled against the new system (in 1919 in the Odessa region,
in 1921 on the Volga) . After the invasion of Russia by
Hitler the Soviet authorities, mistrusting the German
population, abolished the German Volga ASSR* on Sep-
tember 7, 1941 and moved large numbers of Germans to
remote regions of the Soviet Union. The Germans be-
longed to the most cultured group among the population
of European USSR.
I. Ka lmyks
The Kalmyks (known also as Dzhungary) , numbers of
whom inhabited European USSR until recent years, belong
to the western branch of the Mongols; a part of this people
migrated in the seventeenth century?with culture,
language, and physical type almost intact?from Central
Asia and settled in the area from the Astrakhan' steppe
to the west of the Volga delta. They participated actively
*The territory of the German Volga ASSR was divided between
the Saratovskaya Oblast' and the Stalingradskaya Oblast' of
RSFSR.
Approved For Release 2003/05/14: CIA-RDP79-01144A000200010010-8
Page X-18
Approved For Release 2003/05/14: CIA-RDP79-01144A000200010010-8
JANIS 40
in the peasant riots of the eighteenth century, particularly
in the revolt headed by Pugachev. Undoubtedly they
have mixed racially to some extent with Russians and
Tatars, but they remain essentially classic Buryat Mongo-
loid in physical type. Their total number is over half
a million, the majority of whom, about 400,000, live in
Mongolia and western China. In the USSR, according
to the 1939 census, there were 134,327 Kalmyks; about
107,000 lived in the Kalmyk Autonomous Republic, form-
ing 75 percent of its total population.
The majority of the Kalmyks are nomadic cattle raisers
who until recently retained a complex tribal organization
and lived under the rule of hereditary tribal chieftains.
The basic social group is the khoton, a nomadic union of
a score or two of households?known as tents (kibitka)?
which move together from place to place, and which trace
their origin back to a common ancestor. Several khotons
form a tribal community called aymak, and several ay-
maks, an u/us. There were eight u/us in the Kalmyk
Autonomous Republic in 1939.
The Kalmyks are Lamaists. Before the 1917 Revolu-
tion the Lamaist clergy, which formed about 30 percent
of the Kalmyk population, exercised great influence among
them.
In 1916 there were 31 schools in the Kalmyk territory,
and the language of instruction was Russian. A special
school, mainly for the training of interpreters, existed in
Astrakhan'. Literacy was very low (2 to 3 percent) . In
1917 there were only four Kalmyks with college education.
In the years preceding World War II several tekhnikums
(veterinary, agricultural, fine arts) were organized, and
the Astrakhan' Pedagogical Institute had a special di-
vision for the training of Kalmyk teachers. Instruction
in elementary schools was offered in the native language.
In 1937 there were seven public libraries servicing the
Kalmyk population. Before 1917 literature was repre-
sented only by oral folklore. In 1934 the Latin alphabet
was adopted for Kalmyk publications.
Because of alleged disloyalty during World War II, the
Kalmyk population was banished by the Soviet authorities
to remote sections of Soviet Asia, and the Kalmyk Autono-
mous Republic was abolished in 1943; its territory was
distributed among Stavroporskiy Kray, Stalingradskaya
Oblast', Rostovskaya Oblast', and the newly founded
Astrakhanskaya Oblast'.
103. LABOR
A. Supply
(1) Labor force
As in the prewar period, agricultural and industrial
manpower in the USSR has been short since the end of
hostilities. The qualitative and quantitative inadequacy
of the labor force is a reflection of the huge reconstruction
task necessitated by the devastation caused by the Ger-
mans and of the goals for the expansion of production
dictated by the Soviet Government.
In agriculture the damage to farms and equipment in
the Ukraine and White Russia requires large numbers of
workers for rebuilding projects and for the maintenance
of output even below prewar levels. Since industry de-
pends on the rural areas for most of its labor recruits,
the inability of these areas to yield workers in large enough
numbers strains the expansion plans of industry.
The postwar economy of European USSR has been par-
ticularly harassed by the lack of skilled workers and
specialists. In part this has been an absolute shortage,
resulting from the losses of skilled workers during the
war, and in part there has been an incomplete utilization
of the supply of skilled workers and specialists. In ad-
dition, the government has encouraged shifts of special-
ists from this area to the eastern industrial regions, where
they are even more badly needed.
Aggravating the situation has been the low productivity
of much of the available labor supply; many workers have
received little vocational training and many are working
on worn-out machines that break down frequently and
cannot be operated long at maximum capacity. Labor
efficiency is also held down by high turnover rates in many
areas where food and housing are unsatisfactory.
(2) Employment of women
Women play an important role in the labor force, per-
forming both light and heavy tasks in agriculture and
industry. Many of them work as ordinary laborers in
such industries as metallurgy and machine building; in
addition, considerable numbers are also skilled workers
who received training in the State Labor Reserve Schools.
B. Characteristics
(1) Hours and wages
Since the close of hostilities it has been found possible
to reduce hours of work in industry from the high wartime
average of 66 hours a week to the 48-hour week estab-
lished in 1940. The situation has probably also been
somewhat eased in agriculture by the return of more men
to the farms. However, since the physical burdens of
war devastation and reconstruction are more keenly felt
in European USSR than in other parts of the country, it
is unlikely that there will be any further shortening of
work hours for some time to come.
The wage system is carefully arranged to insure that
the most highly trained and most efficient workers get
the highest rewards. This is done by setting up an elabo-
rate system of piece rates and bonuses, both in industry,
and, as far as is practicable, in agriculture. Various forms
of socialist competition are an important means of stimu-
lating the workers to fulfill and exceed the norms of work
set for them. Hence there are wide, divergences between
the amounts earned by highly skilled and successful
workers and by unskilled laborers. In a heavy machine-
building factory in the Urals in 1945, for example, hourly
rates varied for workers on time rates, from 70 kopecks up
to 2 rubles, 52 kopecks, and for piece-rate workers from 80
kopecks to 2 rubles, 90 kopecks. This system was used
for many years before the war and was intensified during
the war years, with the difference that in wartime scarce
commodities, such as food and clothing, were widely used
as production incentives instead of money.
(2) Working conditions
Even the high wages earned by some Soviet workers
before the war did not enable them to enjoy a high
standard of living, since the supply of consumers' goods,
housing, medical care, safety provisions in factories, and
other circumstances, in spite of improvement over previous
Soviet achievements, were still below standards established
in more advanced countries. The war had the effect of
reducing living and working standards sharply for all
Soviet workers, and restoration of even the inadequate
prewar level will take time. This is particularly true of
the invaded areas of European USSR, where physical
devastation of homes as well as industrial installations
was widespread.
Approved For Release 2003/05/14: CIA-RDP79-01144A000200010010-8
Original
EUROPEAN U.S.S.R. F H
(EXCLUDING THE CAUCASUS) 1? Aprpraed F
RUSSIANS
(GRueastsians)
LAPPS
WHITE
RUSSIANS
UKRAINIANS
Ise 003/05
00050011REFORE 1939)
SOURCES: VoLKERKARTE DER ODE/JET-UNION (European part) 1:5,000,000 Relchsamt fiir Landesaufnahme, Berlin, 1941
Data for Czechoslovakia from ATLAS REPUBLIKY CESKOSLOVENSKE, rpm plate*, 1:5.000,000
POLES
KOMI UDMURTS MARI
(Zyrians) (Votyaks) (Cheremis)
ADMINISTRATIVE BOUNDARIES 1946
5 U.S. S. R. Oblast; Kray
?? ? ?? ?? ?? ? Autonomous Republic (A.S.S.R.)
ETHNIC BOUNDARIES (APPROX.)
Union Republic (S.S.R.)
International, 1937
? Dominant group Mixed group
BULGARS
MORDVIANS
MAGYARS
MOLDAVIANS
&RUMANIANS
SAMOYEDS
(Nenets)
GERMANS
(Not shown west
of 1937 boundary) 13 GREEKS
LITHUANIANS
TATARS
LATVIANS
ESTONIANS
?CHUVASH BASHKIRS
A JEWS (Not shown west of 1937 boundary)
NOM The international boundaries shown on this mop do not correspond
In all COM to the boundaries recognized by the U. S. Government.
FINNS
KAZAKHS
300
iilli1111111
;1!IIIIIIII1
KARELIANS
KALMYKS
460
I ES
1?i 110 210 410
KILOMETERS
.111111.18.1111111611
10443 Map Branch, CIA, 5-48
65
55
50.
45'
555z7
"
U.S. GPO?S
cSWEDEN
KK -UDD 5*
LEASED TERRITORY '
GULF OF FINLAND
Molotov
:*1)
9
Eltb:ruy.sk
'ehkalov
/-
(iral'sk
an'
CAS PI A N
Gur'yev
"r I
ft-
Maykop
BULGARIA
25?
30?
BLACK
35?
SEA
40?
herkessk
45?
SEA
EUROPEAN U.S.S.R. ETHNIC GROUPS (BEFORE 1939)
(EXCLUDING THE CAUCASUS)
RUSSIANS
(GRueastsians)
LAPPS
WHITE
RUSSIANS
UKRAINIANS
SOURCES: VoLKERKARTE DER SOWJET-UNION (European part) 1:5,000,000 Relchsamt fiir Landesaufnahme, Berlin, 1941
Data for Czechoslovakia from ATLAS REPUBLIKY CESKOSLOVENSKE, rpm plate*, 1:5.000,000
POLES
KOMI UDMURTS IT MARI
(Zyrians) (Votyaks) (Cheremis)
ADMINISTRATIVE BOUNDARIES 1946
U.S. S. R. Oblast; Kray
?? ? ?? ?? ?? ? Autonomous Republic (A.S.S.R.)
ETHNIC BOUNDARIES (APPROX.)
Union Republic (S.S.R.)
International, 1937
? Dominant group Mixed group
BULGARS
MORDVIANS
MAGYARS
MOLDAVIANS
&RUMANIANS
SAMOYEDS
(Nenets)
GERMANS
(Not shown west
of 1937 boundary) 13 GREEKS
LITHUANIANS
TATARS
LATVIANS
ESTONIANS
?CHUVASH BASHKIRS
A JEWS (Not shown west of 1937 boundary)
NOM The international boundaries shown on this mop do not correspond
In all COM to the boundaries recognized by the U. S. Government.
FINNS
KAZAKHS
300
iilli1111111
;1!IIIIIIII1
KARELIANS
KALMYKS
460
ES
1j 110 210
KILOMETERS
CONFIDENTIAL
10
65'
60
55
50
45
10443 Map Branch, CIA, 5-48
Approved For Keiease 200.3/00/14 : LIA-KUI-P(U-01144A000Z00010010-15
U.S. GPO?S
Approved For Release 2003/05/14: CIA-RDP79-01144A000200010010-8
PEOPLE AND GOVERNMENT Page X-19
(3) Labor organizations
Soviet trade-unions are an important part of the labor
scene. In 1941 they included within their ranks 85 per-
cent of the total Soviet industrial labor force, or 25.5
million workers and employees, of whom probably about
two-thirds were in the European USSR. The unions play
an intimate part in the lives of the workers, since their
functions are much wider than the functions of Western
trade-unions. They administer a far-reaching system of
social insurance, including benefits for superannuation,
invalidism, temporary disability, sickness, maternity, and
so on. They attend to the drawing up of collective agree-
ments with employers, settle relative wage rates and in-
dustrial disputes, supervise industrial training and labor
protection legislation, and in many other ways look after
the professional and personal interests of their members.
However, they do not bargain with the state for higher
wages.
(4) Methods of obtaining workers
Labor in the Soviet Union is planned and regulated like
all other sections of economic activity, and stringent war-
time controls insured that workers were kept on the job
wherever they were most needed. These controls have
not yet been formally abrogated, although their practical
application may have become less severe with the return
of veterans to civilian life and the consequent easing of
the extremely strained labor situation.
Industry recruits its labor supply through various chan-
nels, an important source of supply of young skilled work-
ers being the State Labor Reserve Schools set up by the
Government in 1940 and now operating under the Ministry
of Labor Reserves created in May 1946. The trainees of
these schools, boys 14-19 years of age and girls 15-18, are
drawn from collective farms and urban centers according
to quotas laid down by the government, which maintains
the students during their period of training and requires
them to work where directed for four years after gradu-
ation. Males 19 years of age may be assigned to heavy
industry directly by administrative decree without receiv-
ing prior vocational training in the labor reserve schools.
By August 1947 more than 3 million trainees had been
graduated from these schools and drafted into industry,
mainly into the metalworking and construction branches.
Older workers are recruited from collective farms on the
basis of contracts drawn up between the farms and indi-
vidual industrial enterprises. Alternatively, they are re-
cruited by local labor exchange offices operated by the
Ministry of Labor Reserves, and then trained on the job,
either at the work bench under the supervision of ex-
perienced workers, or in various part-time courses arranged
by the factory authorities and the trade-unions.
The technical personnel for industry?engineers, econ-
omists, and others?is recruited from government-sup-
ported colleges and technical schools throughout the coun-
try. Students pay fees to these institutions, but those
who are successful in their studies receive government
stipends and are drafted into the appropriate branch of
industry on completion of their training.
Collective farms recruit their rank-and-file workers from
among members of the collectives and their families. Ex-
perts for agriculture are obtained by sending suitable
young people to be trained in colleges and vocational
schools or in agricultural mechanization schools organized
by the Ministry of Agriculture.
C. Key individuals
Two of the key individuals on the labor scene, Kuznetsov
and Tarasov, are prominent trade-union officials and have
Original
become known in the United States and elsewhere as a
result of their participation in the work of international
bodies in recent years. Vasili Vasilievich Kuznetsov is a
comparatively young man (born in 1901) who received
part of his technical education in the United States and
speaks excellent English. Beginning his career as a steel
worker, he has since risen to high office. Early in 1946
he was appointed to succeed N. M. Shvernik as Chairman
of the Council of Nationalities in the Supreme Soviet of
the USSR. He has carried these duties in addition to those
of his previous appointment, held since March 1944, of
Chairman of the All-Union Central Council of Trade-
Unions, in which capacity he took a prominent part in
important trade-union meetings and also meetings of the
United Nations in England, San Francisco, and Paris. He
headed the Soviet Trade-Union Delegation which visited
the United States in 1945 as guest of the CIO.
Unlike Kuznetsov, Mikhail Petrovich Tarasov speaks
very little English, though he has also been internationally
prominent in recent years. Formerly Chairman of the
Central Council of Railway Workers in the Central Region,
he became a Secretary of the All-Union Central Council
of Trade-Unions in March 1944. He participated in the
Anglo-Soviet Trade-Union talks in 1943, headed the Soviet
Trade-Union Delegation which visited the liberated areas
of Italy in 1944, and in 1945 was present as a Soviet repre-
sentative at the British Trades-Union Congress held in
Blackpool, England, and at the World Trade-Union Con-
ference held in Paris. He became Chairman of the RSFSR
Supreme Soviet in June 1947.
Another important labor figure is Petr Georgievich
Moskatov. He was appointed Chairman of the Chief Ad-
ministration of Labor Reserves of the USSR when that
body was established in 1940, at which time he was Chair-
man of the Committee for the Registration and Distribu-
tion of Labor Force established in 1938. His previous job
was that of a Secretary of the All-Union Central Council
of Trade-Unions, in which capacity he drew up in 1938
a "Draft of Model Rules for Trade-Unions."
