INDICATIONS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL VULNERABILITIES

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00809A000500740199-8
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 8
• Document Creation Date: December 15, 2016
• Document Release Date: May 29, 2001
• Sequence Number: 199
• Publication Date: January 26, 1953
• Content Type: REPORT

CLASSIFICATION FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
ApproCv eits gl ?1'aC & 01 : CIA-9 401981ATI NTL
STATINTL
STATI
COUNTRY USSR
SUBJECT INDICATIONS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL VULNERABILITIES
HOW
PUBLISHED
WHERE
PUBLISHED
DATE
PUBLISHED
LANGUAGE
1LrM 1r 'fin CWt~XTr n M UUIIPT r AM VMAV?N*A1711 rtnM.`~
DATE OF
INFORMATION
DATE D1ST.' , January 1953
NO. OF PAGES 8
SUPPLEMENT TO
REPORT NO.
THIS IS UNEVALUATED INFORMATION
C? Report No. 64 -- USSR
(1-15 Dec. 1952)
CONTENTS
AGRICULTURE ............... 2
INDUSTRY .................. 6
ARMY KIAIR I$J FBI
FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
d
Approved For Release 2003/10/01 : CIA-RDP80-00809A000500740199-8
 STATINTL
0500740199 80
Approved For Release 2003/1(QEFDP80-00809A0
T I
The radio output on agriculture in the period under review suggests no marked
improvement in the two major weaknesses that are under constant official fire--stock
breeding and mechanization. Pressure on collective workers and officials varies of
course with each agricultural season. Thus for example when sumeer harveating is over
the propaganda emphasis is shifted to autumn and fallow plowing, and in winter time it
is snow-retention and similar field operations that claim attention. The livestock
industry and machinery maintenance--the Achilles heel of Soviet agriculture--normally
account for the bulk of the radio material on the subloet throuuhout the year. Theft
and squandering-of agricultural property and produce are also perennial themes.
As regards mechanisation of agriculture, it is not only the chronic inefficiency in the
utilisation and maintenance of equipment that is the object of frequent attacks. The
so-called anti-mechanisation attitude (anti-eekhanisatorekie nastroenia) of local officials,
cautiously referred to in the press and on the radio, is treated as a far more serious
obstacle to agricultural development than broken tractors or undernourished cattle. The
connection between the reluctance to introduce and make use of new farming equipment and
the oft-criticised idleness (prostoi) of machinery becomes palpable in view of the
officials efforts to draw the distinction between tractors remaining unserviceable through
neglect or disrepair and the working equipment which is simply not utilized.
A Denison SOTSIALISTICHESKOYE ZEMLEDELIE article reprinted in part by PRAVDA on
1 December (not broadcast) states that the USSR Ministry of Agriculture itself must
assume much of the blame for hindering the prvaress of mechanization. The country would
have been richer by millions of poods of agricultural products, it is claimed, had the
Miniatry'bothered to acquire the necessary machinery for the irrigation of the enormous
tracts of dry land now under cultivation. Although most of the other field operations
have been mechanized up to 90-95%, the irrigation is still "being done exclusively by
hand" (proizvoditsya iskluchitelno vruchnuyu). The excuse given by the Ministry that
it is not within its competence to deal with new machinery is refuted by the fact that
it has shown no interest in obtaining it and therefore failed to place any orders with
industry for irrigation equipment:
Not a single plan to mechanize irrigation submitted
to the Ministry in the past 4-5 years has been put
into effect.
V techenie poslednikh 4-5 let ni odno is postupiv-
ahikh v ministerstvo predlozheniy po mekhanizatsii
poliva ne bylo pretvoreno v shisn.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Denisov points out, a la i in
further mechanization and "fails to support" (ne podderzhivayet) the innovators'
attempts to improve the situation. This unaccountable reluctance to mechanize is further
stressed in the accusation that
even the planned large new irrigation system which
is designed to cover hundreds of thousands of hectares
of land calls for exclusively manual irrigation.
dazhe v zone proektiruyemykh seichas krupneishikh
irrigatsionnykh sitem, kotorie budut oroshat sotni
tysiach gektarov zemel, predusmatrivayetsya
iskluchitelno ruchnoy poliv.
Approved For Release 2003/10/01 : CIA-RDP80-00809A000500740199-8
 r
Approved For Release 2003/10/01 : CIA-RDP80-008aX60ToMR40199-8
UNCLASSIFIED
- 3 -
Discussion of equipment repair continues to focus attention on the widely publicized
"central method" (uzlovoy metod), that is, overhauling machinery at large repair
shops such as the inter-kolkhoz and inter-rayon tractor shops. The failure of the
previous system whereby each machine-tractor station was responsible for the
maintenance and repair of its own machinery, prompted the Government to open
workshops amply supplied with mechanical skill and spare parts to take care of
large numbers of MTS. It appears, however, that many of the stations prefer to
stick to the old method of on-the-spot repairs which are officially branded as
obsolete and inadequate. HADDNEPRIANSKA PRAVDA(3 December) says that the continued
application of the outmoded repair methods in a number of rayons "has led to a
collapse of the tractor-repair plan in October and its under fulfillment in November."
