REGIONAL SURVEY OF POST AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES IN THE USSR: KAZAKHSTAN AND CENTRAL ASIA (REGION X) 1950-58

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 73
• Document Creation Date: December 23, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 26, 2013
• Sequence Number: 2
• Publication Date: April 1, 1959
• Content Type: REPORT

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
SECRET
ECONOMIC INTELLIGENCE REPORT
N? 64
REGIONAL SURVEY
OF POST AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES
IN THE USSR:
KAZAKHSTAN AND CENTRAL ASIA (REGION X)
1950 - 58
CIA/RR 59-11
April 1959
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
OFFICE OF RESEARCH AND REPORTS isttelo
F.5:1\10
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release?1) 9c: S--) SECRET
2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
WARNING
This material contains information affecting
the National Defense of the United States
within the meaning of the espionage laws,
Title 18, USC, Secs. 793 and 794, the trans-
mission or revelation of which in any manner
to an unauthorized person is prohibited by law.
' Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
S-E-C-R-E-T
ECONOMIC INTELLIGENCE REPORT
REGIONAL SURVEY
OF POST AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES IN rkth USSR:
KAZAKHSTAN AND CENTRAL ASIA (REGION X)
1950-58
CIA/RR 59-n
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
Office of Research and Reports
S-E2C-R-E-T
e-
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
50X1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
S-E-C-R-E-T
FOREWORD
This report is the first of a series designed to measure the dis-
tribution of post and telecommunications services and facilities of
the Ministry of Communications of the USSR, by economic region.
Special emphasis is given to relationships of the development and
distribution of the post and telecommunications services and facili-
ties of Region X to the geographical characteristics of this region
and to the USSR as a whole.
S-E-C-R-E-T
50X1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
S-E-C-R-E-T
CONTENTS
Summary and Conclusions
I. Introduction
Page
1
4
A.
Kazakhstan (Xa)
It
B.
Central Asia (Xb)
5
II.
Ministry of Communications
7
A.
Organization
7
B.
Revenue
8
C.
Investment
11
D.
Manpower
15
1. Labor Force
15
2. Training
18
3. Productivity
19
III.
Postal Services
19
IV.
Telephone and Telegraph Services
22
A.
Telephone
22
1. Urban and Rural
23
2. Interurban
27
B.
Telegraph
30
V.
Broadcasting
32
A.
Radiobroadcasting
32
B.
Wire-Diffusion
34
C.
Television
39
VI. Common Telecommunications Facilities 4o
VII. Future Trends 42
- v -
S-E-C-R-E-T
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
S-E-C-R-E-T
Appendixes
Appendix A. Glossary of Technical Terms
Appendix B. Methodology
Page
45
53
Tables
1. Estimated Total Revenue of the Republic Ministries of
Communications of Kazakhstan and Central Asia
(Region X), 1950 and 1955-58
2. Estimated Revenue of the Republic Ministries of Com-
munications of Kazakhstan and Central Asia (Region X),
by Type of Service, 1958
3. Estimated Average Annual Number of Employees of the
Republic Ministries of Communications of Kazakhstan
and Central Asia (Region X), 1950 and 1955-58 . .
10
12
16
4. Estimated Total Volume of Postal Service in Kazakhstan
and Central Asia (Region X), 1950 and 1955-58 . . . . 20
5. Estimated Number of Postal and Telephone and Telegraph
Enterprises in Kazakhstan and Central Asia (Region X),
1950 and 1955-58
6. Telephone Service in Rural Areas in Kazakhstan and
Central Asia (Region X), by Type of Agricultural Unit,
1956
7. Estimated Number of Telephone Sets Connected to Ex-
changes Operated by the Republic Ministries of Com-
munications of Kazakhstan and Central Asia (Region X),
1950 and 1955-58
- vi -
S-E-C-R-E-T
21
25
26
50X1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
S-E-C-R-E-T
8. Estimated Number of Interurban Telephone
Calls Made in Kazakhstan and Central Asia
(Region X), 1950 and 1955-58
9. Estimated Number of Telegrams Sent in Kazakh-
stan and Central Asia (Region X), 1950 and
1954-58
10. Estimated Number of Radiobroadcast Receivers
in Kazakhstan and Central Asia (Region X),
1950 and 1955-58
U. Weekly Soviet International Radiobroadcasting
Output from Kazakhstan and Central Asia
(Region X) to Foreign Audiences, 1958 . . .
12. Estimated Number of Wired Loudspeakers in
Kazakhstan and Central Asia (Region X),
1950 and 1955-58
Illustrations
Figure 1. OSSA, Economic Region X17 Soviet
Central Asia and Kazakhstan (Map) . .
Page
29
31
35
36
37
Inside
Back Cover
Following Page
Figure 2. 5SSR, Economic Region X17 Population
Density in Soviet Kazakhstan (Map) . hi
Figure 3. 5SSR, Economic Region X17 Economic
Map of Soviet Central Asia and Inside
Kazakhstan (Map) Back Cover
S-E-C-R-E-T
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
S-E-C-R-E-T
Following Page
Figure 4. /USSR, Economic Region X17 Population
Density in Soviet Central Asia
(Map) 6
Figure 5. Comparison of the Rates of Growth of
Communications Revenue in the USSR
and in Economic Region X, 1950-58 --
Ministry of Communications (Chart) . 8
Page
Figure 6. Comparison of the Percentage Distribu-
tion of Communications Re-venue in
the USSR and in Economic Region X, by
Type of Service, 1958 -- Ministry of
Communications (Chart)
9
Figure 7. Comparison of the Average Annual Rates
of Growth of the Communications Labor
Force in the USSR and in Economic
Region X, 1950-58 -- Ministry of Com-
munications (Chart) 17
Figure 8. USSR: Distribution of Postal Volume
in Economic Region X, by Type of
Service, 1958 Ministry of Com-
munications (Chart) 19
Following Page
Figure 9. USSR, Economic Region X: Domestic and
International Radiobroadcasting Trans-
mitters and Studios, 1958 -- Ministry
of Communications (Map) 34
Figure 10. USSR, Economic Region X: Domestic
Television Broadcasting Stations,
1958 -- Ministry of Communications
(Map) 4o
S-E-C-R-E-T
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
S-E-C-R-E-T
Figure 11. USSR, Economic Region X: Main Tele-
communications Wirelines, 1958 --
Ministry of Communications (Map) .
Figure 12. USSR, Economic Region X: Microwave
Radio Relay Lines, 1958 -- Ministry
of Communications (Map)
Figure 13. USSR, Economic Region X: Main
Domestic and International Radio-
telegraph Circuits, 1958 -- Ministry
of Communications (Map)
S-E-C-R-E-T
Following Page
140
140
4o
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
S-E-C-R-E-T
REGIONAL SURVEY
OF POST AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES IN THE USSR:
KAZAKHSTAN AND CENTRAL ASIA (REGION X)*
1950-58
Summary and Conclusions
The post and telecommunications system in Region X, under the
operation and control of the Ministry of Communications of the USSR
and the various republic ministries of communications, has grown more
rapidly since 1950 than that in the USSR as a whole. The rapidity
* The estimates and conclusions in this report represent the best
judgment of this Office as of 1 February 1959. Technical terms are
defined in Appendix A, Glossary of Technical Terms.
The term region in this report refers to the economic regions de-
fined and numbered on map 13702 (First Revision, 8-57), USSR:
Political-Administrative Divisions and Economic Regions, August 1957.
The insert above shows the location of Region X, which has two main
divisions, Kazakhstan (Region XA) and Central Asia (Region Xb).
S-E-C-R-E-T
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
S-E-C-R-E-T
of this rate of growth* is primarily attributable to the communica-
tions requirements generated by the new lands program in Kazakhstan.
Nevertheless, post and telecommunications services and facilities in
Region X have not kept pace with the requirements of the economy and
of the general public. Facilities are too low in service capacity
and too thin in geographic distribution. As shown below, the level
of post and telecommunications activity in Region X was substantially
lower than the aggregate level of activity in the USSR in 1958.
GROWTH OF REVENUE
1950-58
PIECES OF MAIL TELEPHONE; SETS;
Per Cipite rerr1;000)Persons,
81
53
51
(=I USSR ED Total Region X
F-1 Kazakhstan (Xa) ED Central Asia (Xb)
INTERURBAN CALLS
Per 100 Persons
78
, 44
46, 48
TELEGRAMS
Per 100 Persons
BROADCASTI
RECEPTION; POINTS;
PorrIOMPersonss
* All average annual rates of growth expressed in this report were
computed on a compound interest basis.
- 2 -
S-E-C-R-E-T
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
S-E-C-R-E-T
Region X, accounting for about 11 percent of the population of the
USSR and about 18 percent of its area, contributed only 7.6 percent
of the total revenue of the Ministry of Communications in 1958.
The present low level of post and telecommunications activity in
Region X is attributable in part to the low priority of its invest-
ment in the past, to the inability to obtain equipment when invest-
ment funds were available) and to the problem of providing facilities
over difficult, thinly settled terrain.
The most serious telecommunications deficiency in Region X is in
common telecommunications facilities. The existing common facili-
ties in most instances do not provide adequate channel capacity or
normal quality of service. These inadequacies were aggravated by
the economic reorganization of 1957, which divided the USSR into 105
new economic areas. Of this total, 17 were established in Region X.
The establishment of these new areas, each governed by a council of
national economy (sovnarkhoz), generated additional requirements for
lateral service that could not be met by the radial configuration of
existing common facilities.
Preliminary plan announcements for the Seven Year Plan (1959-65)
suggest that priority attention will be given to removal of these and
other deficiencies through the construction of new facilities rather
than the expansion of existing facilities. Microwave radio relay fa-
cilities are to be extended and are expected to provide the base
necessary for the further development of telephone, telegraph, and
network radio and television service within Region X. In addition,
the wire-diffusion network is to be completed, and radiobroadcasting
and television facilities are to be expanded considerably by the end
of 1965. During the course of the new plan, particular attention will
be focused on the provision of those post and telecommunications ser-
vices and facilities needed to meet the new requirements created by
the economic reorganization.
Narrowing the gap between the demand for service and the avail-
ability of service will enhance the ability of the Ministry of Com-
munications to make a fuller contribution to the acceleration, co-
hesion, and coordination of economic activity in Region X. The in-
dustrial support and the indispensable agricultural support which
the region gives to the national economy suggest that the gap will
be closed. At the same time, such an accomplishment will provide
the military forces with additional strategic communications facili-
ties both for present and for emergency employment.
- 3 -
S-E-C-R-E-T
Declassified in Part- Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
S-E-C-R-E-T
I. Introduction.*
Post and telecommunications facilities are established to provide
an economic service in response to requirements that arise from all
forms of economic activity. The quantities and types of post and
telecommunications service as well as the quality of service in an
area are influenced by both its level of economic activity and its
geographical characteristics. Predominant among these Characteristics
are the size, distribution, and level of culture of the population;
the topography; and climatic conditions. For a better understanding
of the requirements for post and telecommunications services and the
factors which influence their development in Region X, the following
geographic brief is given.
Kazakhstan and Central Asia** cover a vast arid and semiarid area
that stretches across the southern part of the USSR from the Caspian
Sea to the border of Communist China. Raw materials -- primarily
cotton, grain, and minerals -- are the chief contribution of this
area to the economy of the USSR.
A. Kazakhstan (Xa).
Economic Region Xa, Kazakhstan, includes more than 1 million
square miles, or about one-eighth of the area of the USSR (see
Figure 1***). According to an official Soviet estimate, the popula-
tion of Kazakhstan totaled 8.5 million in 1956 and is increasing
rapidly. Between 1940 and 1956 the increase amounted to more than
2 million. About 62 percent of the population is classified as rural.
The accompanying map, Figure 2,**** shows the distribution of popula-
tion in Region Xa. As a result of the new lands program, 600,000
new settlers moved to northern Kazakhstan from the European USSR be-
tween 1954 and 1957. A continuing movement of people from the Euro-
pean USSR may be expected as the economic development of Kazakhstan
progresses.
Kazakhstan is important to the Soviet economy both indus-
trially and agriculturally (see Figure 3***). Although the republic
has less than 3 percent of the industrial workers in the USSR, its
industrial commodities are of primary importance to the nation. Its
industry is being expanded rapidly. Mining, metallurgy, and machine
50X1
** Kazakhstan (also referred to as Kazakh SSR) and the Central
Asian republics (the Kirgiz, Uzbek, Tadzhik, and Turkmen SSR's) com-
prise Economic Region X.
*** Inside back cover.
**** Following p. 4.
- 4 -
S-E-C-R-E-T
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
Figure 2
URBAN POPULATION
? 200-500 thousand
? 100-200 thousand
? 50-100 thousand
? 10-50 thousand
DENSITY OF POPULATION
R SO. KM.
50-100
25-50
10-25
1-10
Less than 1
150 0 150 300 Km
SOURCE: EKONOMICIMSKAYA
GEOGRAFIYA SSSR. Mono 1957
I7?