In May 1946 the two bodies of which Moskatov was
chairman were merged into the single Ministry of Labor
Reserves, and he was replaced by V. P. Pronin as head of
the new organization. Pronin now emerges as an im-
portant official in the labor sphere after a career previously
devoted to Party politics. His previous appointments have
included the following: 1938, Chief of the Section of Party
Personnel of the Moscow City Party Committee, and Third
Secretary of the same committee; 1939, President of the
Moscow Soviet; 1941, member of the Central Committee
of the All-Union Communist Party.
104. GOVERNMENT
A. General characteristics
In three decades the Soviet Government has rooted it-
self in the Russian land and raised the country to the
position of the leading power on the Eurasian Continent.
Bolshevik rule, stemming from the left wing of the inter-
national Marxist movement, meanwhile has transformed
that wing into an effective arm of Soviet foreign policy.
The Soviet Government has survived three major tests:
the intervention and civil war of 1918-1921, the peasant
resistance of 1929-1932, and the invasion by Germany
in 1941-1945. In the process there has developed an all-
powerful government which has monopolized all industry,
communications, and trade; which has brought the peas-
Approved For Release 2003/05/14: CIA-RDP79-01144A000200010010-8
Page X-20
Approved For Release 2003/05/14: CIA-RDP79-01144A000200010010-8
JANIS 40
ADMINISTRATIVE
DIVISION
SOVIET
UNION
CENTRAL
AUDIT
COMMISSION
\\N
'N?NXX
:M.?wz
L\\\
ALL-UNION
CENTRAL COMMITTEE
MEMBER
(UNION)
REPUBLIC
(Also for
Autonomous
Republic)
???????moimm
AUDIT
COMMISSION
\\W,,
KO:?11\
UNION REPUBLIC
CENTRAL COMMITTEE
7
'
OBLAST
(REGION)
(Also /or
\
OBLAST
COMMITTEE
AUDIT
COMMISSION
Autonomous Oblast
and Llyesd)
\\N
CITY
OR
AUDIT
COMMISSION
RAION
(DISTRICT)
CITY OR RAION
COMMITTEE
?\
(A/so for
Yolosi and
National Ohrug
VILLAGE
(SELSOVET)
PARTY CONTROL
GOVERNMENT CONTROL
ELECTION OR
APPOINTMENT
*Also in collective forms, factories, military units, and other basic groups.
ants into collective farms subject to a great amount of
state control; and which has excluded from cultural and
educational activities all currents of thought and behavior
considered antagonistic to Bolshevik values.
(1) Marxist orientation
The most distinctive feature of the Soviet order lies in
its Marxist orientation. Although the Stalin regime modi-
fied tenets of Marxism prized by Communist groups inside
and outside the Soviet Union, Stalin and his associates
continued to interpret domestic and world trends in terms
of the Marxian dialectic.
On the internal front Soviet developments were inter-
preted as the triumph of socialism over capitalism. By
the end of the 1920's the Stalin regime had withdrawn the
concessions to capitalism which had characterized the
period of NEP (New Economic Policy, introduced in 1921) .
The "resumption of the socialist offensive" was signaled
by the inauguratio n of the Five-Year Plans (first plan,
1928-1932) . These plans attached the highest priority
to industrialization, with constant emphasis on heavy in-
dustry and increasing attention to defense industry, par-
ticularly in the Second and Third Five-Year Plans (1933-
1937, 1938-1942) . In agriculture the First Five-Year Plan
practically achieved the elimination of the individual peas-
ant economy and the creation of a network of collective
farms. The agricultural revolution, while directed against
the kulaks (well-to-do peasants) "as a class," actually
aroused violent resistance in the villages among other
peasant groups as well as the kulaks. The program was
pushed through despite this opposition, so that the Bolshe-
viks by the mid-1930s were able to celebrate the victory of
"socialism in one country." The attainment of com-
munism, envisaged as the higher stage of socialism, was
put off to a distant future. Severe repression faced those
PARTY
ORGANIZER *
PARTY
GROUP
SECRETARY
OR BUREAU*
PRIMARY
ORGANIZATION
(FORMERLY CELL)
FIGURE X - 3. Relation of the Communist Party
who anticipated the early disappearance of the Soviet
State or the distribution of products according to need,
regarded in fundamental communist theory as marks of
the communist society of the future.
On the international front a basic Marxist doctrine em-
phasized the inevitability of class struggle within capital-
ist states and between capitalist and proletarian states.
This doctrine did not exclude the possibility of a rap-
prochement between the Soviet State and individual
groups of capitalist states, a possibility attributed chiefly
to the existence of divisions among the "bourgeois" pow-
ers. At certain periods the Soviet leaders have emphasized
the gulf between the bourgeois and socialist worlds; at
other periods they have laid stress on the community of
interest between the Soviet Union and "progressive" bour-
geois powers. Since the end of World War II the trend
has been toward the former view.
(2) One-party dictatorship
The dominant force in the Soviet State is the All-Union
Communist Party, which directs all governmental and
public activities (FIGURE X-3)..The dictatorship of the
proletariat envisaged by Marx and Engels boiled down to
the dictatorship of one party, a party forged by Lenin and
Stalin into a disciplined instrument of great maneuver-
ability. After 1921 no party except the Communist Party
functioned in the USSR, and after 1930 no group within
the Communist Party was able to advance a program in
opposition to the Stalin program. Although distinctions
are maintained between Party and state apparatus, there
is no doubt about the supremacy of the Party organs.
The tendency to place the leading Party personalities
in the highest state positions has been prominent ever
since the launching of the First Five-Year Plan. This ten-
dency was especially marked during the recent war, when
Approved For Release 2003/05/14: CIA-RDP79-01144A000200010010-8
Original
Approved For Release 2003/05/14: CIA-RDP79-01144A000200010010-8
PEOPLE AND GOVERNMENT
Page X-21
41111111M111110111111EMMIIIIIIIIIIIMMII
USSR COUNCIL OF
MINISTERS
USSR
SUPREME
COURT
4
USSR
PROSECUTOR
GENERAL
?
? ,
)
UNION REPUBLIC
COUNCIL OF MINISTERS
UNION REPUBLIC
SUPREME COURT
UNION REPUBLIC
PROSECUTOR
OBLAST EXECUTIVE
COMMITTEE
4
CITY OR RAION
EXECUTIVE
COMMITTEE
4
OBLAST SOVIET
WORKERS DEPU
Or,
OBLAST
IL
COURT
PROSECUTOR
OBLAST lib,
VILLAGE EXECUTIVE
COMMITTEE
6,000,000
COMMUNISTS
(left) to the USSR Government (right).
Id /00,000,000
VOTERS
BASIC SOURCES: CONSTITUTION OF THE USSR AND CHARTER OF THE COMMUNIST PARTY
Stalin formally assumed the highest administrative post
as Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars. Pre-
viously, Stalin as a rule had operated through Party rather
than governmental channels.
For purposes of elections non-Party people are allied
with the Communist candidates in a "bloc." Since the
program of the non-Party candidates is completely in-
distinguishable from that of the Party, voters are not en-
abled to choose between alternative platforms. One mo-
tive for the prominence given non-Communist candidates
was the desire of the Soviet leaders to have the non-Party
masses identify themselves with the regime. The non-
Party element associated with the Party candidates in the
elections and other mass campaigns was designed as a
means to facilitate this identification.
(3) Federal elements
The Soviet State assumed a federal form both in its most
important unit, the Russian Soviet Federated Socialist
Republic, and in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
as a whole. At its inception in 1922 the USSR was com-
posed of four constituent Republics. The number of con-
stituent (or Union) Republics has since increased to 16
(FIGURE X-5). The increase was achieved by the grant of
republic status to Central Asian and Caucasian peoples,
and by the incorporation in 1940 of states and parts of
states along the European borders of the Soviet Union.
The federal form was adopted in order to take account
of the existence of nationality groups with distinct lan-
guages and cultures, rather than to promote geographical
decentralization. A Soviet formula specified that minori-
ty groups should have a structure "national in form, so-
cialist in content." Under this formula localized patterns
of language and culture were permitted as long as the
dominant economic, political, and ideological standards
Original
were not challenged. Despite the constitutional guaran-
tee of the right of Union Republics to secede from the
Union, any tendencies toward separation were ruthlessly
suppressed by Union authorities.
Soviet ideology in the past has viewed as twin evils evi-
dences of "great-power chauvinism" (meaning Great Rus-
sian dominance) and of "bourgeois nationalism" (which
has been most troublesome in the Ukraine) . In recent
years, however, there has been a tendency to accord more
recognition to the Russian element in the Soviet State, a
tendency accentuated during the war.
The administration of the Soviet State is highly cen-
tralized. Structurally, functions are classified according
to their degree of centralization. Administration of basic
industries, transportation, and communications was placed
on the most centralized basis. Light industry, trade,
agriculture, and "political" activities were less centralized,
and cultural and welfare activities are the least centralized
of all. While these distinctions have their importance,
sufficient centralized control is maintained by Party ma-
chinery even in the educational field (one of the most de-
centralized) to insure that local variations do not affect
fundamentals.
B. Government of the USSR
(1) Constitutional basis
The basic law describing the Soviet governmental struc-
ture is the 1936 Constitution of the USSR, a successor to
the RSFSR Constitution of 1918 and the first Soviet Con-
stitution of 1924. As far as the formal structure of gov-
ernment is concerned, the 1936 Constitution (Stalin Con-
stitution) locates the ultimate power in the Soviets (coun-
cils) of Working-People's Deputies. The Constitution
modified the previous arrangements of higher organs by
Approved For Release 2003/05/14: CIA-RDP79-01144A000200010010-8
Approved For Release 2003/05/14: CIA-RDP79-01144A000200010010-8
Page X-22 JAN IS 40
providing at the apex of the Soviet system a Supreme So-
viet of the USSR, directly elected by the population. The
Supreme Soviet is a representative body with more than
one thousand members. Since the doctrine of "separation
of powers" is not accepted in Soviet theory or practice,
the Supreme Soviet combines legislative, executive, and
judicial functions. The Supreme Soviet is the only organ
empowered to pass laws (zakony), but the Presidium of
the Supreme Soviet and the Council of Ministers issue en-
actments which are laws in all but name. The Soviet ju-
diciary is not regarded as an independent branch of the
Government, although judges are accorded a limited in-
dependence. The courts have no power to declare laws
unconstitutional.
The 1936 Constitution introduced a "Bill of Rights and
Duties" into Soviet law. The basic rights, which it de-
scribes as guaranteed to Soviet citizens, include such civil
liberties as freedom of speech, press, religion, assembly,
and organization, and inviolability of the person, home,
and correspondence. Equalitarian provisions prohibit
discrimination against Soviet citizens on grounds of sex,
race, or nationality. Cultural and economic rights include
the right to education, employment, rest and leisure, and
maintenance in old age and infirmity. However, these
constitutional guarantees have not led to any relaxation
of the one-party system nor to any lessening of police
surveillance. Soviet authorities have manifested no dis-
position to allow the characteristic institutions of Western
democracy to take root in the Soviet Union.
(2) Supreme organs of power
(a) Supreme Soviet.?Elected by popular vote, the
Supreme Soviet is constitutionally the highest organ in the
USSR. It consists of two chambers?the Soviet of the
Union and the Soviet of Nationalities?which are regarded
as equal in authority (FIGURE X-3). The Soviet of the
Union is composed of over 600 representatives, chosen on
a population basis, one for each 300,000 inhabitants. The
Soviet of Nationalities consists of over 700 representatives,
apportioned among the national units: 25 for each Union
Republic, 11 for each Autonomous Republic, five for each
Autonomous Region, and one for each National District.
Semiannual sessions of the Supreme Soviet are required
by the Constitution. The two chambers of the USSR Su-
preme Soviet always meet at the same time in separate or
joint sessions.
Two elections for the Supreme Soviet of the USSR have
been held: on December 12, 1937 and February 10, 1946.
These elections had similar features. The electorate in-
cludes practically all citizens of 18 years and older. For
the second election the qualifying age for candidates was
raised from 18 to 23. Before the election all but one of the
possible candidates in each electoral district were elimi-
nated after some discussion. The process of securing a
consensus upon agreed candidates was undoubtedly engi-
neered behind the scenes by Party groups. It was possible
to vote against the single candidate or to spoil ballots, but
few voters availed themselves of these opportunities. Con-
sequently, voting percentages of close to 100 percent were
reported to have been cast for the "Communist and non-
Party bloc," although in the 1946 election (the first in
which they took part) the Baltic Republics lagged a slight
distance behind. A majority of the candidates were Party
members.
Since Soviet elections do not involve any significant
choices, they offer little information on opinion trends to
the Soviet leaders. However, the leaders can utilize the
nomination process and the campaign before the elections
as a means of checking on morale and public opinion.
One reason for the holding of elections is that they pre-
sent an occasion for great campaigns to indoctrinate the
public in the virtues of the regime. Also, the results are
intended to fortify the impression abroad of a people com-
pletely united in support of the Soviet Government.
In its sessions the Supreme Soviet has passed constitu-
tional amendments (which require a two-thirds vote) and
various important laws, such as the annual budget law
and the Fourth Five-Year Plan. These laws have not
undergone substantial change in the course of the Su-
preme Soviet deliberations and have been adopted unani-
mously. Each of the chambers uses a number of com-
missions, such as a budget commission, a foreign affairs
commission (which has not been prominent) , and a com-
mission on legislative proposals. The latter has not been
active, but a recent statute anticipates that it will work
more or less continuously between sessions on projected
laws, especially on the various Soviet codes of law now
undergoing revision.
Constitutionally, the powers of the Supreme Soviet are
defined in two ways. Certain powers are specifically dele-
gated to the Supreme Soviet: these include the power to
legislate, a broad investigatory power, and an appointive
or elective power with regard to the Presidium of the Su-
preme Soviet, the Council of Ministers, Supreme Court,
and Procurator General. In addition, the Supreme Soviet
inherits all powers constitutionally within the province of
USSR authorities which are not assigned to a subsidiary
organ such as the Presidium or Council of Ministers. In
practice the sessions of the Supreme Soviet last only a few
days and have been characterized by a cut-and-dried exe-
cution of its assigned role. Meetings of the Supreme
Soviet do not serve as an occasion for a general presenta-
tion of the work of the Government as a whole, such as
formerly characterized legislative sessions, but reports on
individual topics and on the work of individual depart-
ments are frequently presented.
(b) Presidium of the Supreme Soviet.?The Presidium
is a group of 32 members elected by and responsible to the
Supreme Soviet. It is a successor to the Presidium of the
Central Executive Committee, which until 1937 performed
similar functions. The Presidium of the Supreme Soviet
is the collective president of the Soviet Union, assuming,
usually through its Chairman, the position of formal
head of the state. In addition to the Chairman there are
16 Deputy Chairmen, one for each of the Union Repub-
lics. The Presidium thus serves as a device for drawing
together the geographical units forming the Union, be-
cause the Deputy Chairmen are also important officials
of the Union Republics (Chairmen of the Presidiums of
the respective Supreme Soviets).
The Constitution vests a number of honorific and policy
functions in the Presidium. Its more formal powers con-
cern honors, citizenship, amnesties, reception of foreign
representatives, and ratification or denunciation of treat-
ies. Emergency powers are vested in the Presidium to
institute martial law, order mobilization, and declare war.
Ministers and high military leaders come under the Pre-
sidium's power of appointment. Perhaps the most im-
portant function of the Presidium derives from its power
to interpret the Constitution and other laws. Specifically,
it is empowered to rule on the validity of acts of the Coun-
cils of Ministers of the USSR and of the Union Republics.