Nor is there any visible improvement this month, since the quarterly plan has so far
been completed by only 15.2%. The situation is said to be "especially intolerable"
in Kakhovskiy, Nizhnepirogovskiy and a number of other rayons.
STAVR0POLSKAYA PRAVDA (2 December) asserts that in the majority of the krai collective
farms and 1Q'S "the repair of tractors and combines is still very slow," and that some
of them, apparently unaware of the autumn-winter repair season, have not even begun
to tackle the job. The inter-rayon repair plants are recommended as the only way out
of the mechanical mess since they alone are able to secure the sustained operations
of the repaired machines. The rare admission that the living conditions of the
mechanics may have something to do with the inferior quality of their work is
contained in a ZARYA editorial of 3 December. Declaring that the oblast plan for
tractor repairs was completed by only 5O' by 30 November and combines by 19%, the
paper assails the Dnepropetrovsk agricultural officials for their obvious disregard
for the human element involved in the work:
It is clear that the mechanics can repair tractors
with a high quality of labor if they are provided
with decent living quarters, dining rooms and good
rest conditions.
The mechanics' reaction to the treatment hinted above may be inferred from a. further
editorial remark that "frequently tractors repaired and released for usehdve to be
reassembled again and regulated."
We must fight those whc pay lip-service to progressive methods of tractor repair, but
actually adhere to the old and outworn system, says MOLOT on 4 December, and adds:
"the fact that the oblast fourth quarter plan has been fulfilled by one-third proves
it." Warning against a repetition of last year's mistakes, reportedly already noted
in some places, the paper reveals that "very often last year tractors broke down
after the first week in the field as a result of bad repair work." The MPS of
Verkhnedonskiy, Voloshinskiy, Morozovskiy and Belokalitvesnkiy rayons are said to be
lagging far behind their plan targets. The three MTS of the last-named rayon, for
example, managed to repair only 11 tractors during the first two months of the Last
quarter.
Instances of good machinery standing idle are listed by CHERNOMORSKA KCMUNA
(4 December) and STALINGRADSKAYA PRAVDA (9 December), both papers referring to the
situation as intolerable and calling for immediate and drastic measures. The
Odessa oblast authorities are belabored for "making no effort" to imprcvc t:c
qualitative performance of the field equipment while in Stalingrad criticism is directed
against the machine-tractor stations who by and large "ignore the central method of
machine repairs." An unsigned PRAVDA article of 7 December (not broadcast) discloses
that tractor-maintenance in Smolensk oblast has deteriorated to such an extent that
broken-down equipment is frequently abandoned altogether. Only 7% of the current
quarterly plan for machinery repairs have been completed so far, "unfortunately,
Smolensk oblast is no exception" (k sozhaleniu) Smolenskaya Oblast ne yavlyaetsya
isklucheniem). Kalinin oblast with its 17% plan-performance as well as Stalingrad
and Bryansk oblasts and Krasnoyarsk krai "are not much better."
Approved For Release 2003/10/01 : CIA-RDP80-00809A000500740199-8
 Approved For Release 2003/10/01 : CIA-RDP80-00809 AT Kb199-8
UNCLASSIFIED
- 4 -
RADYANSKA ZHITTIRSHCHINA editorial (3 Decmeber) asserts bluntly 'that the nume ical
increase in the oblast cattle herds, and their productivity, leave much to be
desired but offers no further details. The paper's verdict is that on the progress
of the stock industry of Potievskiy, Volodarsk-Volynskiy, Cherniakhovskiy and other
rayons is quite unsatisfactory. A report from Chkalov broadcast on 7 December says
that the existing fodder supplies are far too inadequate because the available
machines for processing it "are not being used." Lack of transportation facilities
is said to have aggravated the problem still further: "only one-sixth of the
planned amount of coarse fodder has been delivered to the livestock bases." The
stock farms are now urged not to wait for any assistance from the machine-traciror
stations but to use their own draft animals to transport the fodder to where i is
badly needed.