27338 11.58
POPULATION DENSITY IN SOVIET KAZAKHSTAN
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
S-E-C-R-E-T
building are the chief industries, but the consumer and food indus-
tries are also significant. All of the industries are based on the
abundant and varied mineral resources of Kazakhstan, one of the
richest mineral areas in the USSR. The Karaganda coal basin is the
third largest producer in the USSR. Kazakhstan is also a leading
producer of nonferrous and rare metals.
The agricultural economy of Kazakhstan is Characterized by a
wide variety of crops and by a rapid increase of crop acreage. Wheat
and other grains are extensively grown in the north. The new lands
program brought under cultivation 20 million hectares of land, pri-
marily for grain crops, between 1954 and 1956. Further expansion is
planned.
A sparse railroad network provides the major means of over-
land transportation in Kazakhstan.* The railroad system is being
rapidly extended to meet the needs of the expanding economy. River
transportation is of minor importance. The road system, being pocirly
developed, is of local importance only.
The vast extent of relatively uninhabited terrain in Kazakh-
stan makes the region ideally suited for military-scientific testing
of special weapons systems. The central and extreme western portions
of Kazakhstan are used as ballistic missile testincranges. An im-
portant atomic testing area is located near Semipalatinsk in eastern
Kazakhstan, and the island of Vozrozhdeniya in the Aral Sea is be-
lieved to be used for experimentation in bacteriological warfare.
B. Central Asia (Xb).
Economic Region Xb, Central Asia, has an area of 475,000
square miles, or about one-twentieth of the area of the USSR, and
includes the Kirgiz, Uzbek, Tadzhik, and Turkmen SSR's (see
Figure 1**). It is a land of deserts and mountains and is important
economically because of its production of textile raw materials,
chiefly cotton.
In 1956 the population of Central Asia was estimated to be
12.4 million, about 6 percent of the national total, and it is in-
creasing rapidly. About 68 percent of the population is rural.
* Several important rail lines have been omitted from Figure 3
(inside back cover). The most important is the Central Siberian
Railroad, which will run from Kustanay to Barnaul. Most of this
line has been completed. Other important lines, completed or under
construction, include those to Dzhetygaral Tnrgay, and Druzhba (to
Communist China).
** Inside back cover.
- 5 -
S-E-C-R-E-T
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
S-E-C-R-E-T
The accompanying map) Figure 4,* shows the distribution of population
in Region Xb.
The economy of Central Asia is based on irrigation farming)
with cotton as the Chief crop (see Figure 3*)f). Although including
only 3 percent of the cultivated area of the USSR, Region Xb is
highly important as a supplier of raw materials -- cotton, silk, and
wool -- for the textile industry. Four-fifths of the cotton of the
USSR and about half of the silk are produced in the region.
Industry in the area is closely geared to the growing of cot-
ton and other irrigated crops. The region has a vide variety of
mineral resources, including petroleum; gas; coal; uranium; iron ore;
and various nonferrous metals, rare earths, and other minerals, but
exploitation has been slow. Central Asia accounts for only about
2 percent of the gross industrial output and less than 3 percent of
the industrial labor force of the USSR.
Railroads are the Chief means of transportation in Central
Asia. Although sparse, the railroad network is adequate to satisfy
existing demands. River transportation is of minor importance and
is limited primarily to the Amu Dartya. In contrast, the road system
is fairly well developed. It supplements the railroad network in the
more inaccessible Mountain and border areas. A distinctive charac-
teristic of the road pattern is that many of the major roads lead
from the international borders to the interior, obviously for mili-
tary purposes.
Thus Region X is a unique region of the USSR in many of its
geographical characteristics. Most of these characteristics, espe-
'daily topography and distribution of population, have adversely af-
fected the development of post and telecommunications in the region.
Investment, maintenance, and operating costs of facilities per unit
of service are extremely high. These adverse cost factors have not
been met in the past by greater amounts of investment and operating
funds. Consequently, the level of resources of the post and tele-
communications sector in Region X has not been commensurate with the
demands for its service from other sectors of the economy in the
region.
* Following p. 6.
** Inside back cover.
- 6 -
S-E-C-R-E-T
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
Figure 4
27353 11-58 POPULATION DENSITY IN SOVIET CENTRAL ASIA
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
URBAN POPULATION
II Above 500 thousand
100-200 thousand
50-100 thousand
? 10-50 thousand
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
S-E-C-R-E-T
II. Ministry of Communications.
A. Organization.
The Ministry of Communications (Ministerstvo Svyazi) of the
USSR is organized as a union-republic ministry, and it directs local
communications organs through republic ministries of communications.
Thus each of the five republics in Region X has a ministry of com-
munications, which is under the over-all administrative and operational
direction of the Ministry of Communications of the USSR.
The Ministry of Communications of the USSR, with headquarters
at Moscow, exercises direct control over the management of all post
and telecommunications facilities and related activities in the coun-
try which are on the national level -- that is, which have national
significance. This control is accomplished through functionally or-
ganized administrative and operational bodies. The administrative
responsibilities are vested in staff departments and administrations
and the operational responsibilities in main administrations. The
republic ministries of communications, as in Region X, have cor-
responding operational administrations and, for the most part, ad-
ministrative staff departments and administrations. At the oblast
level within the republic ministries are comparable operational ad-
ministrations. These oblast administrations carry out their re-
sponsibilities through okrug, city, and rayon communications offices.
Communications enterprises in turn are subordinate to these offices. 2/
The foregoing description of the organization of republic
ministries of communications does not give the actual lines of opera-
tional authority and responsibility. It is believed that, in prac-
tice, republic ministries of communications are limited in their
operational control over oblast administrations and their subordinate
organs -- in fact, it appears that a large part of the operational
control is vested in the operational main administrations of the
Ministry of Communications of the USSR. Republic ministries of com-
munications appear to serve primarily as focal points for the initia-
tion and coordination of communications planning for the republics .
and also appear to act in a liaison capacity in administrative matters
between the communications organs on the national level and those on
the local level.
The importance to the USSR as a whole of the post and tele-
communications services provided by the national and by the republic
ministries of communications precludes any substantial organizational
change from the highly centralized structure that presently exists.
Nevertheless, there is evidence that within the existing organiza-
tional framework the republic ministries of communications in Region X
- 7 -
S-E-C-R-E-T
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
S-E-C-R-E-T
are gradually taking on increased administrative responsibilities for
initiating, planning) and acquiring investment funds and materials to
develop post and telecommunications services and facilities. These
increased responsibilities are being assumed primarily as a result of
the economic reorganization of 1957, which generated increased local
requirements for post and telecommunications services and facilities.*
An opportunity for the republic ministries of communications
to acquire increased operational responsibilities may be presented by
the current integration of functional telecommunications facilities**
with those of the ministries of communications of the USSR and the re-
publics. If this integration is as extensive as anticipated, encom-
passing virtually all functional telecommunications facilities, the
Ministry of Communications of the USSR may be forced by the size of the
undertaking to delegate more operational control to republic and oblast
organs. _V
B. Revenue.
The 1958 revenue of nearly 900 million rubles*** that was re-
ceived by the republic ministries of communications in Region X repre-
sents 7.6 percent of the revenue received by the Ministry in the USSR
as a whole. Central Asia contributed about 52 percent of the revenue
in Region X and Kazakhstan about 48 percent (see Table 1****).
The following index of revenue shows that communications
revenue has grown slightly faster in Region X than in the USSR as a
whole. It is also apparent from this index and from the accom-
panying chart, Figure 5,t that the rate of growth in revenue in
Kazakhstan was comparable to that in Central Asia in 1957 and 1958
but grew more rapidly than that in Central Asia between 1950 and 1956.
* The economic reorganization, Which became effective on 1 July
1957, abolished or reconstructed most of the All-Union and union-
republic industrial and construction ministries, abolished a number
of republic ministries, and altered the central planning organization.
The new law strengthened the economic managerial authority of the 15
union republics and created 105 economic areas, each governed by a
council of national economy (sovnarkhoz) to manage directly most in-
dustrial enterprises and construction sites. Kazakhstan was divided
into 9 economic areas, Uzbek SSR into 5 areas, and the Kirgiz, Tadzhik,
and Turkmen SSR's into 1 area each.
** See IV, A, 1, pp. 23 If., below.
*** Ruble values in this report are expressed in 1955 rubles and
may be converted to US dollars at the official rate of exchange of
4 rubles to US $1. This exchange rate, however, does not necessarily
reflect the true dollar value.
**** Table 1 follows on p. 10.
t Following p. 8.
- 8 -
S-E-C-R-E-T
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: C1A-RDP79R01 141A001300140002-9
Million 1955 Rubles
COMPARISON OF THE RATES OF GROWTH
OF COMMUNICATIONS REVENUE IN THE USSR
AND IN ECONOMIC REGION X, 1950-58
MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS
20,000
10,000
8,000
6,000
4,000
3,000
2 000
1,000
800
600
400
300
200
100
,_
,
Tr_a__
-
71--
-1--; ' IT-
-1--4-t:
:44 -
_,_,.,
_"--;_1.:
...4It
-?1-1::14T2
-!---
-.--
-
i--,-
17
r4-s--tr
'
' :
5
I
iaH-i
a
Tilt r` 417
atn:
:kJ r..:
41 r ft_
.4:_,_
4:4-4-L-
.Uf
Rill-
+-1-144-
i -
4,4t.L4t:t
t1-9-
_
_c_it_
.= -I--
t
t
7t7I+T..t_
43.77
d-
trt...th
--;--t.*.h:
T
h
-
4-rsza
,
: 7-1
-
FL
t
L
.y....4
.t.......t
I
.
...:: TE...
------H-4:-._11
i..-
.1
-i.
4 -,- 4-
-1-1-+ H-
4 ritt
+ rill
-I ,i
i
I
i
I -
- ?.'
-fp
t
! t ,
-I. ? ? -t-rt
- "
?
.t
?
I 1
' +
? t 4---1-!-
t t
t
1--f-
i
tt?
ttl-
,-1-1-
i
4--1-frI
,
--121--1-,---
I
- i
I !
-t
f{I I
I
-f--
" I
_L-
,.
:r_ 3.-
-- ,
5: ? ..",-
: ''
:
f Eli
:
14-1-
-7-2%-
-
-
--

-
-i--
a
--,
-:n-
--- -
II
l
El
Irt17
7-4?-4,:t
Pinterpoi
-fit;
ns ,
.
ITT.
7 r
1
'-.1-
IN
ono
MOM
.
.--4-..--
"
17?RZ --1."--
I
-72%Tt -
i 1
jjj
_ _-..-:_-1=-1-7lai.f.E.i-..
7.,5% 7
- .,,,..-0--
:tie
LL'il
,-, t i
' 4 ; i
(
I
?- 1-
r 1- 4- -4-
-mit-
' 1
?.
ti
Peril
g owt
"
t
+41t110-1-
tageliepresent
for the
i-4---r
,
i e:Otteitoe.nnnuciL
period sh itin.-4-*
--P-r- .1--?-
Fit
..1
loCr-r+-r-
-7- 1-1--if
I

--T
USSR
TOTAL
REGION X
Figure ??X1
CENTRAL ASIA (Xb)
KAZAKHSTAN (Xa)
1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958
27455 3-59
50X1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: C1A-RDP79R01 141A001300140002-9
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
S-E-C-R-E-T
1955
. 100
1950
1955
1956
1957
1958
USSR
67.8
100
106.4
112.1
120.7
Region X
65.1
100
106.8
115.3
123.2
Kazakhstan (Xa)
60.5
100
107.1
115.3
123.2
Central Asia (Xb)
69.4
100
106.6
115.4
123.2
The more rapid growth in Kazakhstan in these years is a reflection
of the increased service volume that came about as a result of the
new lands program.
The fact that communications revenue has grown at a some-
what more rapid rate in Region X than in the USSR as a whole is not
indicative of a more adequately developed post and telecommunica-
tions system -- on the contrary, the level of its development in
Region X is substantially below that in the USSR. This situation is
illustrated to some extent by Figure 6, which shows the percentage
COMPARISON OF THE PERCENTAGE DISTRIBUTION
OF COMMUNICATIONS REVENUE IN THE USSR AND IN ECONOMIC REGION X
BY TYPE OF SERVICE, 1958?MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS
. _
t 27456 3.59
POSTAL
42
45%
TELEGRAPH
13
18%
TELEPHONE
25%
21%
BROADCASTING
20%
16%
IUSSR
Region X
Figure6
- 9 -
S-E-C-R-E-T
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
Table 1
Estimated Total Revenue of the Republic Ministries of Communications
of Kazakhstan and Central Asia (Region X) 2/
1950 and 1955-58
Million 1955 Rubles
1950
1955
1956
197
1958
Region X
475.3
729.6
779.6
841.3
898.8
Kazakhstan (Xa)
210.4
347.9
372.6 la/
401.0
428.6
Central Asia (Xb)
264.9
381.6
407.0
440.3
470.2
Kirgiz SSR
42.6
64.1
67.5
72.2
77.6
Tadzhik SSR
37.0
50.6
50.7
52.8
56.9
Turkmen SSR
48.8
63.6
65.9
69.3
73.2
Uzbek SSR
136.5
203.3
223.0 LI
246.0
262.6
a. Revenue was computed by multiplying post and telecommunications service volumes by
their estimated average unit revenue and by estimating other sources of revenue that
are not reflected by service volumes. Revenue figures are aVailable for each of the
years shown in the originating office of this report. A breakdown of total revenue for
1958) by type of service, is shown in Table 2 (p. 12, below). All data are rounded to
the nearest hundred thousand. Totals are derived from unrounded data and may not agree
with the sum of their rounded components.
b. the aver-
age revenue per employee of the Ministry of Communications In 1956 to be 14,429 rubles
in Kazakhstan and 19,526 rubles in Uzbek SSR. These figures multiplied by the number
of employees in Kazakhstan and Uzbek SSR (see Table 3, p. 16, below) give a total reve-
nue of 372.3 million rubles for Kazakhstan and 212.8 million rubles for Uzbek SSR,
compared with the derived figures of 372.6 and 223.0, respectively.