Its power over cabinets of the Union Republics is an im-
portant factor in the federal system. The Presidium does
not seem to exercise a continuous coordinating function
Original
Approved For Release 2003/05/14: CIA-RDP79-01144A000200010010-8
Approved For Release 2003/05/14: CIA-RDP79-01144A000200010010-8
maimidemile.??????1 PEOPLE AND GOVERNMENT
Page X-23
USSR COUNCIL OF MINISTERS *
CHAIRMAN
FIRST DEPUTY CHAIRMAN
OTHER DEPUTY CHAIRMEN
SECRETARY (UPRAVLYAYUSHCHI DELAMI)
ALL-UNION MINISTRIES t
AGRICULTURAL MACHINE CONSTRUCTION
AGRICULTURAL SUPPLIES (ZAGOTOVKI)
ARMAMENTS
AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY
AVIATION INDUSTRY
CELLULOSE AND PAPER INDUSTRY
CHEMICAL INDUSTRY
COAL INDUSTRY OF EASTERN DISTRICTS
COAL INDUSTRY OF WESTERN DISTRICTS
COMMUNICATIONS (SVYAZ)
COMMUNICATIONS INDUSTRY
CONSTRUCTION OF FUEL ENTERPRISES
CONSTRUCTION OF HEAVY INDUSTRY
ENTERPRISES
CONSTRUCTION OF MILITARY AND
NAVAL ENTERPRISES
ELECTRIC POWER STATIONS
ELECTRICAL INDUSTRY
FERROUS METALLURGY
FOOD RESERVES
FOREIGN TRADE
GEOLOGY
HEAVY MACHINE CONSTRUCTION
LABOR RESERVES
MACHINE AND INSTRUMENT CONSTRUCTION
MACHINE TOOL CONSTRUCTION
MATERIAL RESERVES
MEDICAL INDUSTRY
NONFERROUS METALLURGY
PETROLEUM INDUSTRY OF EASTERN DISTRICTS
PETROLEUM INDUSTRY OF SOUTHERN AND
WESTERN DISTRICTS
RIVER MERCHANT MARINE
ROAD AND CONSTRUCTION MACHINE
BUILDING
RUBBER INDUSTRY
SEA MERCHANT MARINE
SHIPBUILDING INDUSTRY
TRANSPORTATION (PUTI SOOBSHCHENIYA)
TRANSPORTATION MACHINE CONSTRUCTION
UNION REPUBLIC MINISTRIES t
AGRICULTURE (SELSKOYE KHOZYAISTVO)
ARMED FORCES
CINEMATOGRAPHY
CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS INDUSTRY
FOOD DELICACIES INDUSTRY (VKUSOVAYA)
FINANCE
FISH INDUSTRY OF EASTERN DISTRICTS
FISH INDUSTRY OF WESTERN DISTRICTS
FOOD INDUSTRY
FOREIGN AFFAIRS
FORESTRY
HEALTH
HIGHER EDUCATION
INTERNAL AFFAIRS
JUSTICE
LIGHT INDUSTRY
MEAT AND MILK INDUSTRY
STATE CONTROL
STATE FARMS
STATE SECURITY
TEXTILE INDUSTRY
TIMBER INDUSTRY
TRADE
*The organization of the Council of Ministers of a Union
Republic is similar but the Ministries are divided into
Union Republic Ministries and Republic Ministries.
'0-lave Representatives in Union Republics.
::Corresponding Ministries are formed in the Union
Republics.
OTHER ADMINISTRATIVE ORGANS
COUNCILS (SOVETY)
COLLECTIVE FARM AFFAIRS
COORDINATION OF SCIENTIFIC WORK OF UNION
REPUBLIC ACADEMIES OF SCIENCE
ECONOMIC COUNCIL (PRESENT EXISTENCE UNCERTAIN)
RELIGIOUS CULTS AFFAIRS
RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH AFFAIRS
COMMITTEES
ALL-UNION COMMITTEE OF STANDARDS
ARCHITECTURAL AFFAIRS
ART AFFAIRS
MEASURES AND MEASURING INSTRUMENTS AFFAIRS
PHYSICAL CULTURE AND SPORT AFFAIRS
RADIO INSTALLATION AND BROADCASTING
STALIN ART AND LITERATURE PRIZES
STALIN SCIENCE AND INVENTION PRIZES
COMMITTEE ON INVENTIONS AND DISCOVERIES
MAIN ADMINISTRATIONS (CLAVNYYE UPRAVLENIYA)
CIVIL AIR FLEET
GEODESY AND CARTOGRAPHY
HYDROMETEOROLOGICAL SERVICE (GIDROMETSLUZHBA)
INDUSTRIAL AND CONSUMER COOPERATIVES
NATIONAL COAL SUPPLY (GLAVSNABUGOL)
NATIONAL PETROLEUM SUPPLY (GLAVNEFTESNAB)
NATIONAL TIMBER SUPPLY (GLAVSNABLES)
NORTHERN SEA ROUTE
OTHERS
STATE PLANNING COMMISSION (GOSPLANJ
SOVIET INFORMATION BUREAU
TELEGRAPH AGENCY OF THE SOVIET UNION (TASS)
UNITED STATE PUBLISHING HOUSES (OGIZ)
STATE PERSONNEL-PLANNING COMMISSION
(SHTATNAYA KOMMISSIYA)
STATE ARBITRATION
BASIC SOURCES: CONSTITUTION OF THE USSR AND AMENDMENTS, AND SOVIET PRESS
FIGURE X - 4. Organization of the USSR Council of Ministers. ?
in regard to Soviet administrative agencies. It does, how-
ever, formally install new ministries and central agencies,
as well as their chiefs. Although its work is theoretically
subject to review by the Supreme Soviet, not all Presidium
edicts require ratification by the Supreme Soviet. Edicts
which require confirmation include those which alter the
system of Autonomous Republics, krais, and ?blasts; those
which alter the framework of government departments;
those providing for the appointment or removal of min-
isters; and those affecting citizenship and certain other
laws.
(3) Central administrative agencies
(a) Council of Ministers and other coordinating or-
gans.?The Council of Ministers of the USSR, a group of
nearly 60 department heads, is the chief coordinating or-
gan for the administrative branch of the Soviet Govern-
ment. It is responsible to the Supreme Soviet and the
Presidium, and has the power to issue decisions and ordi-
nances (postanovleniya and rasporyazheniya) binding
throughout the Union. Although the Stalin Constitution
deprived the Council of the Power to issue laws (zakony),
the Council has continued to pass enactments which have
the force of law. In 1940, for example, the Council intro-
duced tuition fees for higher education, an action which
in 1947 necessitated a constitutional amendment.
The redesignation of the Council of People's Commis-
sars in 1946 as the Council of Ministers represented a
Original
reversion to pre-Bolshevik terminology. This change was
a formal recognition of the emergence of a stable and
powerful bureaucratic machinery, far removed from the
primitive Bolshevik conception of self-government.
The closeness of the Party to the state organs is illus-
trated in the joint enactments issued by the Central Com-
mittee of the Communist Party and the Council of Min-
isters. Since 1930 the most important policy decisions
have been handed down through this dual channel.
In the central Government the Council of Ministers is
at the dividing line between lower executive organs (min-
istries and their agencies) , which operate on the basis of
single-person rule, and higher organs such as the Supreme
Soviet, Presidium, and Council of Ministers, which operate
on the "collegial" principle, i.e., by majority rule. The
significance of this distinction is lessened, of course, by
the influence of Party initiative on both legislation and
administration.
In addition to the Council of Ministers, the Soviet ad-
ministrators have found that specialized coordinating
agencies were necessary. The Council of Labor and De-
fense acted in this capacity under the Union Constitution
of 1924. In 1937 the Economic Council of the Council of
People's Commissars emerged as a subsidiary coordinat-
ing organ. As the number of commissariats increased
rapidly in the late 1930's and the Council of People's Com-
missars became more unwieldly, the Economic Council
Approved For Release 2003/05/14: CIA-RDP79-01144A000200010010-8
Approved For Release 2003/05/14: CIA-RDP79-01144A000200010010-8
Page X-24 JANIS 40
increased in impor Lance. It was split in 1940 into six
specialized councils?for defense industry, fuel and elec-
tricity, metallurgy and chemistry, machine building, con-
sumers' goods, and agriculture (FIGURE X-4) . These coun-
cils have not been prominent recently, and they may have
been abolished. It is probable that similar coordinating
functions over areas of government activity are now per-
formed through the offices of the Deputy Chairmen of the
Council of Ministers. The number of these Deputy Chair-
men has increased to 10, of whom only three have indi-
vidual ministerial responsibility, in the very important
areas of foreign affairs, foreign trade, and defense. It is
significant that the Chairman and almost all of the
Deputy Chairmen of the Council of Ministers are members
of the Politburo of the Party. In 1946 a unique type of
coordinating organ, the Council for Collective Farm Af-
fairs, was founded in the field of agriculture on a semi-
representative basis.
The working of the Soviet economy is bound up with
planning. One of the most important government agen-
cies, therefore, is the State Planning Commission (Gos-
plan). Preliminary planning lies within the scope of the
specialized departments and the various regions, but the
coordination and elaboration of these plans into the am-
bitious Five-Year Plan is the business of Gos plan. Since
these plans eventually receive legal force by their incor-
poration into legislation, failure to achieve the announced
goals becomes a matter of criminal jurisprudence. Gos-
plan has, in addition to a large staff devoted to the work-
ing out of plans, a staff to check on plan fulfillment. For
this purpose it sends "commissioners" to various regional
governmental bodies, the commissioners remaining free
of any local control.
(b) Ministries and other administrative agencies.?
In contrast to the 10 People's Commissariats which existed
in the Soviet Government of 1923, the government oper-
ated through almost 60 ministries in 1947 (FIGURE X-4).
The increase is attributable to two factors. The growth of
industry involved a multiplication of the units subject to
state administration. Simultaneously, the administra-
tive sphere assigned to individual ministries was narrowed.
A restricted area of responsibility was entrusted to each
Minister in a production organization so as to allow the
Minister to develop more competence and to assume more
personal responsibility in his special field. The change
was especially marked following the seventeenth Party
Congress (1934), which condemned "functionalism" in
organization and advanced the "production-territorial"
principle. Under "functionalism" there was a tendency
to split up control of a factory or other enterprise among
various sections devoted to planning, procurement of ma-
terials, supply, personnel, supervision, finance, technical
standards, and other "functions." This organization was
paralleled in the government departments. The line of
control, which often by-passed the nominal chiefs, went
from the planning unit of the government department, for
example, through the planning organs of the trust to the
planning unit of the factory or even the shop. A result
of this system was that the director of a factory or the
head of a higher unit merely coordinated the activities of
these specialized units. With the abolition of functional-
ism, the factories, trusts, and Main Administrations were
treated as units, under the central control of their direc-
tors or chiefs. Specialized sections were responsible only
to the chief and not to the comparable section of the su-
perior government agency. The grouping together of
enterprises engaged in the same type of production?e.g.,
linen factories or coal mines?represented organization
according to the "production" principles. These groups
were divided by regions, so that the coal mines of the Don
basin were in one organization and those of Karaganda in
another. This represented organization according to the
"territorial" principle.
The principle of single-person control (yedinonachaliye)
has been applied down the line from the ministries in
Moscow to the individual production units. The "col-
legiums" (groups of top departmental administrators)
were abolished in 1934 but reestablished in 1938, without
the constitutional status that they had formerly pos-
sessed. They exist at the present time, but are regarded
as advisory rather than policy-making organs.
The principle of federalism determines the basic classi-
fication of USSR Ministries into "All-Union" and "Union
Republic." The former are the more centralized, operat-
ing through directly subordinate units over the whole
Union. The All-Union Ministries have "commissioners"
(upolnomochennyye) to the governments of the Union
Republics. These commissioners serve as supervisors of
activities in the particular regions, and also guide Repub-
lic activities toward fulfillment of the needs of the All-
Union Ministry. The Union Republic Ministries of the
USSR operate for the most part through Ministries of
the Republics, almost all of which bear the same name as
the USSR Ministries. This system is designed to allow
accommodation to local peculiarities. In addition to these
activities conducted on a semidecentralized basis, the
Union Republic Ministries of the USSR conduct certain
activities on an All-Union basis, i.e., through directly
subordinate organs. According to the Constitution, only
enterprises specifically approved by the Supreme Soviet
are supposed to be operated on an All-Union basis.
Important shifts have occurred in the allocation of
functions between All-Union and Union Republic organs.
The most important of these shifts was the constitutional
reform of 1944 transferring the conduct and administra-
tion of foreign affairs and defense from an All-Union to a
Union Republic basis. The ultimate consequences of this
change are still not clear. The present limited appear-
ance of several Soviet Republics in international negotia-
tions may foreshadow greater activity of the Republics in
foreign affairs. In Soviet theory the Union Republics are
sovereign states, and Soviet leaders may strive for world
recognition of these states as sovereign. The final result
in regard to the Soviet armed forces may be the develop-
ment of individual armies in the constituent Soviet Re-
publics. Basically, however, the power of integration and
ultimate control in the fields of defense and foreign af-
fairs is likely to remain with the central bodies of the
USSR for a long time to come.
The basic pattern of distribution of functions is now
clear. Industry (except the production of consumers'
goods), transportation, communications, and construction
are administered on an All-Union basis. Foreign trade,
based on state monopoly, is All-Union, as is the collection
of agricultural products. On the other hand, light in-
dustry (primarily consumers' goods), farming, and retail
trade are handled on a Union Republic basis. Most of the
more strictly "political" functions are also on a Union Re-
public basis, e.g., foreign affairs, armed forces, state se-
curity, internal affairs, finance, state control (audit and
check on governmental agencies), and justice. The cul-
tural and welfare activities of the USSR are organized on
a Union Republic basis as regards higher education,
cinema, art, health, and physical culture.
Those governmental functions for which there is no co-
ordinating center in the Soviet Government are left to
Original
Approved For Release 2003/05/14: CIA-RDP79-01144A000200010010-8
Approved For Release 2003/05/14 : CIA-RDP79-01144A000200010010-8
ume19.1910PRITR?mm PEOPLE AND GOVERNMENT
Page X-25
Republic Ministries; these are described in section 104,
C, (3).
The USSR ministries, separated into "All-Union" and
"Union Republic," and the "Other Administrative Organs"
are shown in FIGURE X-4.
C. Governments of the Union and Autonomous Re-
publics
(1) Constitutional basis
The 16 constituent Republics of the USSR have similar
state structures, reminiscent of the USSR structure. In
Soviet theory the Union Republics are sovereign states.
In practice their autonomy is highly restricted, since de-
cisions on most important questions are USSR decisions.
The principal features of Republican government are out-
lined in the Soviet Constitution of 1936. This outline is
filled in by Republican constitutions; these date from
1937-1938, except for those of the five republics added in
1940. Each constitution provides for a Supreme Soviet,
Presidium, and Council of Ministers. The Supreme So-
viets of the Republics are unicameral, with representation
on a population basis. Even the RSFSR, which has the
greatest number of minor nationalities, has no nationali-
ties chamber in its legislative body. Each Union Repub-
lic has its own Supreme Court. The essentials of the
"Bill of Rights and Duties" of the Soviet Constitution are
reproduced in Republican constitutions, with some changes
in phraseology.