A Zemtsov dispatch from Alma-Ata carried by PRAVDA on 7 December but not broadcast
quotes some references to stock-breeding in Kazakhstan made at a recent plenary
session of the Kazakh Party's Central Committee. Certain oblast Party and
Executive Committees, it was revealed at the Plenum, had taken it upon themselves
to reduce the tempo of livestock development in their respective areas to a lerYee1
below the one prescribed by the Go,rernment and, on top of that, had the Temerity
to ask the State for additional assistance. How much the Party and the Government
have done to "improve" the livestock industry may be gathered from Zemtsov's remark
that
in the first 10 months of this year the
C ounoil of Ministers of Kazakh SSR has adopted
215 decisions on the livestock industry, and
the Central Party Committee 44. Many of
these decisions have remained unfulfilled.
Za 10 mesiatsev tekushchego goda Sovet Ministrov
Kazakhskoy SSR prinyal po voprosam zhivotnovodstva
215 resheniy, a buro TsK - 44 reshenia. Mnogie iz
etikh resheniy ostalis nevypolnennymi.
That the material conditions of the stock tenders can affect the progress of the
livestock industry one way or the other is conceded by ZARYA of 10 December. The
Dnepropetrovsk oblast Party and other officials, it is claimed, seldom if ever
visit the stock farms under their jurisdiction and are not familiar with loca]~
conditions. It is true, the paper says, that we have many backward rayons whe ^
livestock productivity is low and its upkeep is inadequate in many respects, but
it may also be true that the material life of the service personnel has something
to do with it. The oblast officials, it appears, are well aware of the industry's
shortcomings as far as cattle are concerned but "they do not always know the
conditions under which dairy maids and hog, calf and fowl keepers are laboring." It
is no wonder therefore that the milk yield per cow this year "is even lower than last
year." The fodder situation is unsatisfactory and the livestock-building
construction plans have not been fulfilled. Nine rayons are listed as lagging far
behind the livestock development plans in addition to "a number r'# otherR" wri,oh Qre
not named.
Discussing the same theme on 11 December, DNEPROPETROVS KAYA PRAVDA also refers to the
human element affecting the industry's progress but in less flattering terms tlhan
the above-quoted ZARYA. The drop in the number of cattle, says the editorial,1 has
occurred "as a result of squandering stock for so-called intrakolkhoz needs"
(v rezultate rastranzhirovania ego na tak-nazyvayemie vnutrikolkhoznie nuzhdy).
Reduced to un-dialectical terms, it simply means that the farmers eat too much meat.
Citing Verkhne-Dneprovskiy rayon as typical of the "most backward" areas of t.-'e nhlast .
the paper says that every aspect of the stock-breeding development has been taken care of
by appropriate Party decisions--the only trouble is that "they remain on Nac?ll only."
Approved For Release 2003/10/01: CIA-RDP80-00809A000500740199-8
 Approved For Release 2003/10/01 : CIA-RDP80-00809$&-660-EdW40199-8
One hundred and ninety three of the oblast's collective farms have failed in their
cattle development plan, and 172 others have been unable to cope with their sheep-
breeding program. No comfort can be drawn from the present death rate of the
young cattle, according to the paper, and this scourge will last as long as the
shortage of adequate winter quarters.
KRASNY KURGAN (10 December) wonders why "the available technical facilities for
fodder processing are not used" in so many rayons. In Baturinskiy rayon, for
example, only three fodder cookers (aeparniki) have been put into operation instead
of the nine at their disposal." In Uksyanskiy rayon, "none of the available machines"--
such as straw cutters, universal mills and others--"is being used." The paper lists
five rayons where wintering conditions for cattle are far too inadequate and "fodder
is distributed wrongly." These are the worst rayons of Kurgan Oblast, it is pointed
out, but many (unnamed) others are also showing unsatisfactory performance. Losses
of cattle from preventable causes have been noted throughout Rostov Oblast, according
)
to an unsigned MOLOT article broadcast On 11 December. Cattle mortality (par eso ekota)
some collective farms is reported as reaching alarming proportiona: 100
animals perished in the "Kirov," "Put k KosutuniImu" and "Noviy Put" farms alone.
The annual milk yield per cow is said to have dropped to 1061 liters which is
considerably less than last year. Although aome rayons have stockpiled ^uffioient
fodder for the winter, it is learned that a number of individual farms have "not more
than three to four days' supplies of fodder on hand."
A report from Stavropol broadcast on 9 December refers to the discussion of the
livestock industry at a recent krai Party plenary session. The latter is said to
have found the situation quite satisfactory and the progress of stock-breeding
rather impressive. Discussing the same topic two days later, STAVROPOISKAYA PRAVDA
unwittingly debunks the mentioned report by painting a somewhat different picture.
Below are quotations from both versions on the same subject:
Gmber
.gadcast. 9 ec z SPk QP KAAA PRAVDA, I
The rural Communists have improved their
leadership ... and achieved some successes.
The number of livestock has increased by
hundreds of thousands of head this year, and
the number of poul?cry one and one-half times.