-10-
S-E-C-R-E-T
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
50X1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
S-E-C-R-E-T
distribution of revenue in the USSR and in Region X, by type of ser-
vice (see Table 2* for the 1958 revenue in Region X, by type of ser-
vice). A comparison of the percent of total revenue received from
postal, telephone, and telegraph services in Region X and in the USSR
reflects the greater dependence on post and telegraph services in
Region X. Similarly, a comparison of the percent of revenue received
from broadcasting services reflects the lover level of development of
broadcasting services in Region X. These observations are borne out
in greater detail in the remainder of this report.
The revenue received from post and telecommunications ser-
vices in Region X Should show a substantial increase in the next 7
years. This estimate is based on preliminary announcements on the
Seven Year Plan (1959-65), which point to a rapid expansion of most
post and telecommunications services and facilities in Region X.
C. Investment.
The basic problem confronting the republic ministries of com-
munications in Region X in developing post and telecommunications
facilities is the inadisquate supply of investment funds and of material
and equipment. These inadequacies have seriously limited the ability
of the republic ministries to perform assigned functions. The follow-
ing statement by an official of the Ministry of Communications of the
USSR in 1958 is believed to reflect the general attitude in the re-
public ministries in Region X in recent years:
For a number of years the State Planning
Committee of the USSR has planned the capital
investments and materials and the technical
supply of organs of the Ministry of Communica-
tions on a level which is not in accord with
the development of communications technology
and the steadily increasing demands of the
public and national economy for communications
facilities. State planning committees of union
republics also are not devoting sufficient at-
tention to this subject. 2/
Investment data on post and telecommunications in Region X
are incomplete. Planned capital investment for the Fourth Five Year
Plan (1946-50) in Kazakhstan was 8.8 million rubles. For the Fifth
Five Year Plan (1951-55), about 127 million rubles were planned,
70 million rubles of Which were planned for 1955 in response to
* Table 2 follows on p. 12.
S-E-C-R-E-T
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
S-E-C-R-E-T
Table 2
Estimated Revenue of the Republic Ministries of Communications
of Kazakhstan and Central Asia (Region X), by Type of Service 2/
1958
Million 1955 Rubles
Region X
Pbstal
Telephone
Telegraph 2/
Broad- Total
casting f/ Revenue
Urban and Rural 2/ Interurban 2/
Total
76.4
111.6
188.0
166.0
144.3
898.8
Kazakhstan (Xa)
201.0
32.7
14-3.4
76.1
22s/
60.8
428.6
Central Asia (Xb)
199.6
43.7
68.2
2.0 .9
75.3
83.5
470.2
Kirgiz SSR
31.9
7.5
12.4
19.9
12.8
12.9
77.6
Tadzhik SSR
21.1
6.7
9.3
16.0
10.3
9.5
56.9
Turkmen SSR
30.8
7.9
11.4
19.2
12.8
10.3
73.2
Uzbek SSR
115.7
21.7
35.1
56.8
39.4
50.7
262.6
a.
are rounded to the nearest hundred thousand.
the sum of their rounded components.
b. Postal revenue was derived by multiplying
orders, packages, and periodical publications
volume)
c. Computed by multiplying the annual business and home subscription fee by the midyear number of urban
business and home telephones. In addition, the annual number of new urban home and business subscribers
Al]. data 50X1
Totals are derived from unrounded data and may not agree with
the estimated average unit revenue received for letters, money
by their volumes (see Table 4, p. 20, below, for total postal
-12-
S-E-C-R-E-T
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
S-E-C-R-E-T
Table 2
Estimated Revenue of the Republic Ministries of Communications
of Kazakhstan and Central Asia (Region X), by Type of Service
1958
(Continued)
was multiplied by the installation fee for new telephones, and allowances were made for rural telephone
revenue and for miscellaneous sources of revenue such as public telephone booths and fees for special ser-
vice (see Table 7, p. 26, below, for the number of urban and rural telephone sets).
d. Computed by multiplying the number of interurban telephone calls (see Table 8, p. 29, below) by the esti-
mated revenue per call. An allowance was also made for revenue derived from the lease of interurban tele-
phone circuits.
e. The number of telegrams sent (see Table 9, p. 31, below) was multiplied by the estimated average revenue
per telegram. An allowance was also made for revenue derived from the lease of telegraph circuits.
f. Computed by multiplying the midyear' number of urban and rural wired loudspeakers (see Table 12, p. 37,
below) and the midyear number of radiobroadcast receivers (see Table 10, p. 35, below) by their respective
license fees. In addition, the number of new wired loudspeakers was multiplied by an installation fee.
Allowances were also made for other sources of broadcasting revenue, including that received from television.
- 13 -
S-E-C-R-E-T
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
S-E-C-R-E-T
requirements for service brought about by the new lands program.
Under the provision of the Sixth Five Year Plan (1956-60), 300 million
rubles were to be allocated for investment in post and telecommunica-
tions facilities in Kazakhstan. The Sixth Five Year Plan was dis-
carded in 1957. Since that time, Kazakhstan has announced a planned
investment figure for 1958 of 33 million rubles. V
An evaluation of available investment data suggests that since
the end of World War II there have been rather substantial increments
in planned post and telecommunications investment. The inadequacy of
post and telecommunications services in Region X, even before the eco-
nomic reorganization of 1957, implies that these funds have been in-
sufficient to develop post and telecommunications facilities commen-
surate with the needs of the regional economy and the general public.
The investment picture in Region X has been changed somewhat
by the economic reorganization. The establishment of local economic
authorities (sovnarkhozes) has apparently resulted in a closer local
identification with and interest in the development of post and tele-
communications. For this reason, communications organs, primarily at
the oblast level, are better able to draw on local sovnarkhoz re-
sources, both material and monetary, for the development of post and
telecommunications.
The contribution that local sources can make to the develop-
ment of post and telecommunications has been offset somewhat by the
increased investment requirements imposed by the economic reorganiza-
tion. These requirements include the provision of post and tele-
communications services between the sovnarkhoz and subordinate enter-
prises, between sovnarkhozes with related economic interests, and
between sovnarkhozes and state planning committees and marketing or-
ganizations on the republic level. Before the reorganization, most
enterprises in Region X were subordinate either to republic ministries
or to ministries on the national level. Because of this organizational
structure, interurban telecommunications facilities were developed in
a radial configuration paralleling the established lines of authority
and responsibility. In consequence of the reorganization of 1957 and
its partial decentralization of authority and responsibility, exist-
ing interurban telecommunications facilities in Region X proved in-
adequate in quantity, distribution, and capacity to meet the new re-
quirements. Under these new circumstances, republic and local com-
munications organs in Region X as well as the Ministry of Communica-
tions of the USSR must increase the rate of investment expenditure to
provide the necessary additional facilities.
At present it is not clear how successfully these investment
requirements have been met in Region X. Apparently, however, part
S-E-C-R-E-T
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
S-E-C-R-E-T
of the problem involves material and equipment shortages. A report
from Uzbek SSR in 1958 stated that the republic government had in-
creased appropriations for the development of post and telecommunica-
tions facilities each year but that the main problem was to obtain
the necessary equipment. Another example of such a shortage is a
statement of the Minister of Communications of Kazakhstan that not
all of the new sovnarkhozes in Kazakhstan had adequate telecommunica-
tions service with their subordinate enterprises. He further stated
that this shortcoming could be corrected in the near future provided
the necessary amounts of equipment and material were received.
Apparently the essential problem here is one of procurement of equip-
ment rather than availability of investment funds.
Preliminary planning data for the new Seven Year Plan in
Region X suggest that increased emphasis will be placed on develop-
ing post and telecommunications facilities. Plans for the expansion
of such facilities as radiobroadcasting and television, high-capacity
interurban telecommunications facilities, and automatic telegraph and
telephone exchange facilities in many instances will require large
capital expenditures. It is expected, therefore, that the annual rate
of investment in post and telecommunications facilities in Region X
through 1965 will show a substantial increase over that of previous
plan periods. For Kazakhstan it is reported that investment in post
and telecommunications facilities during the Seven Year Plan will be
more than twice that of the preceding 7 years.
An additional factor which is indicative of higher investment
rates in Region X is the increased responsibility that the republic
ministries of communications are apparently assuming in providing
facilities for agricultural, industrial, and construction enterprises
which were formerly financed by other ministries. As stated above,
a possible limiting factor to such investment expansion is the avail-
ability of material and equipment.2k1,/
D. Manpower.
1. Labor Force.
The total labor force of the republic ministries of com-
munications in Region X was 50,600 employees in 1958 (see Table 3*),
* Table 3 follows on p. 16.
- 15 -
S-E-C-R-E-T
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
S-E-C-R-E-T
Table 3
Estimated Average Annual Number of Employees of the Republic Ministries of Communications
of Kazakhstan and Central Asia (Region X) al
1950 and 1955-58
Persons
1950 1955 1956 1957 1958
Region X 401.-- 200 45,400, 47,100 48,900 50,600
--..
Kazakhstan (Xa) 20 400 12i
- a_ 24 800 2/ 25,800 2/ 26,800 2/ 27,800 2/
Central Asia (Xb) 19,800 20,600 21,300 22,100
---_- 22,800
----
Kirgiz SSR 3,100 di 2,800 di 2,800 di 2,900 2/ 2,900 si
Tadzhik SSR 2,800 li 3,400 li 3,600 li 3,800 si 4,000 2/
Turkmen SSR 3,800 fi 3,800 EV 4,000 2/ 4,2oo 2/ 4,400 2/
Uzbek SSR 10,100 hi 10,600 hi 10,900 hi 11,200 2i 11,500 2i
a. All data are rounded to the nearest hundred. Data include rural mailmen.
b. 2V
c. Extrapolated by applying the absolute growth shown during 1955-56 to each of these
years.
d. 10i
e. Assuming a growth of 100 employees in 1957 and no change for 1958.
h. L3V
-16-
S-E-C-R-E-T
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
S-E-C-R-E-T
which represents nearly 8 percent of the total labor force of the
Ministry of Communications of the USSR. As illustrated in Figure 7,
Figure 7
COMPARISON OF THE AVERAGE ANNUAL RATES OF GROWTH
OF THE COMMUNICATIONS LABOR FORCE IN THE USSR AND IN ECONOMIC REGION X
1950-58-MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS
USSR
2.2%
. 27457 3.59
KAZAKHSTAN
(Xa)
TOTAL
REGION X
1.8X CENTRAL ASIA
(AO
the average annual rate of growth of the labor force of the republic
ministries since 1950 has been somewhat greater than that of the
Ministry of Communications of the USSR as a whole. Within Region X,
Kazakhstan has shown the greatest growth, presumably as a result of
the new lands program and the consequently increased requirements
for post and telecommunications service.
The distribution of the labor force of the republic minis-
tries of communications by type of operation varies from republic to
republic but is believed to be similar to that of the USSR as a whole.
This distribution in Region X is believed to range from 40 to 47per-
cent of the labor force employed in the postal system, 35 to 4o per-
cent in the telephone and telegraph systems, 8 to 10 percent in the
broadcasting system, and about 10 percent trainees and miscellaneous.
In the normal course of developing a post and telecommuni-
cations system, the introduction of more modern automatic and
- 17 -
S-E-C-R-E-T
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
S-E-C-R-E-T
semiautomatic equipment, which increases labor productivity) grad-
ually reduces the annual rate of increment to the labor force. The
comparatively low level of development of post and telecommunications
in Region X, however, appears to rule out any significant reduction
in the annual rate of growth of the labor force in the near future,
even with increased automation.