(2) Organization of republic governments
(a) Supreme Soviets.?The Supreme Soviets of the
Union Republics are directly elected by the population in
secret balloting (FIGURE X-3) . The elections, held in June
1938 and February 1947, resulted in the usual near-unani-
mous victory for the "bloc of Communist and non-Party
candidates," which had no rivals. The proportion of
representatives to population varies widely among the
Republics: In the RSFSR there is one representative for
each 150,000 people; in the Armenian SSR and other small
Republics there is one for each 5,000 people. The size of
the Supreme Soviet varies, in spite of the compensation
introduced by the differing ratios. There are less than
300 members in the Armenian Supreme Soviet, over 700
in the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR. A four-year term
of authority is fixed constitutionally for the Supreme
Soviets, but this term was exceeded in the case of the
Supreme Soviets elected in 1938.
The occasional sessions of Supreme Soviets of the Re-
publics have been brief and routine. The members' time
is absorbed for the most part by formalities such as listen-
ing to reports of commissions and voting on constitutional
changes. Deputies sometimes comment critically on the
work of certain government departments, but it is impos-
sible to determine the extent to which this criticism is
spontaneous.
The Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of a Union Re-
public includes a Chairman, who is the titular head of
the government, several Deputy Chairmen, and members,
the total ranging between 10 and 40. Autonomous Re-
publics are represented on the Presidium of the Union
Republic: the Chairman of the Presidium of an Autono-
mous Republic is a Deputy Chairman of the Union Re-
public's Presidium.
The Presidium of a Republican Supreme Soviet has
powers on the Republic Level comparable to the powers
of the Presidium of the USSR: it appoints ministers, ef-
fects organizational changes, and issues interpretations
of Republic laws.
Original
The Council of Ministers of each Republic is a group of
about 30 department heads, the top administrative body
of the Republic. It has a Chairman and several Deputy
Chairmen. Although a coordinating organ, like the
Union Council of Ministers, the Republic Council of Min-
isters exercises this function chiefly in relation to admin-
istrative spheres in which no USSR center exists. The
Council of Ministers has the power to issue decisions and
ordinances but not laws. It may review enactments
passed by the cabinets of Autonomous Republics. The
meetings of the Council, which occur frequently, are de..
votedto both Republic and local affairs, with much atten-
tion to general education, the most important function
administered from the Republic level.
(b) Ministries and agencies.?The administrative
agencies of the Republics follow USSR models. They are
grouped on a federal principle into Union Republic and
Republic Ministries. The former have a counterpart on
the USSR level; the latter do not. For Union Republic
Ministries of the constituent Republics there is a "dual
subordination," which makes them responsible vertically
to the USSR Ministry in the given field and horizontally
to the Council of Ministers of the Republic. Theoretically
the Ministry could be torn between regional and national
policy, but practically the structure of Soviet federalism
is so tight that such conflicts rarely become serious.
The Union Republic Ministries listed are common to
most of the Union Republics; individual variations are
noted.
Agriculture
Armed Forces (lacking in RSFSR and possibly other
Republics)
Construction Materials Industry
Finance
Fish Industry
Food Delicacies Industry
Food Industry
Foreign Affairs (lacking in RSFSR)
Forestry
Health
Higher Education (lacking in RSFSR and other Re-
publics?)
Internal Affairs (lacking in RSFSR)
Justice
Light Industry
Meat and Dairy Industry
Reclamation (in White Russian SSR only)
State Control
State Farms (lacking in some Republics)
State Security (lacking in RSFSR)
Textile Industry
Timber Industry
Trade
The following Republic Ministries are common to all
Republics:
Communal Economy Local Industry
Education Motor Transport
Local Fuel Industry Social Security
(3) Union Republics of European USSR
(FIGURES X-5 and X-6)
(a) RSFSR.?The RSFSR occupies a unique position
among the Union Republics. It was the first Soviet Re-
public to be founded, and even today it overshadows the
other Republics in population, area, and degree of cul-
tural and economic advancement. Furthermore, the
RSFSR includes in its structure most of the minority
peoples of the Union except for those granted status as
Union Republics.
Approved For Release 2003/05/14 : CIA-RDP79-01144A000200010010-8
?L?191111111WINPIND
Page X-26
Approved For Release 2003/05/14: CIA-RDP79-01144A000200010010-8
JANIS 40
I OF V I . C I 41.1 PUBLI
ESTONIAN
SSR
12 OBLASTS
BELORUSSIAN
SSR
LATVIAN
S SR
OBLAST
25 OBLASTS
UKRAINIAN
SSR
LITHUANIAN
SSR
'OBLAST
MOLDAV IAN
SSR
Apt
AUTO N
EF;.0.0.!,1
KARELO - FINNISH
SSR
I AUTON.
OBLAST
KALININGRAD
OKRUG
...............
...........
...............
..................
....................
.....................
..............
.....................
'(TERRITORIE
AUT
LAS .
.......... . ..... .
?????
INCLUDED IN J:NIS 4
FIGURE X - 5. Chart of administrative divisions ..of the USSR.
Approved For Release 2003/05/14: CIA-RDP79-01144A000200010010-8
Original
Approved For Release 2003/05/14: CIA-RDP79-01144A000200010010-8
PEOPLE AND GOVERNMENT Page X-27
The RSFSR is called a "federated" Republic because of
the presence of these many nationalities, which are
granted a special status varying according to their im-
portance and level of culture. It has within its border
12 Autonomous Republics, 5 Autonomous Oblasts, and 10
National Districts. Of these subdivisions, six Autonomous
Republics and one National District lie within European
USSR.
The Autonomous Republics of European RSFSR with
their dates of formation are as follows:
Chuvash (April 21, 1925) Mordovian (December 20, 1934)
Komi (December 5, 1936) Tatar (May 27, 1920)
Mari (December 5, 1936) Udmurt (December 28, 1934)
The only National District of European RSFSR is the
Nenetskiy Natsional'nyy Okrug.
Most people in the RSFSR live outside of these special
autonomous units and are governed through the cus-
tomary local organs.
The structure of the RSFSR Government at the high-
est levels is only slightly modified by federal influences.
The Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR has no apparatus for
special representation of the "autonomous" groups. The
Presidium, on the other hand, distributes its Deputy Chair-
men among the Autonomous Republics. The Ministries
of the RSFSR function differently in autonomous areas
and in nonautonomous areas. In Autonomous Republics
the RSFSR Ministries operate through the Ministries of
the Autonomous Republics, on a basis comparable to the
relationship between the Union Republic Ministries of
the USSR and the corresponding Ministries of the Union
Republics. All Ministries of the Autonomous Republics
operate under "dual subordination," that is, they are re-
sponsible jointly to the cabinet of the Autonomous Repub-
lic and to the Ministry of the RSFSR. Since 1936 there
has been no ministry on the Autonomous Republic level
that corresponds in status to the Republic Ministries of
the Union Republics. Local conditions sometimes do not
warrant the establishment of certain ministries in the
Autonomous Republics, for example, ministries controlling
industry or state farms.
(b) Ukrainian SSR and White Russian SSR.?The
Ukrainian SSR and White Russian SSR were charter mem-
bers of the USSR. Each possesses the usual Soviet insti-
tutions. Structurally the organization of these Repub-
lics is less complicated than that of the RSFSR because
neither possesses any autonomous units. Each govern-
ment contains agencies peculiar to the locality.
(c) Other western border republics.?Five Union Re-
publics were added to the USSR in 1940. These were
created as a result of the absorption of the Baltic States,
Bessarabia and northern Bukovina, and part of Finland.
The Karelo-Finnish SSR was created in March 1940
after the end of the Russo-Finnish War of 1939-40. A
Karelian Autonomous Republic embracing part of the ter-
ritory had existed previously under the RSFSR. On the
basis of this Autonomous Republic, with the addition of
the land and people acquired from Finland, the Karelo-
Finnish SSR was formed.
The three Baltic Republics (Estonia, Latvia, and Lithu-
ania) became constituent Republics of the USSR in Au-
gust 1940. The governments followed in structure the
usual Soviet model, except that the traditional local sub-
divisions were retained.
The Moldavian -SSR was founded in August 1940," fol-
lowing cession of Bessarabia and northern Bukovina to
the USSR by Rumania. The Republic was based on a
union of the newly acquired territory with the territory
Original
of the Moldavian Autonomous Republic, which had ex-
isted since 1924 under the Ukrainian SSR.
(4) Autonomous Republics
Autonomous Soviet Socialist \Republics, which exist
within four Union Republics, are governed through a state
structure essentially similar to that of the Soviet Union
and of the Union Republics. The basic structure of Au-
tonomous Republics is outlined in the Constitutions of
the USSR and the Union Republics. The Supreme Soviet
is the highest organ. It is a unicameral legislative body
elected for a four-year term. Elections have been held
simultaneously with those of Union Republics. The re-
sponsible executive organ of the Supreme Soviet of the
Autonomous Republic is a Presidium, which meets regu-
larly and is presided over by a chairman, who is the titular
leader of the Republic. A Council of Ministers is gubordi-
nate to the Supreme Soviet and the Presidium. This
Council directs the administration of the Republic's af-
fairs. On it are represented the various Ministries of the
Autonomous Republic. These Ministries are not the same
in all Republics, but include as a rule agencies for agri-
culture, finance, trade, internal affairs, state security,
state control, justice, health, education, local industry,
communal economy, social security, and other matters.
Certain industrial ministries may be formed if the Repub-
lic has such industries within its control. All of the Min-
istries of Autonomous Republics operate under "dual sub-
ordination," i.e., they are responsible to both the Autono-
mous and Union Republic governments.
D. Local governments
(1) Basic structure
Local government in the USSR possesses more uniform-
ity than local government in the important Western
states, yet presents a varied and intricate picture. The
basic areas and organs of local government are prescribed
in the Soviet Constitution. Elected soviets (councils)
constitute the highest organs at all levels of local govern-
ment. Although a two-year term of office is speciftd, the
last elections for local soviets were held in December 1939.
As responsible executive agencies for these soviets, there
are elected officers and, except in the smallest units of
rural government, executive committees (ispolnitelny
komitet, abbreviated as ispolkom). These executive com-
mittees have a number of specialized divisions which are
responsible for particular spheres of government activity.
The executive committees of the larger units have asso-
ciated with them "administrations" (upravleniye) formed
by the All-Union Ministries and the security organs.
These are not, however, responsible in any way to the
local government.
The regional structure of local government is fixed
constitutionally, the krais (territories) and oblasts (re-
gions) being listed in the Soviet Constitution and smaller
units down to raions (districts) being listed in some Re-
public constitutions. Raions are not listed for the RSFSR
and other Republics where there are great numbers of
raions. Changes in the status of these enumerated sub-
divisions require constitutional amendments.
(2) Regional governments
(a) Krais and oblasts.?Krais and oblasts are the
largest governmental units below the Union Republic
level. Administratively their position is comparable to
that of Autonomous Republics, although they lack the
characteristic features of the latter. Krais, which exist
only in the RSFSR, are outside the area under considera-
tion. They are vast and sparsely settled border areas.
Approved For Release 2003/05/14: CIA-RDP79-01144A000200010010-8
Page X-28
Approved For Release 2003/05/14: CIA-RDP79-01144A000200010010-8
JANIS 40
The oblast government is headed by an oblast Soviet of
Workers' Deputies, which is supposed to meet four times
a year. The executive committee functions through de-
partments (otdel) for such activities as agriculture,
finance, trade, health, education, local industry, com-
munal economy, social maintenance, highways, art, and
personnel. In addition there are a "general" department,
a planning commission, and sometimes industrial and
state-farm departments. These various departments are
local organs responsible to the local soviet and executive
committee and also responsible to the corresponding Min-
istry of the Republic. Oblasts possess, in addition to the
departments? mentioned above, "administrations" estab-
lished by certain All-Union Ministries and by the security
organs of the republic.
Oblast governments are not primarily operating units
of administration. They concentrate their attention
upon the planning and general supervision of govern-
mental activities within the borders of the region, and
especially upon planning and supervising the activities of
raion executive committees.
(b) National okrugs.?Okrugs, once an important
link between oblasts and raions in the Soviet structure of
local government, are now almost extinct except for 10
national okrugs, all in the RSFSR and all subordinated
either to krais or to oblasts. There is only one okrug in
European USSR. Each national okrug sends one repre-
sentative to the Soviet of Nationalities of the USSR. The
national okrug has the characteristic government by the
Soviet of Workers' Deputies and executive Committees.
(3) District (raion) governments
Raions exist in all Republics and are the most important
operating units of Soviet local government. There are
about 5,000 raions of all types. In 1930 the raions in-
herited the functions, resources, and personnel of the
okrugs when most of the latter were eliminated. Except
for cities, which are directly subordinate to oblast or Re-
public governments, the raions constitute the basic ad-
ministrative units for local functions in such fields as
agriculture, finance, trade, health, roads, and social wel-
fare.
The raion Soviets of Workers' Deputies, the highest dis-
trict organs, are supposed to meet at least six times a year.
Each raion soviet elects an executive committee (raiispol-
kom) which forms departments to perform the various
functions assigned to district administration.
(4) Cities and towns
The largest cities are subordinated directly to the Re-
public governments. Smaller cities and towns are sub-
ordinated to oblasts or raions. Sometimes the rural en-
virons of a town are joined with the urban area in a single
administrative unit. This fusion offers a means by which
the city institutions can serve the surrounding popula-
tion. It also brings the rural population under the tu-
telage of the "more advanced" city population.
Cities and towns have the usual elected soviets with
elected chairman and deputies. Administrative manage-
ment is vested in the executive committee (gorispolkom).
This operates through functional departments for finance,
public utilities, trade, health, and other activities carried
on by city and town governments.
(5) Smallest units
The smallest unit of local government is the village
soviet (selsovet). Over 50,000 village soviets are in ex-
istence. The smaller village soviets have no executive
committee and elect a chairman and a few officials to per-
form the very limited governmental functions. Conse-
quently there are no functional departments at the selso-
vet level. At one time the village Soviets of Workers'
Deputies managed rural schools and collected taxes and
insurance payments from the rural population. Because
of unsatisfactory work they were relieved of these func-
tions. They are now more concerned with "activation"
of the rural population in support of various governmental
programs than' with administrative work.
105. POLITICAL FACTORS
A. Introduction
The Soviet political system is characterized by the
unique role played by the one and only political party, the
Communist Party of the Soviet Union. The Communist
Party dominates all political affairs and all organized
activity in schools, trade-unions, productive enterprises,
military units, and all public organizations (FIGURE X-3).
The Soviet Constitution of 1936 regularized a situation
that already existed when it described the Party as "the
leading core of all organizations of the working people,
both public and state." The Party maintains its control
of the Government and of the economy through the guid-
ance of state organs and assignment of Party members to
key positions.
The all-pervading activity of the Communist Party pre-
vents the formation of independent pressure groups.
There are, no doubt, interest groups (based on sectional,
religious, class, occupation, and nationality ties) , which
in unorganized ways can influence state policy. Such in-
terest groups, however, have never been able to offer se-
rious rivalry to the Party.
Party supremacy over government organs is an acknowl-
eged fact. Party rules provide for it. It is illustrated
by Stalin's career, which includes years of rule exclusively
through Party organs. Molotov, when head of the govern-
ment, once said explicitly that the government would take
no step on any important matter without first securing
the advice of the Party's Central Committee, and es-
pecially of "Comrade Stalin."
The domination of the government by the Party has not
involved a breaking down of the distinction between the
two organizations. They exist as parallel hierarchies,
with much interpenetration at all levels.
B. The Communist Party of the Soviet Union
(1) Ideology
The Communist Party is based on Marxian philosophy
as interpreted by Lenin and Stalin. In charting their way,
Soviet leaders have drawn on the maxims of Realpolitik
to implement tactics, but their basic political assumptions
have, as a rule, been Marxist.