The livestock produce delivery plans have
been fulfilled ahead of schedule.
(selskie kommunisty uluchshili rokovodstvo
...i dobilis nekotorykh uspekhov. Koliches-
tvo skota uvelichilos v etom godu na sotni
tysyach golov, a ptitsy v potora raza.
Dosrochno vypolnen gosudarstv. Plan
postavok vsekh zhivotnovodcheskikh produktov).
It was noted at the recent plenary session
that the 1952 stockbreeding development
plan has not been fulfilled by the
kolkhozes for sheep, cattle or fowl. ...
the plan for building winter quarters for
livestock is not being fulfilled, loss
of stock is still tolerated.
(Sostoyavehiysya nedavno plenum Stavro-
polskogo kraikoma partii otmetil, chto
...kolkhozami !ways do Sikh por ne
vypolnen ustanovlenniy na 1952 god plan
po ovtsam, krupnanu r ogatcmu skotu i
ptitsam ... plan po postroike pomeshcheni
dlya zimovki skota ne vypolnyaetsya,
vse eshche dopuskayetsya padezh skota)
Kolkhoz Statute Violations are reported from several sources including PRAVDA editorial
which hints that such violations are still widespread. LVGVSKAIA FFA+.A i. ;, Vtcd
(3 December) as citing a number of "basic law violations" and demanding the strictest
punishment for the guilty. Most of the cases are said to have occurred in Brody and
Nestorov rayons, but no reference is made to the nature of the mentioned crimes.
A I,ENINSKOYE ZNAMTA article broadcast on 9 December urges the rural auditing
commissions (revizionnie komissii) to probe deeper into the affairs of the collective
farms and unearth "all cases of violation" by demanding proper documentation for the
funds, properties and agricultural products expended by the collective farms. This,
the article intimates, must be done as soon as possible in order "to insure the complete
elimination of the practice of squandering communal wealth."
Approved For Release 2003/10$01 : CIA-RDP80-00809A000500740199-8
 F I
Approved For Release 2003/10/01 : CIA-RDP80-0080WATiNT7I40199-8
-6-
A IMOLDOVA SCCIALISTA appeal to all party and Soviet organizations to "unveil and
liquidate" all cases of Statute violations in the Republic is aired on the Kishinev
radio on 14 December. The irregularities noted ii- Beltsy okrug are said to have
prompted the Moldavian Council of Ministers to adopt a special decision against
the kolkhoz charter violations. The editorial offers no further details, however,
beyond the remark that the strict observance of the statute ,is the main
prerequisite" for the solution of the current agricultural tasks. Denouncing the
theft and squandering of collective farm property., PRAVDA (13 December) similarly
calls for stern punishment for "the enemies of the collective farm system." Quoting
Malenkov's report to the 19th Party Congress, the paper hints that what he said
then is also true now, since many Party and Soviet officials, instead of safe-
guarding communal property, "pilfer it themselves." This is reported to have
been going on in Krasnoyarsk krai, despite PRAVDA's repeated warnings. In
Sushinsky rayon, for example, the local off ieials "shamelessly dive into the
collective fa:m pockets and encourage others to do the same." These are similar
facts, it is asserted, have been known to the Krasnoyarsk krai Party Committee,
while pertinent evidence has been accumulating on their desks and "left unattended"
for months.
The major issues highlighted in radio and press discussion of industrial activities--
slow mechanization, low labor efficiency and high production costs--frequently appear
in the same context, particularly in the case of industries affected by all these
shortcomings. References to the technical aspect. of production invariably stress the
point that it is the lack of "machine-mindedness" rather than machinery that hampers
further development. As in agriculture, the official contention is that equipment of
every description is available in abundance but that its integration in production
is held back by the inexplicable predilection of certain industrial officials for
manual labor. That the so-called production innovators (efficiency experts) are not
too popular in industry has been alluded to time and again on a number of regional
transmitters. Continued official concern about inferior quality of production may be
inferred from the recurrent references to the overriding importance of higher
qualitative indices.
The NADDNEPRYANSK& PRAVDA editorial of 13 December is typical of most of the
broadcasts on industrial themes in that it epitomizes the chronic failings usually
attributed to a large segment of Soviet industry. Discussing the highly-publicized
Kakhovka construction project, the paper speaks of the avoidable production bottleneck
created by the apparent reluctance to make use of all the available facilities:
The rich equipment with which the State arms the
builders is being utilized far from its whole
capacity. It is a fact that of the 677 machines
157 are not being used at all. in the meantime,
manual labor is being used extensively in many
places.
It is "a well-known fact" that certain Party and industry leaders "are not paying
serious attention" to the mechanization of labor-consuming processes. The
Dnieper Construction Administration is said to be well aware of the I