2. Training.
A labor force having a variety of skills is needed to
utilize existing facilities more effectively and to develop a more
adequate and modern telecommunications system. In Region X the major
centers for training post and telecommunications employees are lo-
cated at Tashkent and Alma-Ata. An Electrotechnical Institute of
Communications and a Technical School of Communications are located
at Tashkent Alma-Ata has a Technical School of Communications and
also is a center for the All-Union Correspondence Technical School
of Communications. In addition to these training facilities, the
republic ministries of communications organize technical and adminis-
trative training courses for employees at oblast and republic cen-
ters. 112/
Available evidence suggests that the supply of technicians
and engineers in Region X is far from adequate. In 1956, for in-
stance, a complaint was registered by the Collegium of the Ministry
of Communications of the USSR that "Central Asia" was not receiving
its share of highly specialized communications workers. Another
example is a statement made by an official of the Ministry of Com-
munications of Kazakhstan in mid-1957 that communications organs in
his republic were in serious need of aid from the Ministry of Com-
munications of the USSR, particularly to overcome shortages of quali-
fied personnel. Periodic reports by the Ministry of Communications
of the USSR also cite most of the republics of Region X as not par-
ticipating on a wide scale in the "rationalization work" of introduc-
ing suggestions. 12/
The initiation of plans thus far outlined for 1959-65 in
Region X will necessitate an expansion of training facilities in
order to increase the supply of technicians and engineers to operate
and maintain the more complex modern equipment. In an effort to in-
crease the number of engineers and technicians from the local popu-
lation, the Ministry of Communications of the USSR reportedly has
issued an order requiring republic and local communications organs
to select and to send indigenous persons, preferably employees, to
educational institutes. 1.?/
-18-
S-E-C-R-E-T
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
S-E-C-R-E-T
3. Productivity.
The average annual rate of growth in labor productivity
of the republic ministries of communications in Region X from 1950
through 1958 was slightly more than 5 percent.* This rate of growth
was about the same in both Kazakhstan and Central Asia as well as in
the Ministry of Communications of the USSR as a whole:
The rapid introduction of modern post and telecommunica-
tions facilities envisaged for the 1959-65 planning period will effect
a growth in labor productivity at an accelerated rate.
III. Postal Services.
Postal service is the most readily available and widely used
medium of communications in Region X. In 1958, about 1.2 billion
pieces of mail were handled (see Table 4**), representing about
7 percent of the total postal volume in the USSR. The service oper-
ates through a network of about 5,500 communications enterprises
(see Table 5***). As shown in Figure 8, periodicals account for
74 percent of total postal volume.****
Agum8
USSR: DISTRIBUTION OF POSTAL VOLUME IN ECONOMIC REGION X
BY TYPE OF SERVICE, 1958-MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS
PACKAGES AND'
MONEY ORDERS
SR
27454 349
* Computed on the basis of the rate of growth in average annual
revenue per employee, derived from Table 1, p. 10, above, and Table 3,
p. 16, above.
** Table 4 follows on p. 20.
*** Table 5 follows on p. 21.
**** Text continued on p. 22.
? - 19 -
S-E-C-R-E-T
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26 : CIAIRDP79R01141A001300140002-9
Table 4
Estimated Total Volume of Postal Service
in Kazakhstan and Central Asia (Region X) 2/
1950 and 1955-58
Million Units
Region X
Kazakhstan (Xa)
1950
1955
1956
1957 ?
1958
525
1,013
1,050
1,150
1,239
217 hi
446 y
412 y
466 y
d/
.502
Central Asia (Xb)
307
567
638
684
737
Kirgiz SSR
49 2/
85/
91!/
98!!
105!!
Tadzhik SSR
41 2/
74 2/
80!/
87 I/
93!!
Turkmen SSR
61W
90W
96/
102 1/
108!!
Uzbek SSR
157 1/
318 1/
371 1/
397 .1/
431 y
a. Total volume of postal service is composed of letters, packages, periodical publications, and
money orders. A breakdown of volume of postal service by these categories is available in the files
of this Office. All data are rounded to the nearest million. Totals are derived from unrounded data
and may not agree with the sum of their rounded components.
b.lyc. 1 /
d. Extrapolated by applying the average annual absolute growth shown during 1950-57.
f. Extrapolated by applying the average annual absolute growth shown during 1950-56 to each of these
years.
gs 22/
h. El/
is g5"
S-E-C-R-E-T
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
S-E-C-R-E-T
Table 5
Estimated Number of Postal and Telephone and Telegraph Enterprises
in Kazakhstan and Central Asia (Region X) 2/
1950 and 1955-58
Unita
Region X
Kazakhstan (Xa)
Central Asia (Xb)80
Kirgiz SSR
Tadzhik SSR
Turkmen SSR
Uzbek SSR
1950
1955
1956
1957
1958
Urban )2/
Rural
Total
Urban IV
Rural
Total
Urban?'
Rural
Total
Urban 11/
Rural
Total
Urban II
Rural
Total
la
)11
D2
70
49
102
209
lal?
2,090
LIE
22122
1,7oo
1L222
466
212
us
74
122
245
22.22
2,530
L'4222
2,990
12122
22g
01
125
64
124
264
2422222272
2,550 3,050
140!
22
?31
131
91
126
283
14122
2,570E/
an1
1112 2/
2,I5o
240
4a 220
241122
3A22 2/
2 280
?imm.
271
112
137
98
128
302
---
a92 s/
1 620
i 27o
I,33o
1,9
121R2
332
224
171
696
aL2g2
457
308
295
960
I,52o
__
311
226
163
574
Y:b.
275
265
783
323
226
169
610
442
ym
291
855
3412/
225W
1732/
7822/
4722/
3162/
2992/
1,0602/
352/
226W
175W
8682/
2487j/
32242/
303 di
1,1702/
;71
agree with the sum of their rounded components.
b. Total minus rural.
c. Extrapolated by applying the absolute growth during 1955-56 to each of these years.
d. Assuming an increase of 1 unit for each of these years.
All totals are rounded to three significant digits. Totals are derived from =rounded data and may not 50X1
- 21 -
S-E-C-R-E-T
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
S-E-C-R-E-T
In general, the quality and availability of postal service in
Region X are adequate in urban areas and vary from marginal to un-
satisfactory in most rural areas. Region X compares unfavorably in
per capita volume of postal service with the USSR as a whole, as
shown in the following tabulation*:
Pieces of Mail
Per Capita in 1958
USSR
81
Region X
52
Kazakhstan (Xa)
51
Central Asia (Xb)
53
The differences in per capita service volume between Region X and
the USSR as a whole may be attributed in part to the fact that postal
and transportation facilities are inadequate to serve the vast rural
area in Region X. Another possible factor is a less active demand for
postal service by the various native groups in Region X than by the
rest of the USSR
Steps are being taken in Region X to improve postal service. They
consist of expanding the number of enterprises and speeding up the
movement of mail through the use of mobile branch communications of-
fices and airplanes. In Kazakhstan, airmail service has been estab-
lished from Alma-Ata to all oblast and large urban centers. In
Tadzhik SSR, airmail service was initiated in 1958 to rayon centers.
Service is being improved by mechanization of mail-handling processes
at large postal centers, by decentralization of printing points for
periodicals, and by improvement in delivery schedules. It is believed
that the postal system in Region X will continue to develop along
these lines in the future and that most deficiencies will be overcome
during the course of the Seven Year Plan. 21/
IV. Telephone and Telegraph Services.
A. Telephone.
The development of the telephone system in Region X, consist-
ing of urban, rural, and interurban networks) lags behind the service
* All per capita relationships presented in this report are based on
population projections through 1958 of announced population statistics
for 1950 and 1956, using the average annual rates of growth.
-22-
S-E-C-R-E-T
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
S-E-C-R-E-T
requirements of the region. The telephone system is deficient not
only in terms of availability of service but also in technical qual-
ity and in reliability. Region X has only 7 percent of the total
number of telephone sets in the USSR and handles only 6.6 percent of
the total number of interurban calls made in the country. The tele-
phone system of Region X compares unfavorably in almost every way
with that of the USSR as a whole (which meets only the minimal re-
qUirements of the economy).
1. Urban and Rural.
Rayon centers act as the focal points for rural telephone
networks and serve as the exchange centers for both intrarayon and
interurban telephone service. Rayon centers and other populated
points of comparable or larger size are considered to be part of the
urban telephone network and are interconnected, by way of zonal cen-
ters, with the interurban telephone network.
Because both the urban and the rural areas of Region X are
vastly different from almost all other urban and rural areas of the
USSR, comparisons of telephone facilities may not be wholly meaning-
ful. Even so, the following explanations contain some quantitative
significance. The two tabulations which follow illustrate the com-
parative status of urban and rural telephone services in Region X.
The number of telephone sets per 1,000 persons in the USSR and in
Region X in 1958 was as follows:
Telephone Sets
per 1,000 Persons
Urban
Rural
Total
USSR
22
3.0
11
Region X
16
1.6
6.9
Kazakhstan (Xa)
15
2.1
7.4
Central Asia (Xb)
18
1.2
6.6
Automatic telephone exchange capacity as a percent of
total exchange capacity in the USSR and in Region X in 1956 was as
follows:
-23-
S-E-C-R-E-T
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
S-E-C-R-E-T
Percent
Urban
Rural
Total
USSR
50
4
42
Region X
30
11
27
Kazakhstan (Xa)
28
10
24
Central Asia (Xb)
31
13
29
These tabulations show that, with the exception of auto-
mation in rural areas, the level of development of telephone networks
in Region X is substantially below that in the USSR as a whole. Al-
though the urban telephone network in Region X is deficient in com-
parison with that in the USSR, it does not represent as serious a
deficiency as the rural network. As shown in Table 6,* telephone ser-
vice not only is completely lacking in many rural areas but also is of
questionable quality and very limited quantity in those areas where
it does exist. Furthermore, internal telephone systems are virtually
nonexistent in agricultural enterprises and kolkhozes.
The telephone facilities operated by the republic minis-
tries of communications in Region X are shown in Table 7.** This
table, however, does not give a complete inventory of such facili-
ties within the region. Before the economic reorganization of 1957,
numerous industrial and construction enterprises in Region X operated
functional telephone networks independent of the republic ministries.
The total exchange capacity of these functional telephone networks
compared with that of the networks of the republic ministries in
Region X in 1955 was as follows*** Eg:
Telephone 14umbers
Region X
Kazakhstan (Xa)
Central Asia (Xb)
* Table 6 follows on p. 25.
** Table 7 follows on p. 26.
*** Text continued on p. 27.
Ministry
Functional of Communications
109,600 150,700
47,400 71,300
62,200 79,400
-24-
S-E-C-R-E-T
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
S-E-C-R-E-T
Table 6
Telephone Service in Rural Areas in Kazakhstan and Central Asia (Region X)
by Type of Agricultural Unit 2/
1956
Units Having Telephone Service
Village Soviets
Sovkhozes
Machine Tractor Stations
Kolkhozes
Units
Percent
Units
Percent
Units
Percent
Units
Percent
Region X
3,206
78.9
714
83.4
924
98.0
14,306
73.0
Kazakhstan (Xa)
1,326
63.6
544
86.6
451
96.4
1,882
72.4
Central Asia (Xb)
1L 88o
94.9
170
74.6
473
99.4
2,424
73.4
?.--
Kirgiz SSR
423
94.8
39
67.2
78
98.7
369
52.7
Tadzhik SSR
221
86.3
27
81.8
64
97.3
279
69.8
Turkmen SSR
253
95.1
26
63.4
73
loom
288
96.0
Uzbek SSR
983
97.2
78
81.2
258
100.0
1,488
78.3
a. 21/. Including
centers.
only those agricultural units which have telephone service with their rayon
-25-
S-E-C-R-E-T
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
S-E-C-R-E-T
Table 7
Estimated Number of Telephone Sets
Connected to Exchanges Operated by the Republic Ministries of Communications
of Kazakhstan and Central Asia (Region X) 2/
1950 and 1955-58
Thousand Units
Region X
Kazakhstan (Xa)
Central Asia (Xb)
Kirgiz SSR
Tadzhik SSR
Turkmen SSR
Uzbek SSR
1950
1955
1956
1957
1958
Urban
Rural
Total
Urban
Rural
Total
Urban
Rural
Total
Urban
Rural
Total
Urban
Rural
Total
22
38Lli
47
7
7
8
25
12l2
5.1
22L2
43.4
112
a.
64
11
9
12
32
16.8
131.8
62.2
126
19.4
145.4
133.5
21.6
155.1
139.9
23.8
163k'
9.2
56
70
12
lo
13
35
l2.1
66.1
58.2 12/
has!
10.4
69.4
60.4 1/
1241 2/
11.5
72.7
52.1
7.8
71.8
9.3
79.3
22,2
13.0 2/
10.5 2/
13.82/
38.0!!
85.7
79.5
91.0
0.7
0.8
0.9
2.7
7.7
7.8
8.9
27.7
1.2
1.3
1.1
4.2
12.2
10.3
13.1
36.2
1.4
1.5
1.5
4.9
13.4
11.5
14.5
39.9
1.6 2/
1.6 2/
1.62/
5.6 2/
14.6
12.1
15.4
43.6
14.0 2/
11.0 2/
14.62/
39.9 Bi
1.8 2/
1.7 2/
1.7 2/
6.3 2/
15.8
12.7
16.3
46.2
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
Assuming the same absolute increase for 1957 as that planned for 1958.
Extrapolated by applying the absolute growth shown during 1955-56 to each of these years.
25V
Extrapolated by applying the average annual absolute growth shown during 1950-56 to each of these years.
32/
Extrapolated by applying the average annual absolute growth shown during 1950-57.