The important dogmas of Marxism accepted in current
Soviet thinking may be stated in summary form:
1) The basic element in society is the material organization
of the society, the mode of production incorporated in the
life of a given people. Production involves two elements:
the production forces, inanimate and animate (the means
of production plus the labor force, people equipped with
certain techniques and habits of labor) ; and the relation-
ships of production (the relationships of people in terms
of the possession of the means of production) . The changes
in the productive forces constitute the primary moving
force in social change, although the changes in relation-
ships of production influence the development of productive
forces. The conflict between newly arising productive forces
and outmoded productive relationships, expressed in class-
struggle, leads eventually to the substitution of a new order
Approved For Release 2003/05/14: CIA-RDP79-01144A000200010010-8
Original
Approved For Release 2003/05/14: CIA-RDP79-01144A000200010010-8
PEOPLE AND GOVERNMENT
for the old. This substitution can be accomplished only
through a revolutionary overthrow of the old order.
2) Capitalism represents the highest form of class society.
Although capitalism was a progressive form of society, when
compared to feudalism, it now hinders the further develop-
ment of society. As capitalism develops, the concentration
of capital in the hands of a few monopolists becomes more
extreme, and the impoverishment of the mass of the work-
ing population becomes more marked.
The final stage of capitalism is imperialism, characterized by
monopoly, fusion of finance with industrial capital, the ex-
port of capital (foreign investments) , international car-
telization, and the final division of the world among capital-
ist powers. Because of the internal crises into which capi-
talism is periodically thrust, the various capitalist powers
seek relief abroad, through expansion of foreign markets,
etc. The unequal development of capitalism in the various
countries leads to imperialist wars, of which World Wars I
and II are the examples par excellence. The weakening of
capitalism as a result of war makes possible a break in the
capitalist united front and the victory of the proletariat,
usually in the country constituting the weakest capitalist
link.
3) The transition from capitalist to proletarian rule can be
accomplished only by violent revolution. The large-scale
industry promoted by capitalism serves as the economic
basis for assembling the vanguard of the toilers into labor
unions and political parties. Through these the class-con-
scious workers can organize the revolution. Led by the Com-
munists, the workers are driven inevitably to overthrow
and destroy the bourgeois state and its apparatus (police,
army, bureaucracy) , and to institute a new state, the dic-
tatorship of the proletariat. In order to survive, the prole-
tariat must win over as allies the working farmers, particu-
larly in an agricultural country. The proletarian dictator-
ship will take the form of "soviets of working people's
deputies," i.e., councils organized on a class basis, rather
than the form of a parliament organized on the basis of
popular representation. Eventually this proletarian dic-
tatorship will give way to a classless society, but until the
liquidation of capitalist encirclement the state will remain,
even though the proletarian society is able to progress from
the lower socialist form to the higher communist form of
organization.
4) The socialist state may be able to survive even if it remains
alone in a capitalist world. The period of coexistence will
probably be long, and may, for a time, be peaceful. Never-
theless, the period will be characterized by wars, because
capitalism (particularly in its present imperialist form)
breeds wars. These wars may be capitalist-socialist wars
or wars between capitalist states. If the latter, the socialist
state may or may not be involved. The security of a social-
ist state lies in the prevention of any concert of capitalist
powers, for such a concert would range the isolated socialist
state against the combined capitalist world.
5) A long period is required for a socialist state to transform
itself into a communist society. Such a transformation will
be completed only when certain conditions are achieved:
a) The economy produces so abundantly that the distribu-
tion system can be based on the needs rather than on the
productive contributions of each worker. b) Internally
there is no further necessity for the existence of repressive
forces (the state apparatus) because the ex-ruling classes
have disappeared, there are no more classes, and the popu-
lation has acquired the habits of socialist living. c) Ex-
ternally the disappearance of capitalist states has removed
the necessity for the existence of armed forces to defend
the socialist state. When these conditions are achieved,
the proletarian state will wither away and the new, class-
less society will be the form of human existence.
6) The USSR is the prototype of future proletarian states.
The Bolshevik discovery that soviets (councils based on a
class principle) rather than parliamentary institutions con-
stitute the appropriate form of proletarian rule will ease
the way for other peoples who Seek to establish a socialist
state.
7) The Soviet Union has attained "socialism in one country";
the attainment of communism must be projected into a
distant future. The Soviet State must not begin to wither
away but on the contrary must become ever stronger, be-
cause the victories of socialism lead to ever more desperate
resistence on the part of threatened capitalist groups.
Original
Page X-29
These dogmas are not necessarily publicized in propa-
ganda at any given time, but they are basic in the think-
ing of Soviet leaders. Propaganda at home is directed to
the activation of the Soviet population in support of the
Party programs and policies. It must fill the minds of
the Soviet population with the official rationale for every
government and Party act. In addition it must take ac-
count of the indifference and resistance which the Party
line may encounter, because the discrepancy between the
stereotype and the reality of Soviet life constantly gives
rise to skepticism. Propaganda directed abroad must
seek to rationalize Soviet activities in such a way that the
Soviet Union appears as the most progressive and demo-
cratic of all countries?a country which is struggling for
a peaceful world against the machinations of reactionaries
and fascists, who are an influential or controlling force in
the non-Soviet countries. A primary purpose of this
propaganda abroad is to supply the ideological ammuni-
tion to the friends of the Soviet Union abroad in their
struggle against "reactionary" opponents.
(2) Organization
The Communist Party is organized on a territorial and
functional basis in a pyramidal structure. Primary Com-
munist organizations are formed in factories, collective
farms, military units, and government offices. These are
grouped together in city or raion units which are, in turn,
combined into oblast and krai organizations and into
Union Republic bodies. (The Union Republic level is
omitted in the RSFSR.) The regional and Republican
bodies in combination elect the highest organ of the All-
Union Communist Party. "Democratic centralism" is the
stated principle of Party organization, involving election
of Party organs, periodic reports of these organs to the
Party organizations, strict Party discipline, subordination
of the minority to the majority, and strict obedience by the
lower organization to the decisions of higher bodies. In
practice the elections and devices for democratic control
tend to be mere formalities, while the control exercised
by the leading Party organs is very real. The Party rules
prohibit Union-wide intra-Party discussion of policy, ex-
cept under certain carefully defined conditions.
(a) All-Union meetings.?In a formal sense the All-
Union Congress of the Communist Party is the highest
Party authority (FIGURE X-3). The interval between Con-
gresses has lengthened, despite a clause in the Party rules
providing for a Congress at least every three years. The
last Congress, the eighteenth, was held in 1939. Although
at one time Congresses provided an occasion for Party
debates on policy, recent ones have lacked this feature.
Important changes of policy are, however, sometimes an-
nounced at these Congresses.
Between the "triennial" Congresses the Party is sup-
posed to assemble in All-Union Conferences, held yearly
except for Congress years. This provision has not been
fulfilled, since the last Party Conference, the eighteenth,
was held in 1941. The Conference differs from the Con-
gress in several respects besides the prescribed times for
their being held. Deputies to the Conference are chosen
by a less representative system than that employed in or-
ganizing a Congress. The Conference has the power to
replace only one-fifth of the membership of the Central
Committee, whereas the Congress can elect an entirely
new body. The All-Union Conference ranks in authority
below both the Congress and the Central Committee of the
Party, the latter having to ratify most Conference de-
cisions.
(b) Party organs.?The principal organ of the All-
Union Communist Party is its Central Committee, whic
Approved For Release 2003105114: CIA-RDP79-01144A000200010010-8
Approved For Release 2003/05/14: CIA-RDP79-01144A000200010010-8
Page X-30 JAN IS 40
consists of about 140 leading Party figures, half of whom
are full members and half candidates. (The candidates
participate in meetings but do not have voting rights.)
The Central Committee has fairly regular meetings
(plenums); according to the Party rules a plenum is to be
called every four months. These meetings last for several
days; the members hear reports on governmental or party
problems and make decisions concerning them. Although
the proceedings of these meetings are not made public
(unlike reports of Congresses and Conferences) , decisions
and occasional speeches are reported. Party decisions
requiring implementation by the masses are, of course,
given wide publicity.
Current work of Central Party organs is directed by the
Secretariat, a small group of top Party administrators.
It was from his post as First or General Secretary of the
Party, a position he still holds, that Stalin assumed con-
trol over the Party following Lenin's death. The Orgburo
(Organizational Bureau) is a somewhat larger group
charged with general direction of Party organizations.
For policy matters the key Party organ is the Politburo
(Political Bureau) , a group of 14 high Party leaders who
consider and decide questions of general policy. The fact
that the leading branches of administration are repre-
sented on the Politburo simplifies the process of integrat-
ing state and Party activities.
Two larger organs function under the Central Commit-
tee of the Party. The Central Auditing Commission
checks the efficiency and correctness of operations of the
central Party apparatus, including the Secretariat and
enterprises (i.e., newspapers and institutes) attached to
the Central Committee. A more important Party organ
is the Commission of Party Control, a group of about 70
Party representatives which checks on the fulfillment of
Party decisions. This agency sends "commissioners" to
local Party organs for review of local activities. In co-
operation with governmental control agencies, the Com-
mission checks on the fulfillment of Party decisions by
government organs.
The Central Committee forms Administrations and De-
partments to coordinate Party and state activities on cer-
tain topics. The Administration of Propaganda and Agi-
tation centralizes control of ideological activities. This
work is particularly important because of the Party's in-
tense interest in ideological matters and because there is
no governmental organ on the All-Union level which per-
forms a similar function. The Cadres Administration is
charged with the distribution of Party workers among
various Party and state posts. There are other depart-
ments concerned with organizational matters and with
military and agricultural affairs.
(c) Regional and local Party units.?Below the All-
Union level the Party structure follows the geographical
breakdown of Republican and local government. The
Communist Parties in the Union Republics (with the ex-
ception of the RSFSR) and in the oblasts are subject to
the authority of a Party assembly (Congress or Confer-
ence). Party administration is managed by Central Com-
mittees (in the Union Republics) and by Committees (in
the oblasts) which bring together at intervals the Party
leaders from the various parts of the area. These Com-
mittees establish executive organs of not more than 11
persons and secretariats of four or five, whose appoint-
ments must be ratified by the Central Committee of the
All-Union Party. City and raion Party organizations have
a simpler org niza tion. A yearly Party Conference is
called for by Jhe Party rules but is not necessarily con-
vened. The responsible executive organs are a city or
raion Committee, a Bureau, and a Secretariat.
(3) Leaders (members of the Politburo)
(a) Joseph Stalin (Joseph Vissarionovich Dzhugash-
vili).?Stalin, "leader" (vozhd) of the Communist Party
and the people of the Soviet Union, was born on December
21, 1879 in the Georgian village of Gori. His father was
a cobbler and died when Stalin was 11 years of age. Stalin
failed to complete his studies at the Tiflis Theological Sem-
inary, which he left in 1899 after having already entered
the ranks of the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party?a
Marxist party in which the Bolshevik and Menshevik
groups subsequently formed separate factions. There-
after he was almost continually engaged in revolutionary
activity, and a large part of his time before 1917 was spent
in prison, in exile, or in hiding from the police. His first
recognition on a national and international scale in the
Communist Party came in 1912, when he was appointed
a member of the Party Central Committee. He played a
prominent part in the events in Petrograd (now Lenin-
grad) that led to the October Revolution in 1917, when
the Communist Party seized power, and he became a mem-
ber of the Politburo when it was first organized in May
1917.
Stalin's domination of the Party apparatus dates from
his election in 1922 to the position of Secretary General of
the Communist Party, a post which gave him power over
Party personnel questions. He successfully overcame all
opposition within the Communist Party after Lenin died
in 1924, sometimes combining with one extreme faction
to overcome the other extreme and subsequently reversing
his position. After Trotsky's exile to Alma-Ata in 1928,
Stalin became undisputed leader of the Communist Party;
most of the other prominent old-time Bolsheviks were
progressively removed from the Party during the purges
of the following decade. Although Stalin then became
the real ruler of the state and received credit for the new
Constitution of 1936, he abstained from official partici-
pation in the constitutional government until the out-
break of war with Germany in June 1941. Following the
German invasion, he became Commander in Chief of the
Armed Forces, Chairman of the State Defense Committee,
Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the
USSR (now Council of Ministers) , People's Commissar of
Defense of the USSR (now Minister of Armed Forces) , and
a Marshal of the Soviet Union (subsequently promoted to
the rank of Generalissimo) . After the war the State De-
fense Committee ceased to exist, and in 1947 Stalin gave
up his responsibilities as Minister of Armed Forces of the
USSR.
(b) V. M. Molotov (Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Skria-
bin).?Molotov was born in 1890, the son of a shop clerk.
He completed technical high school in Kazan and in 1912
attended the School of Economics of the Polytechnical
Institute in St. Petersburg (now Leningrad) but did not
finish the course. In 1906 he joined the Communist Party
and held minor Party posts between periods of arrest and
exile. He became prominent in the Party after the Revolu-
tion and in 1920 was made an alternate member of the
Central Committee, rising in the following year to be a
full member of the Central Committee and an alternate
member of the Politburo. He became a full member of the
Politburo and a member of the Executive Committee of
the Comintern in 1926. After holding several lesser posts
in the constitutional government of the USSR (member of
the Presidium of the RSFSR Central Executive Committee,
1927-1929; member of the Presidium of the Central Ex-
Approved For Release 2003/05/14: CIA-RDP79-01144A000200010010-8
Original
Approved For Release 2003/05/14: CIA-RDP79-01144A000200010010-8
PEOPLE AND GOVERNMENT Page X-31
ecutive Committee of the USSR after 1929) , Molotov be-
came Chairman of the Council of Labor and Defense and
of the Council of People's Commissars in 1930. He held the
latter post until he was replaced by Stalin in 1941, when
he became First Deputy Chairman of the Council of
People's Commissars of the USSR (now Council of Minis-
ters) and Deputy Chairman of the State Defense Com-
mittee. Previously (1939) he had succeeded Maxim Lit-
vinov as People's Commissar of Foreign Affairs (now
Minister of Foreign Affairs) , a post he still holds. He has
represented the USSR at all important international con-
ferences since that time.
(c) Marshal of the Soviet Union Kliment Yefremo-
vich Voroshilov.?Voroshilov was born in the Ukraine in
1881, the son of a railroad watchman. He did not learn
to read and write until the age of 12. He went to work in
a locomotive factory when he was 15 years old and became
a member of the Communist Party in 1903. After periods
of exile and imprisonment, he took part in the February
Revolution of 1917 in Petrograd (now Leningrad) and
later that year assisted in the formation of the Cheka, the
Bolshevik secret police. In 1918 he fought in the Ukraine
as commander of the Fifth Ukrainian Army, and com-
manded the Tenth Army in the defense of Tsaritsyn
(Stalingrad). In 1919-1921 he directed the First Cavalry
Army in operations against Denikin, Pilsudski, and Wran-
gel, becoming a member of the Central Committee of the
Communist Party at that time. When Frunze died in
1925, Voroshilov succeeded him in the posts of People's
Commissar for Military and Naval Affairs and Chairman
of the Revolutionary Military Council. In the following
year he became a full member of the Politburo. In the
governmental reorganization of 1934 he became People's
Commissar of Defense, retaining that post until he was re-
placed by Stalin in 1941. In 1940 he was made a Deputy
Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the
USSR (now Council of Ministers) , a post he still retains;
in 1941 he became a member of the State Defense Com-
mittee, a post he held until 1944, when he was succeeded
by Bulganin. At the outbreak of hostilities with Germany
he received an important assignment as chief of the troops
on the Northwestern Front, but within three months had
shown himself incapable of handling the problems of mod-
ern warfare and was given a training assignment. In 1943
he became Commander of Partisan Troops, and on several
later occasions he was charged with coordinating opera-
tions among various military fronts (army groups) . He
became the first Chairman of the Allied (Soviet) Control
Commission for Hungary, established in 1945. Of late he
has apparently ceased to take an active part in the Soviet
Government but continues to appear at state functions
and to be an intimate of Generalissimo Stalin.