-26-
S-E-C-R-E-T
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
50X1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
S-E-C-R-E-T
The exchange capacity of the functional telephone network
In 1955 represented 42 percent of the total available exchange capacity
in Region X. The current status of these functional networks is un-
certain. There is evidence that in other regions the Ministry of Com-
munications of the USSR is slowly gaining control of functional net-
works belonging to ministries that were abolished under the provisions
of the economic reorganization of 1957. Similar action, if not al-
ready initiated, may be expected in Region X When such action is
completed the republic ministries of communications will be able to
utilize more effectively the total exchange capacity of Region X.
Furthermore, the ability of the ministries to meet requirements for
telephone service should be augmented to the extent that excess func-
tional capacity can be diverted to other users.
The Seven Year Plan for the Ministry of Communications of
the USSR calls for increasing the capacity of urban telephone ex-
changes 1.5 times, primarily through the use of automatic exchange
equipment, and for the installation of telephone facilities in all
rural areas by the end of 1965. Plans state that the highest rate
of development of urban telephone facilities will take place in those
republics whose ratio of telephones per 100 persons is particularly
low. Specifically mentioned are the Kazakh, Kirgiz, Tadzhik, and
Uzbek SSR's. In Uzbek SSR alone it is planned to increase the auto-
matic exchange capacity of urban areas by more than 100,000 numbers
by the end of 1965. 2../
If the growth in urban exchange capacity in the republics
of Region X is at all comparable to that indicated by the Seven Year
Plan, the urban telephone network of Region X will be greatly Im-
proved. Whether telephone facilities will be installed in all rural
areas of Region X by the end of 1965 cannot be determined. The geo-
graphical features of the rural area of Region X would make the in-
stallation of telephone facilities extremely costly. Nevertheless,
the rural telephone network will probably be substantially improved
over the course of the next 7 years.
2. Interurban.
The interurban telephone service in the USSR interconnects
republic, oblast, and rayon centers with other populated points through
a network of interurban telephone exchanges and common telecommunica-
tions facilities. The republic capitals and oblast centers in Region X
serve as the main exchange centers, with Tashkent, one of the largest
communications centers in the USSR, providing exchange outlets for
Region X to the Interurban network of other areas of the USSR.
-27-
S-E-C-R-E-T
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
S-E-C-R-E-T
Interurban telephone service is available on a limited
basis to all oblast centers and major cities and to most rayon cen-
ters in Region X. As a result of service limitations, the vast ma-
jority of the available interurban telephone service is utilized by
the Party, the government, and government enterprises.
The volume of interurban telephone service in Region X
is shown in Table 8.* A comparison of the relative service volumes
(the number of interurban telephone calls per 100 persons) in 1958
of Region X and the USSR, as shown in the following tabulation, re-
veals a substantial difference in the quantity of service provided.
Telephone Calls
per 100 Persons
USSR
78
Region X
46
Kazakhstan (Xa)
44
Central Asia (Xb)
48
The difference shown between the service volumes per 100 persons in
the USSR and in Region X, especially when viewed in the light of the
marginal nature of interurban telephone service in the USSR, illus-
trates the low level of development of interurban telephone service
in Region X.
The shortcomings of interurban telephone service in
Region X can be attributed in the main to the lack of interurban ex-
change capacity and the lack of circuit capacity on common telecom-
munications facilities. Added to these limitations are the poor
technical quality of many interurban circuits, the limited hours of
operation of manual interurban exchanges at oblast and rayon centers,
and the related problem of inadequate automation in exchange facili-
ties. Region X was recently cited by the Ministry of Communications
of the USSR as an area where the transfer of interurban telephone cir-
cuits to semiautdmatic working has been particularly unsatisfactory.
The only semiautomatic interurban telephone circuits presently in use
in Region X interconnect Alma-Ata, Frunze, and Tashkent. 12/
The Minister of Communications of Uzbek SSR has stated
that the chief task during 1959-65 is the development of the inter-
urban telephone network. Plans for expanding common telecommunications
* Table 8 follows on p. 29.
-28-
S-E-C-R-E-T
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
S-E-C-R-E-T
Table 8
Estimated Number of Interurban Telephone Calls Made
in Kazakhstan and Central Asia (Region X) 2/
1950 and 1955-58
Million Units
1950
1955
1956
3557
1958
Region X
7.0
9.2
9.7
10.2
10.9
Kazakhstan (Xa)
2 .4
3.4
3.7
4.0 12/
4.3 12/
Central Asia (Xb)
4.6
2,?.
6.0
6.2
6.6
Kirgiz SSR
0.6
0.9
1.0
1.1 ?I
1.2 b/
Tadzhik SSR
0.7
0.8
0.8
0.8 2/
0.9 2/
Turkmen SSR
0.9
1.0
1.0
1.0 2/
1.1 2/
Uzbek SSR
2.4
3.1
3.2
3.3 y
3.4 12/
All data are rounded to the neatest hundred thousand.
b. Extrapolated by applying the absolute growth shown dur-
ing 1955-56 to each of these years.
c. Extrapolated, using graphic analysis.
facilities in Region X will provide the necessary circuit capacity
base needed for expanding interurban exchange capacity and for ex-
panding the use of semiautomatic circuits.
One of the most important results of expanding the in-
terurban telephone network in Region X will be the provision of ser-
vice responsive to the new pattern of service requirements that has
grown out of the economic reorganization. The strategic signifi-
cance of an extensive interurban telephone network should not be over-
looked, because the armed forces frequently use Ministry of Communica-
tions facilities and, in times of emergency, have the authority to
commandeer such facilities as needed. Thus a more extensive inter-
urban telephone network will provide the armed forces with a reserve
telecommunications resource of greater capacity and flexibility, above
and beyond its normal share of jointly constructed or jointly used
facilities.
-29-
S-E-C-R-E-T
50X1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
S-E-C-R-E-T
B. Telegraph.
In Kazakhstan and Central Asia the need for rapid electrical
communications to interconnect widely separated points can be satis-
fied most economically by regular telegraph service. This service
is feasible because it can be establiShed with a minimum of invest-
ment in terminal equipment and in common telecommunications facili-
ties.
Regular telegraph service, consequently, has become the most
widely used mode of rapid electrical communication by all sectors of
the economy in Region X. This region accounts for about 9 percent
of total telegraph traffic in the USSR. Service is available to all
rayon, oblast, and republic centers as well as to*most populated
points of strategic or economic significance. The more sophisticated
forms of telegraphic communications, subscriber telegraph and fac-
simile, require more elaborate terminal and common telecommunications
facilities and therefore are less fully developed.
As shown in Table 9,* there has been a substantial difference
between Kazakhstan and Central Asia in the growth of telegraph traffic
volume since 1950 and especially since 1954. The volume of telegrams
sent in Kazakhstan increased about 28 percent from 1954 through 1958,
while for the same period in Central Asia the volume actually decreased
by about 1 percent.
A similar disparity between the two areas exists in service
volumes: in Kazakhstan there were 107 telegrams sent per 100 persons
in 1958, while in Central Asia there were only 63 telegrams sent per
100 persons. The number of telegrams sent per 100 persons in Kazakh-
stan is somewhat greater than that in the USSR as a whole, in which
there were 101 telegrams sent per 100 persons in 1958. The main
reasons for the disparity in telegraph service between Kazakhstan and
Central Asia are the rapidly expanding level of economic activity in
Kazakhstan and the nonavailability of telephone service. Another
factor may be that a relationship exists between the level of cultural
development of an area (based on its ethnic composition) and its pro-
pensity to communicate: 60 percent of the population in Kazakhstan
is estimated to be of European origin, whereas only 25 percent of the
population in Central Asia is estimated to be of European origin.
Other forms of telegraph service, subscriber telegraph and
facsimile, are available in Region X to a limited extent. It is be-
lieved that most of the major industrial centers have limited subscriber
* Table 9 follows on p. 31.
-30-
S-E-C-R-E-T
Declassified in Part- Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
S-E-C-R-E-T
Table 9
Estimated Number of Telegrams Sent
in Kazakhstan and Central Asia (Region X) 2/
1950 and 1954-58
Million Units
Region X
Kazakhstan (Xa)
Central Asia (X10)
Kirgiz SSR
Tadzhik SSR
Turkmen SSR
Uzbek SSR
1950
1954
1955
1956
1957
1958
13.6
17.2
18.0
1:8.a
9.8
1219
19.4
10.6 2/
6.6
1.2 y
8.9
9.4
10.2 2/
7.0
8.6
1.2
1.4
1.2
1.5
4.4
8.7
8.8
1.1
1.2
1.3
3.4
1.4 d/
1.3 d/
1.7 1/
4.5 5./
1.4
1.3
1.5
4.4
1.4 2/
1.2 2/
1.5 2/
4.6 LI/
1.5 2/
1.2 2/
1.5 2/
4.6 2/
a.
are rounded to the
c. Extrapolated by applying the
to each of these years.
d. Interpolated, using graphic analysis.
e. Extrapolated, using graphic analysis.
g?
h. Li
nearest hundred thousand.
Al]. data 50X1
absolute growth shown during 1955-56
telegraph facilities and that all republic capitals and the more im-
portant centers of economic activity in northern Kazakhstan have fac-
simile facilities.
Future developments in telegraphic communications in Region X
will be directed toward automatization of regular telegraph exchange
facilities to improve efficiency in the relaying of telegraph traffic
and toward expansion of subscriber telegraph service to expedite the
flow of operational telegraph traffic.
The expansion of subscriber telegraph facilities has taken on
increased importance since the economic reorganization. The transfer
of responsibility to the sovnarkhozes has made it necessary that the
sovnarkhoz in each new economic area have a documentary form of com-
munication with its subordinate enterprises, with other sovnarkhozes
- 31 -
S-E-C-R-E-T
Declassified in Part- Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
S.-E--C-R-E-T
having related economic interests, and with state planning committees
and marketing organizations of the republic, for purposes of opera-
tional and administrative control and coordination. It is in this
field of telegraphic communications that the greatest emphasis will
be placed in Region X. 121/
V. Broadcasting.
Broadcasting services provide the Communist Party and the Soviet
government with one of the most important means for dissemination of
propaganda to the general public.* A byproduct of broadcasting is
public entertainment.
Broadcasting service in Region X is not as well developed as that
in the USSR as a whole. Region X, which has about 11 percent of the
total population of the USSR, has only 7 percent of the total number
of broadcast reception points. This discrepancy is partly explained
by the topography and low population density of Region X, which make
the provision of broadcasting services extremely expensive in many
areas.
The wire-diffusion network is the most extensive of the broadcast-
ing services in Region X, accounting for about 72 percent of the total
number of reception points, followed by radiobroadcasting with 25 per-
cent and television with about 3 percent. Television has grown phe-
nomenally since the beginning of 1956 and is the mode of broadcasting
on which the greatest emphasis is currently being placed.
A. Radiobroadcasting.
Domestic radiobroadcasting in Region X has not been given in
recent years the priority given to wire diffusion and television.
This is explained partly by its relatively high cost ccmpared with
wire diffusion and partly by its relative ineffectiveness compared
with television. Another factor is the desire of Soviet officials
to have a broadcast reception base oriented toward receivers that are
not subject to penetration by foreign broadcasting.
* The republic ministries of communications in Region X are respon-
sible for the operation and maintenance of the broadcasting facili-
ties in their respective areas. The responsibility for program con-
tent and over-s11 supervision of the broadcasting system is vested in
the state committee for radiobroadcasting and television of each re-
public. Each committee in turn is responsible to its republic coun-
cil of ministers.
-32-
S-E-C-R-E-T
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
S-E-C-R-E-T
The domestic radiobroadcasting network of Region X is made up
of low-frequency, medium-frequency, high-frequency, and very-high-
frequency transmitters and their associated studios. This network
provides service to more than 700,000 radiobroadcast receivers (see
Table 10*). In Central Asia, radiobroadcasting facilities, with one
exception, are found only at republic capitals. Kazakhstan has more
extensive radiobroadcasting facilities. In addition to the major
radiobroadcasting center located at Alma-Ata, each oblast center in
Kazakhstan has a studio and/or a transmitter associated with it. The
locations of radiobroadcasting facilities, both domestic and inter-
national, are shown in Figure 9.**
The domestic transmitting facilities in Region X transmit both
national programs, which originate from Moscow studios, and regional
programs, which originate from republic and oblast studios. Each of
these studios must devote up to half of its broadcasting time to
Russian language programs regardless of the native language of the
area served.
Problems facing the domestic radiobroadcasting network in
Region X are manifold. Foremost are the vast area to be served, the
topographic and climatic conditions which adversely affect the propa-
gation of radio waves, the sparsity of population in large portions
of the region, and the multitude of native languages. The existing
radiobroadcasting network is inadequate to cope with most of these
problems.
The most basic shortcoming is the lack of adequate transmitting
facilities to serve the outlying areas of the republics. Furthermore,
the power of existing transmitting facilities is frequently too low
to provide coverage to the assigned service areas. This inadequacy
is compounded by the irregularity of the linguistic and political
boundaries which in some areas cause much of the transmitted energy
to be dissipated outside the intended service areas. Other serious
shortcomings are the shortness of the broadcasting days and the sub-
ordination of broadcasting in local native languages to that in
Russian. 122/
The inadequacy of radiobroadcasting service in Region X is
further reflected, as shown below, in the ratio of radiobroadcast
receivers per 1,000 persons.
* Table 10 follows on p. 35.
** Following p. 34.
-33-
S-E-C-R-E-T
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
S-E-C-R-ErT
Radiobroadcast Receivers
per 1,000 Persons
Urban
Rural
Total
USSR
78
20
46
Region X
57
15
30
Kazakhstan
(Xa)
44
19
29
Central Asia OW
68
12
30
Tentative announcements of the Seven Year Plan state that
radiobroadcasting transmitting facilities will be expanded in Region X
by the construction of powerful low-frequency and medium-frequency
transmitters in areas where existing facilities do not provide high-
quality reception. Frequency modulated (FM) radiobroadcasting will
also receive increased attention in the future. In 1958 the first
such facility was put into operation at Tashkent. Similar FM facili-
ties can be expected to be installed at other republic capitals of
Region X during the next 7 years.
In spite of plans to expand the radiobroadcasting network,
there has been no evidence of intent to expand the reception base at
a more rapid rate than in the past.
The international radiobroadcasting facilities located in
Region X are considered to be well developed, combining high trans-
mission power and proximity to target areas. As shown on Figure 9,*
facilities are located at Tashkent and Stalinabad, comprising two
high-frequency transmitters and a studio at each location.
The primary target areas of international radiobroadcasting
from Region X are Sinkiang Province in Communist China, Iran, Afghani-
stan, India, and Pakistan. As shown in Table 11,** programs are broad-
cast to these areas in 6 languages for a total of 42 hours per week.
There are no indications of plans to expand international
broadcasting facilities in Region X. Any future expansion will be
contingent on political considerations.
B. Wire Diffusion.
The wire-diffusion network in Region X, as in the rest of
the USSR, is the most widespread of the broadcasting mediums. Its
* Following p. 34.
** Table 11 follows on p., 36.
-34-
S-E-C-R-E-T
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
Nur, 9 50X1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
+ CHELYABINSK
I 5 ..-- pSTROPAVLOVS
.11
S
ORENBURG
ft
-
CUR
EV
IC
UBINSK
A
4.1"? fr ?
KOKCHET V
?RAGANON
eik
A
WA
4-9
{ -
tkoimiws
S.
R.
DINAMBUL fIRLINZE
?
42ERBA Y.
132HAN
SSA.
f
UZBEK
/._,.
r?..,.
,--, ---- yr
--csiN.K 1 R
/'":?-9 --
, rI
y ? -
TURKM,EN
S
flint
A N
ASHKHABAD
'
S. S. R..
EN
0
V) .
tin Ulan T ADZI-111@j-Th
?
,,NL k.
. ,-;
INABAD S R.
AFGHANISTAN
Jammu anil Kasha
a, dean/
.....
P AKIST AN C.?
1
USSR ECONOMIC REGION X
DOMESTIC AND INTERNATIONAL
RADIO BROADCASTING TRANSMITTERS
AND STUDIOS, 1958
Ministry of Communications
Domestic International
O TRANSMITTER 0
o STUDIO
^ very high frequency m medium frequency
H high frequency L low frequency
reeeeble NAN.o, R.E6 m.? Noademh
AN J.... sea ...N..1 N.N.
2 lacou....o.,
71.
27461 459
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
50X1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
S-E-C-R-E-T
Table 10
Estimated Number of Radiobroadcast Receivers
in Kazakhstan and Central Asia (Region X) 2/
1950 and 1955-58
Thousand Units
Region x
Kazakhstan (Ka)
Central Asia (Kb)
Kirgiz SSR
Tadzhik SSR
Turkmen SSA
Uzbek SSE
1950
1955
1956
1957
1958
Urban iil
Rural
Total
Urban 11/
Rural
Total
Urban Ili
Rural
Total
Urban IV
Rural
Total
Urban 12/
Rural
Total
68
14
--
2!I
3
3
5
43
14
5
2
1
2
i
5
82
19
..1
4
5
6
48
282
116
.32i!
142
347
1511.1.41
121
122
4o
33
38
194
403
2J12
222
21402/
4.62
227
.6.2
2?2 2/
400
.2.
186
46
72
9
6
9
46
212
222
68
i31
13
5
10
55
122
ga
30
31
32
160
222/
22
17j/
6 1/
12W
6242/
177
2!2/
115
g2a
33
29
32
162
12
147j/
372/
44 2/
224 E/
alLi2
33
34
36
182
24
23
23
116
27
28
28
139
212/
7!!
142/
732/
54 2/
41 s/
502/
2552/
a. I
All data are rounded to the nearest thousand.
b. Total minus rural.
c. Extrapolated by applying the absolute growth shown during 1955-56 to each of these years.
e. Extrapolated by applying the average annual, absolute growth shown during 1955-57.
4. Assuming a growth of 1,000 units for each of these years.
g.
-35-
S-E-C-R-E-T
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
50X1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
S-E-C-R-E-T
Table 11
Weekly Soviet International Radiobroadcasting Output
from Kazakhstan and Central Asia (Region X) to Foreign Audiences 2/
1958
Area, Direction, and Language Hours per Week
From Tashkent 28
To Sinkiang
In Uighur
To Iran and Afghanistan
In Persian 7
To India and/or Pakistan
In Urdu
In English
7
7
From Stalinabad 14
To Iran and Afghanistan
In Persian 7
In Tadzhik 7
Total 42
a. _2/. As of November 1958.
preeminence over other forms of broaacasting is primarily a reflection
of the cost differentials and control advantages associated with closed
circuit ("captive audience") broadcasting.
The growth of the wire-diffusion network in Region X has been
sharp, increasing from less than 500,000 wired loudspeakers in 1950
to slightly more than 2 million by the end of 1958 (see Table 12*).
* Table 12 follows on p. 37.
-36-
S-E-C-R-E-T
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
S-E-C-R-E-T
Table 12
Estimated Number of Wired Loudspeakers
in Kazakhstan and Central Asia (Region X) 11
1950 and 1955-58
Thousand Units
1950
1955
1956
1957
1958
Urban 11/
Rural
Total
Urban 12/
Rural
Total
Urban 12/
Rural
Total
Urban 2/
Rural
Total
Urban 2/
Rural
Total
Region X
21
la
491
222
112
1,277
a2
22L'
:LEI
692
1,103
1.43211
758
1,298
........
2".(22
SOB
Kazakhstan (Xa)
161
211
222
112

fl
0.2
S !?12s/
12W
El
4231 2./
?.22!/
Central Asia (Xb)
21216
28o
li2.2
11.2
.Z2
5.2.2
868
.35.2
684
1,034
1.8?.
811
1,197
Kirgiz SSR
28
18
46
57
62
119
63
72
135
71
861/
1575/
78
981/
1762/
Tadzhik SSR
21
14
35
39
49
88
44
61
105
49
732/
1222/
54
852/
3.392/
Turkmen SSA
28
11
39
51
43
94
54
53
107
55
722/
127g
58
892/
3)472/
Uzbek Se
68
48
116
133
281
414
154
367
521
175
453 s/
6282/
196
539 2/
735 2/
a.
b.
C.
d.
C.
f.
g.
h.
i.
Total minus rural.
Extrapolated by applying
Al/
Extrapolated by applying
Computed by assuming the
ig
All data are rounded to the nearest thousand.
the absolute growth shown during 1955-56 to each of these years.
the average annual absolute growth shown during 1955-57.
sine increase in the proportion of rural to total in 1957 and 1958 as that shown in 1955 and 1956.
-37-
S-E-C-R-E-T
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
50X1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
S-E-C-R-E-T
In spite of this rapid growth, the 1958 figure of more than 2 million
represents only 87 loudspeakers per 1,000 persons in contrast to
131 loudspeakers per 1,000 persons for the USSR as a whole.
The need for further expansion of the wire-diffusion network
is not restricted to any one republic or to urban or rural areas. In
contrast to the distribution of other post and telecommunications
facilities, the wire-diffusion network of Region X, measured on a per
capita basis, is rather evenly distributed among the various republics.
Similarly, the distribution of loudspeakers between urban and rural
areas throughout Region X, measured on a per capita basis, is quite
even.
Numerous problems are associated with the development of the
wire-diffusion network of Region X as a result of the pattern of dis-
tribution of population and the topography of the region. In many
remote and relatively inaccessible rural areas the cost of construct-
ing and maintaining wireline facilities per wired loudspeaker is ex-
tremely expensive if not prohibitive. The cost of installing a wired
loudspeaker in mountainous areas in Tadzhik SSR is reported to be
10 times greater than that in more level areas. 21/
Aside from cost considerations, the wire-diffusion networks
of Region X reportedly experience many operational problems. These
problems, as in other regions of the USSR, involve the inefficient
utilization of facilities, the interruption of service resulting from
equipment and power failures, and the idleness of facilities in need
of replacement parts. Such problems are being resolved by automatiza-
tion and by the consolidation of servicing of wire-diffusion and elec-
trical communications.
The most recent innovation in the wire-diffusion network has
been the development of a multiprogram system. This represents some-
thing of a concession to Soviet consumers, as one of the most frequent
criticisms made of the wire-diffusion network is the lack of program
selection. A multiprogram system has been introduced in Ashkhabad,
and a similar system is under construction in Tashkent. All republic
capitals of Region X are to have multiprogram wire-diffusion facili-
ties by the end of 1965. 22/
Plan announcements thus far released for the Seven Year Plan
show the intention of completing the wire-diffusion network by the
end of 1965 (Uzbek SSR plans to complete its network by the end of
1959). Fulfillment of this plan is somewhat doubtful because many
rural areas not now served by wire diffusion can and will be more
economically served by the radiobroadcasting network. It is reason-
able to expect that, where cost considerations are not overriding, the
-38-
S-E-C-R-E-T
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
S-E-C-R-E-T
wire-diffusion network of Region X will be virtually completed in
all urban areas and in the more heavily populated rural areas by
the end of 1965. 21/
C. Television.
. Television has been recognized in the USSR as the most effec-
tive medium of mass communication. Region X, which is second only to
the European portions of the USSR in the development of television,
currently has 17 television stations in operation. As shown in
Figure 10,* 8 of these stations are major television stations having
studio facilities, and 9 are relay stations which retransmit, by
means of I-toff-the-air" pickup, the programs of major stations.
Although the television transmission base in Region X is com-
paratively well developed, the reception base is estimated to consist
of less than 100,000 television receivers. The small size of this
base is believed to reflect a temporary lag in the supply and distribu-
tion of television receivers following the rapid expansion of trans-
mitting facilities which began in 1956.211/
Television facilities are concentrated largely in and around
the republic capitals of Region X and the major cities of northern
Kazakhstan. A unique television facility worthy of note is a relay
station located at Krasnovodsk. This relay station allegedly receives
and retransmits television programs originating from Baku, located
about 200 miles across the Caspian Sea. Although this relay station
may be serviced by means of tropospheric scatter facilities, it is
believed that propagational characteristics over water at that latitude
combined with high-gain reception antennas make such a phenomenon pos-
sible. 22/
One of the most significant television developments in Region X
has been the introduction in 1958 of network television service between
Alma-Ata, Frunze, and Tashkent. This network service was made possible
by the use of microwave radio relay facilities. By the end of 1959,
similar microwave facilities will be completed between Tashkent and the
two remaining republic capitals of Stalinabad and Ashkhabad. This will
enable all republic capitals in Region X to be joined by network tele-
vision service. 2g
The future development of television in Kazakhstan and Central
Asia will be directed toward a more complete television network ser-
vice, expanding the transmission base (as shown by television stations
planned and under construction in Figure 10*) and enlarging the
* Following p. 4o.
- 39 -
S-E-C-R-E-T
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
S-E-C-R-E-T
reception base. Microwave radio relay lines for network television
service will join Region X with the Transcaucasus republics, Moscow,
the Urals, and Siberia.* The completion of these microwave facili-
ties, believed to be included in the new Seven Year Plan for a nation-
wide television network, will permit Region X to exchange programs
with all important areas of the USSR.
VI. Common Telecommunications Facilities.
Common telecommunications facilities provide the transmission
mediums by which telephone, telegraph, and broadcasting services are
exchanged between two or more points. The common facilities used in
Region X consist of open wirelines, multiconductor cable, microwave
radio relay, and point-to-point radio. These facilities are used in
varying degrees in both mainline (interrepublic and interoblast) and
secondary (intraoblast) telecommunications service.
The common facilities in mainline use in Region X meet, for the
most part, only minimal economic requirements for telecommunications
circuit capacity. Open wirelines are the facilities most extensively
used in mainline service, and many of these are known to use tech-
niques for multiplying circuit capacity. These facilities are sup-
plemented in northern Kazakhstan by a number of multiconductor cable
lines and in the southeastern portion of Region X by microwave radio
relay lines. There are also a number of point-to-point radio circuits
in mainline use. These circuits are used principally to handle tele-
communications traffic that cannot be accommodated by other common
facilities and to act as reserve facilities.