(d) Lazar Moiseyevich Kaganovich.?Born of a Jew-
ish family in 1893 and trained as a tanner, Kaganovich
entered the Communist Party in 1911 in Kiev (Kiyev) . He
was active during the Revolution, and rose in 1922 to the
post of chief of the Organization and Instruction Section
of the Central Committee of the Communist Party. In
1923 he became an alternate member and in 1924 a full
member of the Central Committee. From 1925 to 1928
he was Secretary General of the Ukrainian Communist
Party; in 1926 he became an alternate member of the
Politburo and in 1930 a full member. Subsequently he
held many other high Party posts and received credit for
the construction of the Moscow subway and canal. He
has been in charge of the following Commissariats (now
Ministries) of the USSR at different times from 1935 to
1947: Transportation, Heavy Industry, Oil Industry, Fuel
Original
Industry, and, most recently, Building Materials Industry.
In 1942 he became a member of the State Defense Commit-
tee and in 1944 a Deputy Chairman of the USSR Council
of People's Commissars (now Council of Ministers). In
March 1947 he was relieved of all positions in the constitu-
tional government and put in charge of the Ukraine as
First Secretary of the Ukrainian Party Central Committee.
(e) Andrei Andre yevich Andreyev.?Born of peasant
stock near Smolensk in 1895, Andreyev became a factory
worker, joined the Communist Party in 1914, and made his
main career for many years in the trade-union movement.
In 1920 he became a secretary in the All-Russian Central
Council of Trade-Unions and from 1922 to 1927 was Chair-
man of the Central Committee of the Railroad Workers'
Union. Meanwhile he became a member of the Central
Committee of the Communist Party in 1920; he was made
an alternate member of the Politburo in 1926 and after six
years became a full member. He has held several posts as
a People's Commissar of the USSR, the latest being that
of People's Commissar of Agriculture. In 1939 he became
head of the Party Central Committee's Control Commis-
sion, which supervises the carrying out of Party directives.
In 1946 Andreyev became a Deputy Chairman of the Coun-
cil of Ministers of the USSR and headed the new Council
for Collective Farm Affairs under the Council of Ministers
that was created in the fall of that year. He drew up
the Three-Year Plan for agriculture adopted by the Central
Committee of the Communist Party in February 1947 and
seems now to have become a specialist in agricultural
matters.
(f) Anastas Ivanovich Makoyan.?Makoyan was born
of a family of Armenian workers in Tiflis (now Tbilisi) in
1895 and remained in that general area until 1926. He
entered the Communist Party in 1915 and was one of the
Communist leaders imprisoned during the British occupa-
tion of Baku in 1918-1919. In 1926 he was appointed
People's Commissar of Trade. Subsequently he held the
posts of People's Commissar of Provisions and of Food
Industry, in which capacity he visited the United States
in 1936. In 1938 he became People's Commissar (now
Minister) of Foreign Trade, a position he has retained to
the present time. Long a member of the former Central
Executive Committee of the USSR, in 1937 he was made
a Deputy Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars
(now Council of Ministers) , and in 1942 he was appointed
to the State Defense Committee. He seems to have been
comparatively inactive in Party organizations but was
made an alternate member of the Politburo in 1926 and a
full member in 1935.
(g) Andrei Aleksandrovich Zhdanov.?Zhdanov was
born in 1896, the son of a Ukrainian school inspector. One
of the few top Communists with academic training, he
attended the Agricultural Academy in Moscow (Moskva)
in 1913. Previously active in revolutionary work, he
joined the Communist Party in 1915. In 1916 he was
drafted into the Russian Army where he engaged in sub-
versive propaganda work. During the early years of the
Soviet regime he held minor Party posts in the provinces.
In 1925 Zhdanov became an alternate member of the Cen-
tral Committee, not attaining full membership in that
body until five years later. Only in 1934 did he gain an
important position in the Party hierarchy. In that year
Zhdanov was added to the membership of the Central
Committee's Secretariat, which included also Stalin,
Kaganovich, and Sergei Mironovich Kirov, the last-named
popularly reputed to be Stalin's favorite and vested with
control of the USSR's second city, Leningrad. When
Kirov was assassinated in December 1934, Stalin entrusted
Approved For Release 2003/05/14: CIA-RDP79-01144A000200010010-8
Approved For Release 2003/05/14: CIA-RDP79-01144A000200010010-8
Page X-32 JANIS 40
Zhdanov with the post of First Secretary of the Leningrad
City and Oblast Party Committees, and Zhdanov has re-
tained his link with that city up to the present time, al-
though he relinquished the actual administrative responsi-
bilities in 1945.
The critical year in Zhdanov's career was 1934. At
that time, in addition to succeeding Kirov in Leningrad,
he became an alternate member of the Politburo and a
member of the Orgburo. In the following year he was
made a member of the Executive Committee of the Com-
intern. In 1938 he became Chairman of the Foreign
Affairs Commission of the Soviet of the Union and a mem-
ber of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.
In 1938 and 1939 he was prominent in the organizational
affairs of the Communist Party and delivered a major
speech at its Eighteenth Congress in 1939. In that year
he also became head of the Propaganda and Agitation
Administration of the Central Committee.
Zhdanov is reported to have been a strong advocate of
the war with Finland in 1939-1940, which was waged
chiefly by forces based in Leningrad. Despite the reverses
the USSR suffered in that war, Zhdanov remained in good
standing with Stalin and recouped his national reputation
during the war with Germany. He was the Leningrad boss
and Chairman of the Leningrad Military Council during
the defense of that city. In 1944 Zhdanov, now a Colonel
General, signed the armistice with Finland and became
Chief of the Allied (Soviet) Control Commission for that
country. His administration in Finland has been con-
sidered the most successful of the Soviet administrations
in ex-enemy countries.
Zhdanov has in recent years been cast in the role of
cultural leader of the Communist Party. He delivered a
major speech in Leningrad in August 1946 laying down
the Party line in artistic matters. On November 6, 1946,
he spoke for the Party on the twenty-ninth anniversary
of the October Revolution. Earlier in that year he was
elected Chairman of the Soviet of the Union?one of the
chambers of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR?but re-
signed his post in 1947 because of the pressure of other
duties. At the present time Zhdanov holds a few positions
in the constitutional government and seems to be primarily
occupied with the internal affairs of the Communist Party;
he is on the Secretariat and the Orgburo of the Central
Committee.
(h) Nikita Serge yevich Khrushchev.?Khrushchev
was born in 1894 in a mining town near Kursk. In his
youth he worked on a farm and then as an iron worker
in the Donbass. He joined the Communist Party in 1918
and after fighting in the Civil War became a Party leader
in the Ukraine. His opportunity for advancement came
in 1929, when he completed a course of studies at the
Stalin Industrial Academy in Moscow (Moskva) . During
the years between 1931 and 1938 he rose in the Party lead-
ership in Moscow, serving as First Secretary of the Mos-
cow City and Oblast Party Committees after 1935. In 1934
he became a member of the Central Committee of the
Communist Party and in 1938 an alternate member of
the Politburo. In the latter year he left Moscow to assume
charge of the Ukrainian Party organization and in 1939
he became a full member of the Politburo. During the war
he remained in the Ukraine, serving as a member of the
Stalingrad Military Council and in similar posts. Made a
Lieutenant General in 1943, he became Chairman of the
Council of People's Commissars of the Ukraine in the
following year. There were reports of maladministration
in the Ukrainian Party organization in the years follow-
ing the liberation of the area, and in 1947 Khrushchev was
replaced as First Secretary of the Ukrainian Party organ-
ization by Kaganovich. He remained Chairman of the
Ukrainian Council of Ministers, as it is now called.
(i) Lavrenti Pavlovich Beriya.?Beriya was born in
1899, entered the Communist Party in March 1917 and
remained a Party worker in the Georgian and Trans-
caucasian area until the late 1930's. He received a degree
in architecture from the Baku Polytechnical Institute in
1919. From 1921 to 1931 he was a leader in the Georgian
Cheka (secret police) , or GPU as it was later called. In
1931 he became First Secretary of the Georgian Party
Central Committee. Suddenly, in December 1938, he
succeeded M. Yezhev (subsequently purged) as People's
Commissar of Internal Affairs of the USSR, a position that
he retained until 1946. Before that time he had held
only minor posts in the central government. In 1939
Beriya became an alternate member of the Politburo, at-
taining full status in 1946. In 1941 he became a member
of the State Defense Committee and a Deputy Chairman
of the USSR Council of People's Commissars (now Council
of Ministers) , a post he has retained. At the present time
he holds no other major post in the constitutional gov-
ernment but is rumored to be in charge of intelligence
activities in connection with Soviet research on atomic
energy.
(j) Georgi Maksimilianovich Malenkov.?Malenkov,
who was born in 1901, has had perhaps the most meteoric
rise in the Communist Party and also, it would seem, the
most recent lapse from grace. Malenkov volunteered for
service in the Red Army in 1919 and joined the Communist
Party in the following year. After the Civil War he studied
at the Moscow (Moskva) Higher Technical School until
1925 and entered upon a career of desk work in the central
Party organization. In 1934 he was put in charge of a
personnel section in the Central Committee and apparently
still directs the corresponding section, now called the Per-
sonnel Administration. In 1939 he became both a mem-
ber and a Secretary of the Central Committee and a mem-
ber of the Orgburo. In 1941 Malenkov was made an alter-
nate member of the Politburo and member of the State
Defense Committee in charge of industry and transport.
Two years later he was put in charge of the Committee for
the Restoration of the National Economy in Liberated
Areas. Early in 1946 Malenkov became a full member of
the Politburo and a member of the Party Control Com-
mission. In August he became a Deputy Chairman in the
USSR Council of Ministers. In October, however, he was
relieved of his duties as a member of the Presidium of the
Supreme Soviet and it was revealed that a new person
had been made a Secretary of the Central Committee.
During the election campaign ending in February 1947
it became obvious that Malenkov was no longer a Secretary
of the Central Committee and that he was overshadowed
in Party propaganda by his seniors on the Politburo. It is
uncertain whether he remains on the Orgburo and the
Party Control Commission.
(k) Nikolai Alekseyevich Voznesenski.?Voznesenski
was born in 1903; his father was an office worker. He
received a degree in economics from the Sverdlov Com-
munist University in Moscow (Moskva) in 1924. A mem-
ber of the Party since 1919, he engaged in Party work in
the Donbass for several years. He became the only mem-
ber of the Politburo to hold a doctoral degree, by receiving
a doctorate in economics in 1931 from the Institute of Red
Professors in Moscow, where he served as an instructor.
In 1935 Voznesenski became Chairman of the Leningrad
City Planning Commission. Three years later he became
head of the USSR State Planning Commission, a post he
Approved For Release 2003/05/14: CIA-RDP79-01144A000200010010-8
OrigintuI
-PA
v Approved For Release 2003/05/14: CIA-RDP79-01144A000200010010-8
PEOPLE AND GOVERNMENT Page X-33
held until the beginning of hostilities with Germany. He
became a member of the Central Committee of the Com-
munist Party in 1939 and an alternate member of the
Politburo two years later. In 1941 he became First Deputy
Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars in charge
of the Economic Council, entering the State Defense Com-
mittee in the following year. Voznesenski returned to the
chairmanship of the State Planning Commission in 1946
and was appointed a Deputy Chairman of the Council of
Ministers at that time. In 1947 he was elevated to full
membership in the Politburo.
(1) Nikolai Mikhailovich Shvernik.?Shvernik is an
Old Party member, and only Stalin and Voroshilov among
the members of the Politburo entered the Party before
him. Shvernik was born in 1888 and joined the Com-
munist Party about 1905, holding various Party posts and
experiencing the usual arrests in the following years.
He first became prominent in 1923 as People's Commissar
of Workers' and Peasants' Inspection of the RSFSR. From
1926 to 1927 he was a Secretary of the Central Committee
of the Communist Party. In 1929, on the removal of
M. Tomski, head of the trade-unions, Shvernik assumed
control of them, retaining his position until about 1944.
In 1939 Shvernik was made an alternate member of the
Politburo, but he has never received full membership. He
was Chairman of the Council of Nationalities of the USSR
from 1937 to 1946; after President Kalinin's death in 1946,
he became Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme So-
viet of the USSR.
(m) Army General Nikolai Aleksandrovich Bul-
ganin.?Although he has had little experience as a field
commander, Bulganin is Marshal Voroshilov's successor
in the administration of military affairs. At the time of
the Civil War, he led operations on the Turkestan Front.
Bulganin was born in 1895; he joined the Communist
Party in 1917. After some experience as a factory man-
ager in the 1920's, he became Chairman of the Moscow
Soviet of Workers' Deputies in 1931, a position that he
held until 1937. Before the war he was Chairman of the
State Bank of the USSR and in 1940 he became a Deputy
Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars (now
Council of Ministers) , presiding over the Economic Coun-
cil of Metallurgy and Chemistry attached to that body.
Beginning in 1942 Bulganin acted as a member of several
Military Councils attached to military fronts (army
groups) , and in 1944 he replaced Voroshilov on the State
Defense Committee. In 1945 he became a Deputy Com-
missar of Defense and in the reorganization of 1946 he
received the portfolio of First Deputy Minister in the
Ministry of Armed Forces of the USSR. When Stalin
resigned as Minister of Armed Forces in 1947, Bulganin
became the new Minister. In 1946 Bulganin was made
an alternate member of the Politburo and member of the
Orgburo of the Central Committee.
(n) Aleksandr Nikolayevich Kosygin.---Kosygin, the
most recent addition to the ruling group in the Soviet
Union, was born in 1904, the son of a St. Petersburg (now
Leningrad) worker, and gradually advanced from factory
hand to factory director. He entered the Communist
Party in 1927 and became Chairman of the Leningrad City
Soviet of Workers' Deputies in 1939. Continuing his rise
in the constitutional government, he became a People's
Commissar for the Textile Industry of the RSFSR in 1939
and Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of
the RSFSR in 1944. He was relieved of the latter post in
1945 and the following year became a Deputy Chairman
of the Council of Ministers of the USSR and an alternate
member of the Politburo.
Original
(4) Membership
The Communist Party of the Soviet Union has multiplied
in membership several times in the course of its 30-year
rule, although only in the last 10 years has the growth
been steady. During the recent war the Party ranks were
opened wider than they had ever been previously, par-
ticularly to men in the armed forces. The current mem-
bership is around 6 million. Since the end of the war
the emphasis has been on indoctrinating present members
rather than on adding new ones.
Party membership is greatest in the central Great Rus-
sian areas and in urban, industrial regions. It is weakest
in rural areas. Membership policy has been broadened
to include more representatives of all strata of society.
The Party rules were changed in 1939 to facilitate the entry
of industrial engineers, administrators, intellectuals, and
peasants, chiefly through the Red Army.
(5) The Party and the government
The Communist Party, as the only legal party in the
Soviet Union, exercises full control over the government.