The high cost per channel for the construction of reliable common
telecommunications facilities for secondary use has forced the rural
areas of Region X to depend largely on point-to-point radio facilities
and, in some areas, on open wireline facilities of marginal quality.
Because of the limitations imposed by these common facilities, the
types and quantities of telecommunications services available in most
rural areas are restricted.
The extent of open wireline and cable, microwave radio relay, and
point-to-point radio facilities in Region X is depicted in Figures 11,**
12,** and 13,** respectively.
The construction of open wireline and cable facilities in Region X
for mainline use has given way in recent years to that of the more
* See Figure 12, following p. 4o, for the routes of microwave radio
relay lines in use, planned, and under construction.
** Following p. 4o.
S-E-C-R-E-T
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
50X1
Figur* 10
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
?r71-
0.
R.
_
AOZHEZKAZGAN
A
8?Dat 66,1
-1010MSNOVposK
HA Ckyr
E1 A
S.
s. ----\
AI ASHKHABAD
A
c-A
.31'M
/
I
'UZBEK
URGENGH
t
TURKM1EN
S. S. R.
.}
fi
,n:ktaatr'_00,4oG
/ )
, r
P
IC
)fri.mizEir
cr
scHimnrac,
fr.,.
f
cr it.94x K R
/
?
CD'ilkURCS
'
<
'
ALIAA,A11.
C
-t
?
im?
yttG141.114, S ? ? )
BA tr.
N. GREH ONAMtrark,
WAN HAN
s
S. S. R. v irste - A
,ANGI.YER \j-t-k<
r- 4-
/
?
0BIJKIIARA
s KARSHI
L
)
tej
NARIMANOVKA ro;At
? SA:If:LAND
V" c
STALINAOIAD TADZI-11K-N3
ri
AFGHANISTAN
Jammu old Kashmir
WUCISTAN
CS'
50X1
USSR, ECONOMIC REGION X
DOMESTIC TELEVISION
BROADCASTING STATIONS, 1958
Ministry of Communications
Type In
Station Operation
MAJOR ?
LOCAL
RELAY ?
1
Under
Construction
Planned
0
27462 I.
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
50X1
? Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
(-? ? ,
sAfty3131,,,ski bHupriKOA
s'1N to
/
rERser
4STR?prim
47ERBA
V.
bittros,
k
:?
???
f.
-ftstk
ctc'' r-tc
???
rs-
KARAKHSTAN
DOSS()
F.
RIX?ru-rs
fl
71
???..
0MrSOMO1.SK/Y
OsDHAG;t.- ./ss
S.,
It
BIAGNIT0c0
ORS
ALGA
KANDAGACH
'
TSK
DZHETRGARA
C.,
?s coassRov c
?c. /?-
rtARABLITAN
BE CHOGU8
CNn
A
.;
i I
xuNGRA
t
? ....---C7.7?? Cc\
4'' c
' \,,r .
I ..)?
?? I 1
, (zsr
BRKUr,/ \)\1,--i-----.21
7
.."??7-. RRASNOVODSK H.
-.--- -..
:,- (.1 EERLDAG
t
KIRYLARVAr
It
A
r?t4
E,
ulcus
TURKMIEN
ASHKHABAD
MESHED
or.
ULSNP/
ARALSX
k r
'VC
RGENC
kUSTANAR
KLISH/LRU
???
Figur* 11
?RAsus
0
KOKCHETAV
PESKI
RUZARERKA
A ANGEUDY
TURGAY
OVO-KAZAUNSK
KARSAKPAY
DZNUSALY
S.
Z B E K
k
A
ED EN
MU/
KZYLORDA
ATBASAR
LADYIHR
e
GAN
S.
TURKESTAN
TASHKE
r"--LIIiCH
S. S. R. \ mos
BUKHARA
114.-N
CHARM
URSAAYEVSKAY
EGON( . 0 spaiy.TAS
---. ZAKHMATABAO _ '-'1/4.1
OUNSK
\OCjYEVA
.
ATASUSIOY
DZHAAIBU
crnmsEmer
YANG141.1.)NNAIA;
cr?.4.KOKAHSS
,,t0DAR
got?HDA
KARKARAUNSK
"RDRAP(SRAYA
HAM
SPEHSKIY
GINTY
OGAci
ULU
sEmin
r
..--h--.-4-..... MAO"'
BAUCHS":"WL:- " C
__. i
( ..?
1 ...,-,...,-,?,..,
(..-.
. --/...-
IS 'LE
RAH it. ? tr'r''''..
fARSHA
/r. \
I
----/
?
?????? ????
RUB
test
L. ./
NOVOTROITSKOVE
GA
1
7 ARUN
KALIHRISKOYE
WISER?
R0 TZ
OZHALALABADc S.
OZGEN
of
ARGERRH
DZHIZA
??????
STA
DENAU
NASA
OBAGMI
soRth
re KURGAJATY. USE
r
ER EZ
AFGHANISTAN
?
1(
osHGAR
uRSADV
)0.
? ? ?-?
HOROG /
..d WARR
earra??
c s s
50X1
USSR, ECONOMIC REGION X
MAIN TELECOMUNICATIONS
WIRELINES, 1958
Ministry of Communications
? ? Roars Ras* RAINS,
Mulloconductor Cant
ee MulbconducbAr Cal*
(under construction)
wear* with Carries
Are' n
- - - Sedalia:it Cable
27163l Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26 : CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
50X1
50X1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
NORTH
SEA
USSR, Economic Region X
Main Domestic and International Radiotelegraph Circuits, 1958?Ministry of Communications
Figure 13 50X1
t/C OCEAS
1.4d
MOSCOW a
Komsornolisk
Khabarovsk
Ashkhabad
Chardshou T,,thIint mma.Ato
Boundaries ore not necessarily those
recognized by the U.S. Government
27460 3-59
ta.linabadernd
To Kabul
Teletype
?s?e- Teletype sad Facsimile
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
50X1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26 :
CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
S-E-C-R-E-T
modern and, in most instances, less expensive microwave radio relay
facilities.* This development represents one of the most important
advances in common telecommunications facilities that have taken place
in Region X. 21/
The first experimental radio relay line, having a capacity of
three telephone channels, was constructed in 1946 in Kirgiz SSR be-
tween Frunze and Osh. This line was put into permanent operation in
1948, and by 1957 its capacity had been expanded to 24 telephone
channels. The first interrepublic microwave line in the USSR was put
into operation in Region X in 1957. This line, with a capacity of
24 telephone channels, interconnected the republic capitals of Alma-
Ata, Frunze, and Tashkent. In 1958 the capacity of this line was ex-
panded to permit the transmission of television programs. 22/
At present, more than 2,000 kilometers (km) of microwave lines
are in operation in Region X. These operational lines will be aug-
mented in the near future by about 1,500 km of line presently under
construction and at some future date by 5,000 km in addition. 29V
One important exception to the apparent preference for construct-
ing microwave facilities is the multiconductor cable line that was
completed in 1958 in Kazakhstan between Petropavlovsk and Alma-Ata.
This cable line, connecting at Petropavlovsk with the multiconductor
cable line running east from Moscow to Novosibirsk, is the first high-
capacity facility to connect Region X with the rest of the USSR. (11/
In general, the canon telecommunications facilities that are in
operation are subject to some rather severe limitations. As a whole,
common facilities have capacities that restrict their abi]ity to meet
telecommunications requirements of all consumers. In addition, the
radial configuration of common facilities has restricted the ability
of the republic ministries of communications to respond adequately to
lateral telecommunications service requirements of sovnarkhozes, state
planning committees, and marketing organizations since the economic
reorganization.**
* The cost advantages gained by constructing microwave facilities
are of major importance in desert and mountainous areas. Microwave
facilities require less nonferrous metals, shorter construction time,
and fewer operational and maintenance personnel. Substantial savings
may be made, in contrast to cable and open-wireline facilities of
similar capacities.
** Following the economic reorganization, the Ministry of Communica-
tions of the USSR reportedly gained control of many common telecom-
munications facilities that were formerly owned and operated by minis-
tries abolished under the reorganization. There is no indication as
to the extent to which this transfer of control has taken place in
Region X.
S-E-C-R-E-T
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26 :
CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
S-E-C-R-E-T
Initial steps have been taken to overcome many of the limitations
that presently exist in the common facilities of Region X. The em-
phasis that has been placed on microwave construction in recent years,
and which is apparently continuing, suggests that this type of facil-
ity will be the basis for developing mainline facilities in a pattern
responsive to capacity and service requirements. Besides cost con-
siderations, an important advantage of microwave equipment is that,
after initial installation, its capacity can be easily expanded to
provide additional service.
Tropospheric and ionospheric scatter facilities, currently under
development in the USSR, may be introduced for mainline use in
Region X in the future. At present an experimental tropospheric
scatter link is in operation between Frunze and Przhevalisk in
Kirgiz SSR. The use of scatter facilities would be especially ap-
plicable in Region X, as terminals can be spaced at distances rang-
ing from about 200 to 1,500 miles.
Requirements for common telecommunications facilities in second-
ary use will continue to be met in many areas of Region X by point-
to-point radio. Plans for the development of telephone facilities
in rural areas of Region X, however, suggest that a rather substan-
tial effort will be made to extend wireline facilities to rural areas
during the course of the next 7 years.
Prospects for the development of common facilities in Region X
appear promising. Economic and strategic requirements for more ade-
quate telecommunications service have forced Soviet officials at both
the national and the republic levels to make provision for overcoming
present inadequacies. It appears likely that most of the inadequacies
of common facilities will be overcome by the end of the Seven Year Plan.
VII. Future Trends.
Soviet officials plan a rapid expansion of post and telecommunica-
tions facilities in Region X during the Seven Year Plan. They ap-
parently recognize that the existing low level of this resource pre- ,
cludes its ability to serve fully the economic activity of the region.
Expansion will be directed not only toward augmenting existing facili-
ties to meet more fully established patterns of service requirements
but also toward providing new facilities to meet the new pattern of
lateral service requirements that hes arisen as a result of the 1957
economic reorganization.
Major trends in the field of communications in Region X during
1959-65 will probably include the following:
-42-
S-E-C-R-E-T
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-c
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26 :
CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
S-E-C-R-E-T
1. Establishment of a Scientific Research Institute of Com-
munications in Region X to work on problems associated with the de-
velopment of post and telecommunications in the region.
2. Acceleration in the provision of common telecommunica-
tions facilities circuit capacity through the construction of micro-
wave radio relay facilities for mainline service and through the
construction of open wireline and low-capacity cable facilities for
secondary service.
3. Widespread use of automatic and semiautomatic interurban
telephone and telegraph circuits.
4. Rapid expansion of subscriber telegraph service.
5. Acceleration in the growth of interurban, urban, and
rural telephone exchange capacity, with major emphasis being placed
on the installation of automatic telephone exchange equipment.
6. Continued expansion of television broadcasting facili-
ties and network television service along with rapid expansion of
the television reception base.
7. Completion of the wire-diffusion network in all urban
and in the more heavily populated rural areas.
8. Construction of FM radiobroadcasting and multiprogram
wire-diffusion facilities in the republic capitals of Region X.
9. Expansion of radiobroadcasting transmitting and studio
facilities in the outlying areas of Region X.
10. Expansion of postal routes and facilities in rural areas
and increased use of mechanized postal equipment in large urban
centers.
11. Integration of most functional telecommunications facili-
ties with those of the Ministry of Communications of the USSR and of
the republic ministries.
12. Increased investment responsibility by the republic minis-
tries of communications and local organs.
13. Expansion of training facilities to achieve a higher level
of technical competence of personnel of the republic ministries.
-43-
S-E-C-R-E-T
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26 :
CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
S-E-C-R-E-T
The supply of investment funds and material and equipment prob-
ably will be sufficient to complete most of the foregoing courses of
action successfully. In this event, by 1965 the republic ministries
of communications will be able to supply post and telecommunications
service in Region X on a level commensurate with the demands of all
sectors of the economy. With this facility base in being, increased
service requirements after 1965 can be met with relatively small
amounts of additional investment.
-44-
S-E-C-R-E-T
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26 :
CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
S-E:C-R-E-T
APPENDIX A
GLOSSARY OF TECHNICAL TERMS
Amplitude modulation (AM): The process by which a selected carrier
frequency is varied in magnitude (amplitude) by other frequencies
that contain the information to be transmitted in telecommunications.
(See Frequency modulation.)
Apparatus: Instruments, machines, appliances, and other assemblies
used in providing a telecommunications facility.
Automatic (as an adjective): Of or pertaining to any process in-
volved in producing telecommunications service which does not re-
quire direct, immediate human assistance.