The relationship between the Party and the government
in the enactment and administration of laws clearly illus-
trates the ruling position of the Party in the Soviet
system (FIGURE X-3) . Legislative enactment or adminis-
trative decision follows rather than precedes Party de-
cisions. Party "directives" have acquired the force of
binding rules, and the Party refers to itself as the "ruling
party." Since the early 1930's important measures have
been promulgated as joint Party-government decrees, those
for the USSR being issued in the name of the Central
Committee for the Party and of the Council of Ministers
(formerly People's Commissars) for the government. For
example, the basic statute of 1935 governing collective farm
organization was issued in this form.
The Party secures its control over the governmental
apparatus through the presence of Party groups in gov-
ernmental organizations on all levels of the hierarchy. In
elective organs, such as the various Soviets, the Party mem-
bers form groups which advance the Party program.
These Party groups are responsible to the corresponding
Party organizations. This device is more important in
local soviets, where the Party group is likely to be in a
minority, than in such bodies as the Supreme Soviet of
the USSR, where the majority are Party members.
Party units in ministries and other administrative
agencies have a somewhat different function from that
of Party units in productive organizations. In ministries
the Party units lack the control functions which they have
in production units. They are not allowed to discuss the
policies adopted by the ministry, because then the Party
unit would become a second center of control, competing
with the ministerial hierarchy. Defects discovered by
Party units in ministries are to be reported to the Central
Committee of the Party and to the chief officials of the
ministry.
At high levels practically all government posts are oc-
cupied by Party members, who as a rule simultaneously
hold important Party posts. Illustrative of this situa-
tion is the fact that 11 of the 14 members of the Politburo
have served in the past year as Chairman or Deputy
Chairmen of the USSR Council of Ministers.
(6) The Party and the Soviet economy
The Party's control over the Soviet economy is as com-
plete as its control over the government apparatus. Since
under the Soviet system most of the economic apparatus
is state-operated, the Party's domination of the state
secures its rule over the economy. On the lower economic
Approved For pelease 2003/05/14: CIA-RDP79-01144A000200010010-8
Approved For Release 2003/05/14: CIA-RDP79-01144A000200010010-8
Page X-34 JANIS 40
levels, in factories and mines and on state and collective
farms, the Party has three principal methods of securing
its dominance. First, the key positions in the economic
hierarchy are frequently occupied by Party members.
Second, within each productive unit the Party group or
groups take an active part in the affairs of the shop, plant,
or farm. Such Party groups, unlike *those at the minis-
terial level, have the right of checking on the activities
of the administration and are ultimately responsible for
the persistence of defects in the work of the enterprise.
Finally, the Party may guide economic activities through
its commanding position in trade-unions and local gov-
ernmental bodies such as the soviets. The process of
differentiating management functions from Party and
trade-union functions has been very troublesome for the
Soviet Government. Despite a gradual increase in man-
agement prerogatives, the share of Party units in control
of economic activities is still very large.
(7) The Communist Party of the Soviet Union and Com-
munist Parties of other countries
In 1943 the Communist or Third International was
liquidated. Since 1919 it had served as an official linking
organization between the Communist Party of the Soviet
Union and the Communist Parties of other countries. The
Third International, always guided by its Soviet unit,
faithfully reacted to turns in the course pursued by Mos-
cow. Since the liquidation of the International, the non-
Soviet Communist Parties have continued to pursue poli-
cies essentially in agreement with Soviet policy. There
are indications that the directive functions of the former
Communist International may have been decentralized
to regional levels. Although the Communist Party of the
Soviet Union as a Party has not engaged in public relations
with other national Parties, the USSR has facilitated the
return to liberated and defeated countries of prominent
ex-Comintern leaders who for years had been residing in
the USSR.*
106. INTERNAL SECURITY AND
PUBLIC ORDER
A. Courts and legal system
(1) Legal system
The Russian system of justice, which was inherited by
the Soviet regime, bore the characteristics of a Continental
or Roman legal system rather than those of English and
American common law courts. Russian law rested on a
set of general principles rationalized into various codes,
rather than on traditional precedents or customs. This
system emphasized legislation more than adjudication,
and the role of the judge more than the role of the jury.
* Information was released in October 1947, that in September
1947 the Communist Parties of nine European countries?the
USSR, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Rumania, Bulgaria,
Yugoslavia, Italy, and France?formed a new international or-
ganization. Popularly designated as the "Cominform," this or-
ganization was formally constituted as an "Information Bureau
of the Communist Parties." Although it was not publicly given
powers of control over the various Communist Parties comparable
to those exercised by the defunct Comintern, undoubtedly the
Cominform is used to integrate Communist activities, at least in
Europe. The leading role assigned to representatives of the USSR
Communist Party at Cominform meetings and in Cominform
organs is a guarantee of Soviet orientation, regardless of the fact
that the Cominform headquarters are assigned to Belgrade (Beo-
grad) rather than to Moscow (Moskva), the headquarters of the
Third International.
The Bolsheviks infused new concepts into the old Roman
system. The socialist system of justice was avowedly a
class system, designed to uphold rule by the proletariat.
A People's Commissar of Justice once said that the Soviet
court is a weapon, more refined than a club or rifle, but
still a weapon. The realization of "justice" is viewed not
as the realization of some eternal and classless principle
but as the realization of "proletarian justice": the achieve-
ment of a socialist economy, the security of the proletarian
state, the overthrow of class enemies. In conformity with
this idea, Soviet criminal law has considered the most
serious crimes to be those against the state, such as
counterrevolutionary plots, and theft of state property and,
following these, antisocial acts in general. Crimes of a
personal character, even homicide, have been punished
less severely. A similar concept was embodied in Tsarist
legislation, although "political" crimes were then defined
somewhat differently.
In the early period of Soviet rule a defendant's social
origin and status strongly influenced the disposition of his
case. For example, for the same offense a "bourgeois"
was given a stiffer sentence than a person of "proletarian"
origin. This factor has receded in importance as the
Soviet social system has developed its own occupational
groups. Social status is still taken into consideration,
however, in that a vagrant or a floating worker now re-
ceives short shrift from Soviet courts.
Although the drawing up of codes of laws was begun
soon after the Revolution, the principal Soviet codes date
from the early and middle 1920's. They have been re-
vised many times, and at present there is a broad program
under way to institute new All-Union codes in place of the
existing, chiefly Republican, codes.
Judges in the USSR are elected for terms varying from
five years for the higher judges to three years for the Peo-
ple's Court judges. The election is by the people in the case
of the lowest courts, and by soviets in the case of the upper
courts. Soviet constitutions prescribe that judges shall be
independent, subordinate only to the law. This "inde-
pendence" does not imply that the judiciary constitutes a
coordinate and autonomous branch of the Government,
nor that judges are free to rule on the validity of adminis-
trative acts. Juries are not used, but courts are always
collegial. The usual practice in cases of original jurisdic-
tion is to have two "public representatives," sometimes
called "people's assessors" (narodnye zasedateli), sit with
the judge on the case. Cases coming up for review are
usually heard by three judges.
Court proceedings are carried on in the language of
the Republic (Union or Autonomous) or of the Autono-
mous Oblast. Translation is provided for persons not
knowing the language. A Soviet bar exists to provide
counsel. Except in special cases, court proceedings are
public.
The "public assessors" on courts are avowedly ama-
teurs, serving for short periods of time. As a matter of
fact, even the full-time Soviet judges have had, in the
majority of instances, little if any formal judicial training.
Formerly the Soviet leaders were chiefly interested in
securing judges who were close to the "people" (i.e., to the
new ruling groups and their ideology) . The development
of a complex body of Soviet law has led to a greater em-
phasis on the training of judges and the development
of trained judicial cadres.
(2) USSR courts
(a) Supreme Court of the USSR.?The USSR Su-
preme Court is elected for a five-year term by the Supreme
Soviet of the USSR. It consists of 69 members and 25
Original
Approved For Release 2003/05/14: CIA-RDP79-01144A000200010010-8
Approved For Release 2003/05/14: CIA-RDP79-01144A000200010010-8
PEOPLE AND GOVERNMENT
Page X-35
public representatives. Its original jurisdiction is limited
to important criminal and civil cases. More important,
the Supreme Court is a court of cassation to review both
the law and the facts of cases decided by inferior courts.
This review can be initiated only by the President of the
Supreme Court or the Prosecutor General of the USSR
(FIGURE X-3).
The Supreme Court functions through five specialized
panels, or collegiums?for criminal cases, civil cases, and
military, railroad, and water transport cases. The court
employs "public representatives" in its trials of original
cases but not in review trials. Unlike other Soviet courts
the Supreme Court of the USSR sits regularly in plenary
sessions attended by the justices, the Prosecutor General of
the USSR, and the Minister of Justice. Through these
plenary sessions the Supreme Court may not only review
decisions of the specialized panels but also hand down
directives to lower courts on judicial matters.
(b) Special courts.?The USSR has three types of
special courts which function as the courts of original
jurisdiction under the specialized panels of the Supreme
Court for military, railroad, and water transport cases.
The military tribunals, which are scattered for the most
part among the armed forces, hear cases involving court
martial offenses among the armed forces and cases of
espionage and treason among the population in general.
The other special courts are the line courts for railroad
and water transportation workers, who are under semi-
military discipline.
(3) Lower courts
(a) Supreme Court of a Union Republic.?A Union
Republic Supreme Court is elected by the Supreme Soviet
of the Republic for a five-year term. It functions both
as a court of original jurisdiction and as a review court.
(b) Oblast (and krai) courts.?The oblast and krai
courts are elected by the Soviets of the respective areas
for a five-year term. They function as review courts on
cases brought up from People's Courts, and as courts of
original jurisdiction for cases too important to be handled
by the People's Courts. The Supreme Courts of the Au-
tonomous Republics occupy a position roughly analogous
to that of the oblast courts.
(c) "People's Courts" (Narodnye Sudy).?People's
Courts, or District Courts, are the most numerous Soviet
courts. "People's judges" are elected for three-year terms
by direct election of raion voters. The People's Courts
have a general jurisdiction in criminal and civil cases, and
handle many disputes connected with labor law. As the
lowest link in the Soviet judicial system they have, of
course, no review functions.
(4) Prosecution
The Prosecutor General (Generalny Prokuror) of the
USSR is at the apex of a legal system separate from and
yet integrated with the Soviet court system and the ad-
ministrative offices of the Ministry of Justice (FIGURE X-3).
Soviet prosecutors, both on the Union level and within
the Republics, play a more important role in the Soviet
Union than does the attorney general in Western coun-
tries. The prosecutor's office not only prepares cases for
trial and presents them in court but has a broad review
authority over judicial matters. The power of the prose-
cutor to initiate a review of judicial decisions makes court
proceedings at all times and places vulnerable to pro-
curatorial intervention. A sign of the authority vested
in the Prosecutor General of the USSR is the fact that his
term of office is fixed constitutionally at seven years, longer
Original
than that for any other Soviet post. In order to achieve
centralized direction of law enforcement, uniform for the
entire USSR, the Prosecutor's staff is independent of local
organs of power. The Prosecutor General of the USSR
is named by the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. The Prose-
cutors of Union and Autonomous Republics and of oblasts
are named by the USSR Prosecutor General. Those for
smaller areas are nominated by the Prosecutor of the
Union Republic, subject to the consent of the Prosecutor
General of the USSR. All but the Prosecutor General of
the USSR have five-year terms. The USSR Prosecutors
may intervene in civil as well as criminal cases. In law
enforcement activities Prosecutors have two basic lines
of approach. On the one hand, they can proceed through
the judiciary, prosecuting cases at all levels and carrying
them from lower to higher courts. On the other hand,
they can operate through governmental channels. In
checking the execution of laws, a prosecutor can complain
of an illegal act of a lower organ of government, such as
a raion soviet, to the government organ immediately su-
perior, the oblast executive committee, for instance.
Prosecutors are warned not to substitute their decisions
for those of administrative agencies and local government
bodies, and in fact they have no power to revoke the de-
cisions of these organs. Nevertheless, the power to review
the activities of these agencies brings under the eyes of
the Prosecutors the whole realm of government activity,
just as the power to initiate and carry forward criminal
prosecutions brings the behavior of all citizens under the
observation of the Prosecutors.
B. Police
The police system of the Soviet Union has two main
arms, the regular police and the security police. Though
at times the two have been brought under the control of
the same department, they are distinct in operation. The
security forces include both uniformed personnel and
secret agents.
(1) Militia
The militia (properly Workers' and Peasants' Militia)
is the regular Soviet police force. It is attached to local
government units and, in the case of the "departmental"
militia, to institutions and enterprises (factories, etc.) re-
quiring special protection. (The departmental militia is
organized on a basis of contract between the militia au-
thorities and the particular institution serviced.) The
militia performs the usual functions of police: walking
beats, guarding property, directing traffic, detecting viola-
tions of laws, and seizing suspects. Although from 1934
to 1943 the militia was usually grouped with the political
police under the Ministry (formerly People's Commis-
sariat) of Internal Affairs, there is no organic connection
between the two groups.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD), as it is now
called, controls the convoy and border troops as well as
the militia and has charge of the penal camps. Convoy
troops act as guards during the transportation of prisoners
while border troops protect the frontier areas. The MVD
directs the work of the Union Republic Ministries of the
same name, except in -the RSFSR, which uses the USSR
apparatus. The MVD has a special type of local organ-
ization in which subordinate MVD "administrations" are
created at all levels of government down to the raions.
During the war the MVD operated the anti-aircraft defense
system and aided the armed forces in many respects. Oc-
casionally MVD troops served in the front lines, but they
were more often employed in mopping up reconquered
areas after the Red Army had moved ahead.
Approved For Release 2003/05/14: CIA-RDP79-01144A000200010010-8
Approved For Release 2003/05/14: CIA-RDP79-01144A000200010010-8
Page X-36 JANIS 40
(2) State security forces
Since the early days of the Soviet regime, the Soviet
leaders have found it advisable to utilize special police
forces, distinct from the militia or ordinary police, to pro-
tect the security of the Government, the safety of the
leaders, and the rule of the Party. Up to 1922 this force
was called the Cheka (Extraordinary Commission for
Struggle with Counterrevolution and Sabotage) . When
it was regularized as a USSR agency in 1923, its name be-
came OGPU (Unified State Political Administration). In
1934, with the creation on a Union Republic basis of a
People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs, OGPU was
transformed into a Chief Administration of this Commis-
sariat. The powers of OGPU were curtailed somewhat in
this transfer. It could no longer try and convict persons
on counterrevolutionary charges, but had to go through
the regular court system. The security organ did retain
and continues to hold the power (which is exercised
through a Special Council) to exile and to confine in con-
centration camps for periods up to five years persons that
it decides are dangerous to the safety of the state.
Administrative responsibility for the direction of the
security forces has been frequently changed. From 1934
to 1941 they were combined with the militia, the convoy
and border guards, the fire departments, and the civil
registry offices under a single department or commis-
sariat, the NKVD (People's Commissariat of Internal Af-
fairs).
In February 1941 the state security or political police
forces were established as a separate commissariat, the
People's Commissariat of State Security. Only a few
months later, however, in July 1941 (after the outbreak
of war with Germany), the two commissariats were again
combined under the direction of Beriya, who had been
prominent in political police work since the early twenties.
By 1943 the commissariats were again divided; security
continued under the direction of Beriya, as People's Corn-
missar of Internal Affairs, until he was relieved of his du-
ties in January 1946. The "other work" to which Beriya
was assigned at that time may very well have comprised a
broad supervision of all security activities from his post
as Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers (formerly
People's Commissars).