Band (of frequencies): The entire range of frequencies between two
numerically specified frequency limits. The magnitude of this range
Is a limiting factor on the amount of information that can be trans-
mitted in telecommunications. With respect to frequencies of the
radio spectrum as a whole, the International Telecommunication Union
has for convenience divided the whole radio spectrum into eight major
bands, as follows:
Frequency Bands
Range
30 kc** and below
30 to 300 kc
300 to 3,000 kc
3,000 to 30,000 kc
30,000 kc to
300 mc***
300 to 3,000 mc
3,000 to 30,000 mc
30,000 to 300,000 mc
Type
Very low frequencies (VLF)
Low frequencies (LF)
Medium frequencies (MF)
High frequencies (HF)
Very high frequencies (VHF)
Ultra high frequencies (UHF)
Super high frequencies (SHF)
Extremely high frequencies
(EMF)
Corresponding Wave*
Band
Myriametric waves
Kilometric waves
Hectometric waves
Decametric waves
Metric waves
Decimetric waves****
Centimetric wavesxxxx
Millimetric
wavesxxxx
* Waves are undulating disturbances: a sound wave is a disturbance
in the air, which is an elastic medium, and an electric wave is a dis-
turbance in any medium whatever. The number of waves per second is the
frequency of a given wave. Because the speed of wave propagation is
considered to be constant, the length of a given wave is in inverse re-
lation to its frequency: the longer the wave length, the lower the fre-
quency, and the shorter the wave length, gootnotes continued on p. 4?7
- 45 -
S-E-C-R-E-T
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26 :
CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
S-E-C-R-E-T
Cable: A bundle of sheathed, insulated wires and/or coaxial tubes,
used as a telecommunications medium. It is sometimes referred to
as "multiconductor cable."
Carrier (as an adjective): Of or pertaining to a technique for
dividing a circuit, lane, supergroup, group, or channel into por-
tions which can be used independently of and simultaneously with
all other portions. Different frequencies or different pulses are
selected for each portion to "carry" the information to be trans-
mitted, after alteration by the information frequencies. The car-
rier itself need not be transmitted.
Channel: A portion, electrical or physical, of a telecommunications
circuit) lane, supergroup, or group which can be used to transmit
information independently of and simultaneously with all other
portions. A channel may be used to provide two or more subchannels.
Circuit: A telecommunications connection between two or more distant
points by a wire, cable) or radio medium facility used to carry in-
formation. The circuit is the fundamental telecommunications con-
nection between distant points. By the application of appropriate
techniques, a circuit may be arranged in many different combinations
to meet the need for various kinds and quantities of telecommunica-
tions service. In its simplest form a circuit may carry only single
telecommunications units in sequence. In its most complex form it
may by apportionment carry simultaneously thousands of telephone
channels and telegraph subchannels; a number of television programs;
and other specialized kinds of service, such as high-fidelity broad-
cast programs, radar signals, and data-processing signals.
For the most complex application, a circuit is often ar-
ranged into lanes) each of which can carry, in 1 direction, 1 tele-
vision program or 600 telephone channels. In turn, these 600 tele-
phone channels are subdivided into 10 supergroups of 60 telephone
channels each. Each supergroup is subdivided into 5 groups of 12
telephone channels each. One or more telephone channels may be fur-
ther subdivided into three to twenty 60-word-per-minute teletype sub-
channels. Other specialized kinds of service may be accommodated by
combining two or more telephone channels.
the higher the frequency. Wave length is usually measured in linear
units of the metric system.
** Kilocycles per second, or 1,000 cycles per second.
*** Megacycles per second, or.1 million cycles per second.
Mxxx It is becoming common usage to refer to waves (frequencies) in
these three bands as "microwaves."
-46-
S-E-C-R-E-T
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26 :
CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
S-E-C-R-E-T
Coaxial (as an adjective): Of or pertaining to a modern telecom-
munications cable medium technique using one or more tubes (some-
times called "pipes"). Each metal tube surrounds a conducting wire
supported concentrically by insulators. The space in the tube
usually contains nitrogen gas under pressure. Generally, coaxial
cable is used for the transmission of information in complex form,
such as radar, computer data, or television signals, and/or for the
transmission of telephone channels and telegraph subchannels. A
single tube usually carries information in only one direction at a
time. The capacity of a tube depends in part upon the distance be-
tween repeater stations. In the standard facility, which may have
from 2 to 8 tubes in the cable, a single tube carries a lane of
600 telephone channels or 1 television lane, for which the repeater
station spacing is about 7 statute miles. In a new developmental
coaxial cable facility, a single tube may carry 3 lanes of a total
of 1,800 telephone channels or 3 television lanes, for which the
repeater station spacing is expected to be about 3 statute miles.
Electronics: A general term used to identify that branch of elec-
trical science and technology that treats of the behavior of elec-
trons in vacuums, gases, or solids. Today, telecommunications makes
extensive use of electronic technology.
Facility: An association of apparatus, material, and electrical
energy required to furnish telecommunications service.
Facsimile (as an adjective): Of or pertaining to a telecommunica-
tions (telegraph) service in which photographs, drawings, hand-
writing, and printed matter are transmitted for graphically recorded
reception. In one method (Type A), images are built up of lines or
dots of constant intensity. In another method (Type B), images are
built up of lines or dots of varying intensity, sometimes referred
to as "telephoto" and "photoradio."
Feeder (as an adjective): Of or pertaining to telecommunications
facilities of relatively low capacity which join facilities of rela-
tively high capacity. (See Main.)
Frequency: The rate in cycles per second at which an electric cur-
rent, voltage, wave, or field alternates in amplitude and/or
direction. (See Band.)
Frequency modulation (FM): The process by Which a selected carrier
frequency is varied in frequency by other frequencies that contain
the information to be transmitted in telecommunications. (See
Amplitude modulation.)
S-E-C-R-E-T
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26 :
CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
S-E-C-R-E-T
Functional (as an adjective): Of, pertaining to, or connected with
special, unique, or particular telecommunications facilities
managed and operated by a single agency) organization, company,
department, committee, ministry, or other entity, in contrast to
the facilities of a basic system.
Group: A number of channels (usually 12) or subchannels combined
(multiplexed) electrically in building up the total capacity of a
telecommunications circuit) lane, or supergroup.
Ionosphere: Those layers of the earth's atmosphere occupying the
space about 210 statute miles in thickness extending from about
30 statute miles above the earth's surface to the outer reaches
(exosphere) of the atmosphere. Reflection from these layers makes
possible long-distance transmission of radio signals. The layers,
however, are responsible for fading of signals, skip distance, and
differences between daytime and nighttime radio reception. They
are also used as a scattering reflector for ionosphere scatter-
transmission techniques to transmit to distances of about 1,000 to
1,500 statute miles.
Joint facility: A telecommunications facility owned, controlled, or
operated by two or more agencies, organizations, companies, depart-
ments, committees, ministries, or other entities.
Lane. A 1-way portion, electrical or physical, of a 2-way tele-
communications circuit which can be used independently of and simul-
taneously with all other portions. The largest lane today can handle
600 telephone channels or 1 television program. In some applications
the direction of a lane may be reversed.
Leased (as an adjective): Of or pertaining to the direct operation
by a user of a telecommunications facility owned by another agency.
Line: A general term used to delineate a telecommunications circuit
facility (wire, cable, or radio).
Main (as an adjective): Of or pertaining to telecommunications facili-
ties at and between principal cities and centers which have relatively
high capacity compared with feeder facilities. (See Feeder.)
Medium: Any substance or space that can be used practically to trans-
mit a form of electrical energy for the purpose of providing tele-
communications service.
Microwave radio relay (as an adjective): Of or pertaining to a radio
medium technique in modern telecommunications employing radio
-48-
S-E-C-R-E-T
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26 :
CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
S-E-C-R-E-T
frequencies higher than 300 mc. These frequencies do not normally
afford practical direct transmission to great distances) princi-
pally because they do not bend well around the earth's surface and
because they do not reflect well from the ionosphere. They are,
however, capable of reliable transmission from horizon to horizon
(line-of-sight) by the use of special antennas which concentrate
the radio energy and give it desired direction. Great distances
can, in consequence, be reached by this technique by the inter-
position of relay stations along the route of the line with a
spacing interval of from 25 to 40 statute miles, depending upon
terrain conditions. This technique can be employed practically
to carry from a small number of telephone channels and telegraph
subchannels to thousands of such channels and subchannels through
2 or more lanes and to carry 1 or more television and other special-
ized lanes and channels. (See Band.)
Mobile (as an adjective): Of or pertaining to a telecommunications
facility which is intended to be operational while in motion or
during halts at unspecified points. (See Portable.)
Modulation: The process of altering a carrier frequency or carrier
pulses by other frequencies or pulses representing the information
being transmitted.
Multiplex (as an adjective): Of or pertaining to the combining of
information signals, modulated or unmodulated, of two or more lanes,
supergroups, groups) channels, or subchannels for transmission over
the same circuit.
Network: An interconnection, electrical or physical, of two or more
circuits or portions thereof for the purpose of facilitating tele-
communications service.
Point-to-point (as an adjective): Generally, of or pertaining to tele-
communications service between fixed points, using the radio medium.
Portable (as an adjective): Of or pertaining to a telecommunications
facility which can be readily moved from place to place but is not
normally operational while in motion. (See Mobile.)
Private (as an adjective): Belonging to or concerning an individual
person, organization, institution, or activity; not public or common.
Pulse: A spurt of electrical energy of extremely short duration
?(riTially measured in millionths of a second), yet capable of being
used in telecommunications to transmit information.
- 49 -
S-E-C-R-E-T
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26 :
CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
S-E-C-R-E-T
Quad: In a multiconductor telecommunications cable, the physical asso-
ciation of a group of 4 conductors in any one of various arrangements
for the purpose of providing 2-way multichannel operation.
Reception base: The aggregate telecommunications receiving facilities
employed in providing a broadcast service.
Route: The geographical path followed by a wire, cable, or radio line.
Scatter (as an adjective): Of or pertaining to a radio medium tech-
nique in modern telecommunications by which energy in radio fre-
quencies above 30 mc is deliberately scattered into one or the other
of two reflecting portions of the atmosphere (troposphere and iono-
sphere) at a predetermined angle such that a usable portion of the
energy arrives at the desired receiving location. This technique
is especially applicable to regions in high latitudes (Arctic and
Antarctic) where facilities of other media suffer from the rigors of
weather and terrain and where the conventional long-distance radio
media of the lower frequency bands (200 kc to 30 mc) are subject to
serious disruptive propagational anomalies. (See Band )
Subchannel: A portion, electrical or physical, of a telecommunica-
tions channel which can be used independently of and simultaneously
with all other portions. An appreciable number of telephone channels
can usually be subchanneled to carry from three to twenty 60-word-
per-minute teletype subchannels on each telephone channel so employed.
Subscriber: Any customer who directly operates telecommunications
apparatus in obtaining telecommunications service.
Supergroup: A number of groups (often five) combined (multiplexed)
electrically in building up the total capacity of a telecommunications
circuit or lane.
System: All of the facilities and networks managed by a single agency,
organization, company, department, committee, ministry, or other
entity in rendering either functional or basic telecommunications
service.
Telecommunications: Transmission, reception, or exchange of informa-
tion between distant points by electrical energy over a wire, cable,
or radio medium facility to produce telephone, telegraph, facsimile,
broadcast (aural and visual), and other similar services.
-50-
S-E-C-R-E-T
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26 :
CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
S-E-C-R-E-T
Teletype (as an adjective): Of or pertaining to a technique for
effecting telegraph service by the use of an apparatus similar to
a typewriter in which information is transmitted by keyboard and
received by type printer on a roll of paper or a roll of tape, or
by perforations on a roll of tape, or by both. (Sometimes called a
"teleprinter" or "teletypewriter.")
Transmission base: The aggregate telecommunications transmitting
facilities employed in providing broadcast service.
Transistor: A modern device Which is capable of performing in a
solid (germanium or silicon) many of the functions performed by
the conventional electronic tube in a gas or vacuum.
Troposphere: The layer of the earth's atmosphere occupying the
space from the earth's surface to a height of about 6 statute miles.
This layer is used as a scattering reflector for tropospheric
scatter transmission techniques to distances of about 200 to 500
statute miles.
Wave guide (as an adjective): Of or pertaining to a telecommunica-
tions medium, now under development in several countries, which
may be capable of transmitting extremely large amounts of conven-
tional and complex information. It consists of a circular or rec-
tangular hollow metallic tube in which electrical energy travels in
the form of waves, much as do sound waves in a speaking tube.
Wire diffusion: Distribution of broadcast programs by a wire or
cable medium to wired loudspeakers.
? Wired loudspeaker: A telecommunications loudspeaker which receives
from a distribution point one or more broadcast programs by a wire
or cable medium.
Wireline: A general term used to identify a line consisting of either
an aerial cable (and/or separate wires) or an underground cable, used
as a telecommunications medium.
-51-
S-E-C-R-E-T
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26 :
CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26 :
CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
S-E-C-R-E-T
APPENDIX B
METHODOLOGY
Many of the statistical data in this report were developed from
information contained in statistical publications of the republics
of Region X covering the years 1950 and 1955-56. Population data
were used to derive per capita relationships between the USSR and
Region X and between individual republics of the region. Specific
methodology used in the determinatinn of eari statistical series,
is contained in the
table footnotes.
-53-
S-E-C-R-E-T
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26 :
CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
50X1
snx1
50X1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26 :
CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
le#
40 Next 4 Page(s) In Document Denied
e
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26 :
CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
50X1
-1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9
SECRET
1
I
i
i
SECRET
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2013/08/26: CIA-RDP79R01141A001300140002-9