The Ministry of State Security of the USSR (MGB) is
organized like the MVD. The security forces are partly
in uniform, partly in plain clothes. They work in close
liaison with the border and convoy troops, and in time of
war with military units. Espionage and counterespio-
nage are largely responsibilities of the MGB, with help be-
ing provided by the MVD. The eriormous powers of the
security police make them a chief bulwark of the regime,
especially in times of trouble. The key individuals in the
police system include:
Lavrenti P. Beriya. (See 105, B, (3) , (1).)
S. N. Kruglov, Colonel General. From 1939 Central Commit-
tee of the Communist Party; 1939-1946 Deputy People's Com-
missar of State Security (First Deputy from 1941) ; attended
Yalta, San Francisco, and Potsdam Conferences. Minister
of Internal Affairs from 1946.
V. S. Abakumov, Deputy People's Commissar of Internal Af-
fairs from 1941; Minister of State Security from October
1946.
107. PRINCIPAL SOURCES
A. Evaluation
Source material on Soviet institutions is of varied quali-
ty. The fact that most of this material is in Russian has
prevented its wide use.
The sources are adequate for official "data," censuses,
laws, statements of government decisions and policies, and
records of appointments. Stenographic reports of legis-
lative sessions and Party Congresses and Conferences are
published. Soviet periodicals usually contain summary
reports of meetings of the leading administrative bodies,
such as the Presidium and Council of Ministers, and some-
times of meetings of the Central Committee of the Party.
The affairs of the innermost circle of Soviet leaders are
not given publicity. Consequently there is no record of
the differences of opinion which presumably exist within
this circle from time to time. Also lacking are critical
discussions by Soviet authors of Soviet political and so-
ciological developments. Soviet treatises vary from the
purely factual to the panegyric.
B. List of references
(1) Encyclopedias
1. BOLSHAYA SOVETSKAYA ENTSIKLOPEDIYA (The Large Soviet En-
cyclopedia) , Moscow, 1926-46 (still incomplete) .
2. KRATKAYA SOVETSKAYA ENTSIKLOPEDIYA (The Short Soviet En-
clopedia) , Moscow, 1943.
3. Mescheraykov, N. L. (Ed.)
MALAYA SOVETSKAYA ENTSIKLOPEDIYA (The Small Soviet En-
cyclopedia) (2d ed.) , Moscow, 1933-38.
4. Stuchka, P. (Ed.)
ENTSIKLOPEDIYA GOSUDARSTVA I PRAVA (Encyclopedia of the
State and the Law) , Moscow, 1929-30.
(2) Official Documents
5. KONSTITUTSII SOVETSKIKH SOTSIALISTICHESKIKH RESPUBLIK
(Constitutions of the Soviet Socialist Republics) , Moscow,
1938.
6. SOBRANIYE POSTANOVLENII I RASPORYAZHENII SOVETA MINISTROV
SSSR (Collected Enactments and Orders of the Council of
Ministers, USSR) , Moscow, 1938 to date.
'7. SOBRANIYE ZAKONOV SSSR (Collected Laws of USSR) , Moscow,
1924-38.
8. VEDOMOSTI VERKHOVNOGO SOVETA SSSR (Gazette of the Supreme
Soviet of the USSR) , Moscow, 1938 to date.
9. ZASEDANIYA VERKHOVNOGO SOVETA SSSR, STONOGRAFICHESKI
OTCHET (Sessions of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, steno-
graphic report) , Moscow, 1936 to date.
(3) Newspapers
10. IZVESTIYA, Moscow daily (Government organ) .
11. MOSCOW NEWS, MOSCOW semiweekly in English.
12. PRAVDA, Moscow daily (Party organ) .
(4) Journals
13. BOLSHEVIK, Moscow semimonthly (Party journal) .
14. PARTIINAYA ZHIZN (Party Life) , Moscow semimonthly journal
of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the
Soviet Union.
15. SOVETSKOYE GOSUDARSTVO I PRAVO (The Soviet State and Law) ,
Moscow monthly journal published by Institute of Law of
USSR Academy of Sciences and the All-Union Institute of
Juridical Science of Ministry of Justice of USSR.
Original
Approved For Release 2003/05/14: CIA-RDP79-01144A000200010010-8
pproved For Release 2003/05/14: CIA-RDP79-01144A000200010010-8
PEOPLE AND GOVERNMENT
Page X-37
(5) Population and Nationalities
16. A Guide to the changes in Administrative Divisions of the
USSR, including areas and population figures (Revised) ,
published as OIR Report No. 1163-A by Division of Research
for Europe, Office of Intelligence Research, Department of
State, April 10, 1947. (Restricted) .
17. Cressey, Geo. B.
THE BASIS OF SOVIET STRENGTH, New York, 1945.
18. Hrdlicka, Ales.
THE PEOPLES OF THE SOVIET UNION, Washington, 1942.
19. KULTURNOYE STROITELSTVO SSSR, STATISTICHESKII SBORNIK
(Cultural Development of the USSR, a Statistical Hand-
book) , Moscow, 1940.
20. Lamont, Corliss.
THE PEOPLES OF THE SOVIET UNION, New York, 1944.
21. Lorimer, F. G.
THE POPULATION OF THE SOVIET UNION: HISTORY AND
PROSPECTS, 1946.
22. Notestein, F. W., and others.
THE FUTURE POPULATION OF EUROPE AND THE SOVIET UNION,
Geneva, League of Nations, 1944.
23. Sulkevich, S.
TERRITORIYA I NASELENIYE SSSR (Territory and Population
of USSR) , Moscow, 1940.
(6) Government
24. Denisov, A. I.
SOVETSKOYE GOSUDARSTVENNOYE PRAVO (Soviet Public Law) ,
Moscow, 1940.
25. POLITICHESKI SLOVAR (Political Dictionary) , Moscow, 1940.
Original
26. SOVETSKOYE ADMINISTRATIVNOYE PRAVO (Soviet Administrative
Law) , Moscow, 1940.
27. Studenikin, S.
SOVETSKOYE ADMINISTRATIVNOYE PRAVO (Soviet Administra-
tive Law) , Moscow, 1945.
28. Vasilev, A. N.
GOSUDARSTVENNOYE USTROISTVO SSSR (The Governmental
Structure of the USSR) , Moscow, 1941.
29. Vyshinskii, A. Ya. (Ed.)
SOVETSKOYE GOSUDARSTVENNOYE PRAVO (Soviet Public Law) ,
Moscow, 1938.
(7) Party
30. Stalin, J.
0 VELIKOI OTECHESTVENNOI VOINE SOVETSKOGO SOYUZA (The
Great Patriotic War of the Soviet Union) , 5th ed., Mos-
cow, 1946.
31. Stalin, J.
VOPROSY LENINIZMA (Problems of Leninism) , 11th ed., Mos-
cow, 1945.
32. THE LAND OF SOCIALISM TODAY AND TOMORROW (Reports and De-
cisions of Eighteenth Congress of Communist Party of the
Soviet Union) , Moscow, 1939.
33. USTAV VKP (B) (By-laws of Communist Party of Soviet Union) ,
Moscow, 1943.
34. VKP(B) V REZOLYUTISIYAKH I RESHENIYAKH SEZDOV, KONFER-
ENTSII, I PLENUMOV TsK (The Communist Party of the Soviet
Union in resolutions and decisions of Congresses, Confer-
ences, and plenary meetings of the Central Committee) , 2
vols., Moscow, 1940.
Approved For Release 2003/05/14: CIA-RDP79-01144A000200010010-8
Approved For Release 2003/05/14: CIA-RDP79-01144A000200010010-8
EUROPEAN U.S.S.R.
ADMINISTRATIVE
DIVISIONS
JULY 1, 1946
BOUNDARIES
? ? ?Mlei
CAPITALS
U.S.S.R.
*
UNION REPUBLIC (S.S.R.) 0
AUTONOMOUS REPUBLIC (A.S.S.R.)
OBLAST' (OBL.), KRAY ?
AUTONOMOUS OBLAST' (A.0.) e
NATIONAL OR ADMINISTRATIVE
OKRUG
INTERNATIONAL (1937) 0
NOTE, This mop shows all administrative units reported up to July 1, 1946.
Boundaries are not everywhere definitive, particularly in the western
parts of the U.S.S.R.
SOURCE: POLITIKO-ADMINISTRATIVNAYA KARTA (European U.S.S.R.)
113,500,000, editions of 1943 and 1945.
90 150 90 90
MILES
0 100 150 200 "
KILOMETERS
Nose:. The boundaries shown on this map do not necessarily correspond in all ceses to the
boundaries recognized by the U. S. Government.
2.The LI. &Government has not recognized the incorporation of Estonia, Latvia, and
Lithuania into the Soviet Union.
60?
20?
SWEDE
24?
FINLAND
28?
28?
3
BARENP.
Murmansk
BELOYE MORE
rkhangersk
64?
TALL N
ESTONSKAYA
ESTO IA
S S R
Leningrad
LENIN GRADS
Ozer,
Beloye
VOLOGODSKAYA
.Vologda
GULF OF
Peipus Lak
N gorod
0 GORO
Rytinskoye
Vodokhranilshche
(Reservoir)
56?
RIG
A YS
S KAYA
OBL.
Yoroslovre
Kost
LA
IVAN OV
VELIKOLU S YA Oft.
?
Ivor
LITOVSKAYA S S R
LITHUANIA
Kalini
ningrad y
?
blast .SR.)
Vladimir
e
SKAYt
E. PRUtSIA
OL ECHNE
KIL'NYUS?
?.", SKA
.1 Moo.echno
?
"Ne.J OBL.
Grodno
DNENSKAYA
VITEBSKAYA OL.) S OLENSKA A OBL.
Smolensk
Dnepr
Kaiuga
KALUZHSKAYA
BARANOVICH-
SKAYA OBL
aranothi
A
ogilev
OG E S YA
OBL.
AY \u'
PINSKAYA OBL
sPinsk
ECS
?mere
TU L'SKAYA OBL.
RYAZAN&
OBL.
Bryansk
BRYANSKAYA OBL.
o
Orel
?
0 R LOVSKAYA OBL.
TA_
VOLYNSKAYA OBL.
C H ERN I iVSKAYA
hernigov
?Kursk
KURSKAYA
SUMS AYA....,*
surny
KA
Stanislav
?
TANISLAV-
SKAYA OBL.
ernopl
ERNOPOLc
SKAYA
OBL.
KAMiNETS-
_ _
DOLLS Y
Proskurov
OBL.
KIYEVC)
OBL.
KIYEVS
OBL.
Khafkov
VINNI
innitsoK
AYA
K HA R' KOV S
OBL.
?
Y
OROSH I LOVG RAD,
SKAYA OBL.
Kirovogrod
DN EP
Dnepropetrovsk
YA
OBL.
NIKO
KAY
EV-
OBL.
ikolaye
Zaporozh'ye
oroshilovgrad
S,
Stalin.,
STA LI NSKAYA OST(
OB L. 11.
Rostov-no-Donu
PO ROZHSKAYA OL
dessa
herson
gel AZOVSKOYE
MORE
KRYMSKAYA
OBL.
KRASNODA
0 BUCURESTI
Dube
*Simferopol'
BLACK SEA
AEGEAN
SEA
10414 Map BrarithrCIA, 6-48
T U
?ANKARA
KEY
28? 32? 36' 40?
Jr 0... I 2883/83/14 elA RIM Y3 -el I
9.'711888G IJIJIJ I WU I LP
Approved For Release 2003/05/14: CIA-RDP794444A0002000100104IGURE X-6
ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISIONS
.40.141:1140010
48? 52? 56? 60? 64?
Baydaratskaya
SEA
?stray
Kolguyev
NOVAYA ZEML
?strov
Vaygach
La
7.fachorskaya
Guba
72? 76
Guba
Obskaya
Nenetskiy atsional'ny
V.
Okrug
Ch'ishskaya
Guba
?,
\-\
K 0 M I OBL.
Say So a
ASSR ob
:Khan Mansiyskiy Natsiona l'ny Okrug
Vrchzrrk
(
OBL.
YKTYVKAR
.1 _ o rro - _
Pernnyatskiy 1
\ N s' 1 Y r
) .......: i e
i. ...?
e 1 Okrug hi\tx.
% c
?.........4% %
-...)
KIROVSKAYA OBL.
Molotov
DSTROMSKAYA
OBL.
SKAYA 0 BL.t
;OVSKAYA%
Gor'kiy
VOlg
DMURTSICAYA.
ASSR
rk 0
IZHEVSK
L-?
?
YOSHKAR-OLAt.
MARIYSKAYA A S S Ref/ W (8" .ruiL
."
Pet \Le
1 KAZAN'
CFIEBOKSARY
CHUVASH -
KAYA ASSRf
*a.
t.
.00". ?Al
?01
Uryonovsk
(AYA
. MORD SKAYA ASSR
SARANSK
????"*""'
PENZENSKAYk
2
KU RGANSKAYA
Chelyabinsk*
BASHKIR
ASS
ULYANOVSKAY
Kuybyshev
Samara
KUYBYSHEVSKAYA 013
Penzo
ambov
n 8 /MAYA
-708k
SAR TOVSKA
AklyubInsk
RADS K
ZAPADN -KAZA STANSKAYA
OBL.
AKTYUBINSKAYA
OBL.
ss
talingrod
IV
ASTRAKHANSKAYA
Astrakhan'
STAVROPOL'SKIY KR
GROZNENSKAYA
T rek
OBL.
CASPIAN
???
Marchik
ASSR .r.2.
KHAZSKAA""."tv %?ItIt%
A SSR
chum, 71. ?
MAKHAGHKALA
dzhikau
? ??
DAG TAN KAYA
0% ASSR
.1411
Zaliv Kara-Bogaz-Go!
or*.
TURKMENSICAYA S S R
Ku a Krosnovods
KRASNOVODSKAYA
OBL.
? YA
SICAYA S SR
fi
YERE VAN
Nakhichevan
44?
mppruvcu rui I.) A.N.,11 . IP% Lor I u /./ I I -,-14-w881888 Me le 6
u. S. GPO-S
Approved For Release 2003/05/14: CIA-RDP79-01144A000200010010-8
TABLE OF CONTENTS (Continued)
105. POLITICAL FACTORS
Page
X -28
106. INTERNAL SECURITY AND
Page
A. Introduction
X - 28
PUBLIC ORDER
X -34
A. Courts and legal system
X - 34
B. The Communist Party of the Soviet Union
X - 28
(1) Legal system
X -34
(1) Ideology
X - 28
(2) USSR courts
X - 34
(2) Organization
X - 29
(3) Lower courts
X - 35
(3) Leaders (members of the Politburo)
X - 30
(4) Prosecution
X - 35
(4) Membership
X - 33
B. Police
X - 35
(5) The Party and the government .
X - 33
(1) Militia
X - 35
(6) The Party and the Soviet economy
X - 33
(2) State security forces
X -36
(7) The Communist Party of the Soviet
107. PRINCIPAL SOURCES
X -36
Union and the Communist Parties
A. Evaluation
X -36
of other countries
X - 34
B. List of references
X -36
Original
Produced by
Department of State
Department of the Army
Department of the Navy
Department of the Air Force
Published by
THE CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
WASHINGTON, D. C.
Approved For Release 2003/05/14: CIA-RDP79-01144A000200010010-8
Approved For Release 2003/05/14: CIA-RDP79-01144A000200010010-8
cV6euitik/
Approved For Release 2003/05/14: CIA-RDP79-01144A0002000100:10681ovEarairmr PRINTING OFFICE
2423-S-1948