RADIOS AND RADIO LISTENING IN THE USSR AND THE SOVIET ZONE OF GERMANY

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00810A001200440009-1
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 21, 2016
• Document Release Date: March 13, 2009
• Sequence Number: 9
• Publication Date: May 28, 1953
• Content Type: REPORT

Approved For Release 2009/03/13: CIA-RDP80-00810A001200440009-1
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
INFORMATION REPORT
SECRET
SECURITY INFORMATION
COUNTRY USSR~Germany (Soviet Zone)
SUBIECT Radios and Radio Listening in
the-USSR and the Soviet Zone
of Germany
PLACE ACQUIREq
This Document contains information affecting the Na-
tional Defense of the United States, within the mean-
ing of Title 18, Sections 793 and 794, of the U.S. Code, as
amended. Its transmission or revelation of its contents
to or receipt by an unauthorized person is prohibited
by law. The reproduction of this form is prohibited.
REPORT
DATE DISTR. 2'~'. May 1953
NO. OF PAGES 3
REQUIREMENT NO. RD
REFERENCES
THE SOURCE EVALUATIONS IN THIS REPORT ARE DEFINITIVE.
THE APPRAISAL Of CONTENT IS TENTATIVE.
(fOR KEY SEE REVERSE)
14 No more than ten percent of the radio receivers in Kherson (N46-4U, E32-35)
were capable of receiving fore~.gn broadcasts; most of the other radios had only
medium and long wave receptiano In the USSR foreign broadcast s. could be received
only on short wave and ultra short waved The cheapest radio receiver with three
wave lengths was the Rekord., which cost about 360 rubles, which is more than most
individuals could afford, In 1951 and 1952 in Kherson, VOA
and BBC broadcasts in Russian on the 41 to 49 meter band of a Rekord radio from
21Q? to 2300 hoursa BBC reception was much clearer than that of VOA b?cause the
latter broadcasts were jammed, Examples of better make radios than the Rekord
are the Leningrad, the Minsk and the FAG,
the last set is iiianufactured at the ~tiga Radio
Factory and costs up to 19600 rubles,
20 From 1945 to 1952, the number of radios capable of receiving foreign broadcasts
noticeably increasedo Quite a number of .such sets were brought back by service.
men from "liberated" countries after the war9 and some were manufactured by
Soviet planted
Registration of radio receivers was obligatory, and a tax was then automatic. .
Registration was done with tYae radio section of one's own town or rayon covet
(radio otclel)o The annual tax. was standard-for all types of radio sets anal
did not exceed a few rubleso
ARMY NAVY
FBI AEC
,.
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prohibited the Soviet population from listening to foreign broadcasts.
However, it was forbidden, de fac~b; persons denounced for listening to
foreign broadcasts were immediatel arrested b the militia and usuall
disap eared,
any law, decree, or directive of the government which
such arrests were most probably made on
trumped-up charges of another crime. it was very'iui-
healthy" to listen to foreign broadcasts, even if there was no specific
legal prohibition.
_..~, _.,..,~~,.. .. ..a~..a.~..o
mus have been used now and then for listening to such broadcasts. Probably
such listening was not done regularly and certainly not by all members of the
family,' But it could be assumed that if the husband, who, was the
secretary of the City Party Committee, did not do so his wife most robabl did
anywray; if she did not9 the son or the daughter would have been likel to do so.
I
it is typical of the:.Sovi:et mentality to do what is prohibited.
an example of this independent attitude, There was quite a bit of
drinking among Soviet officers in Germany, This drinking, however, except in
a few cases, never became indulgence to excess. Abaut 50 percent of the officers
drank dust as much as they had been accustomed to in the USSR - no more, n?. less.
The others did not drink at all. Such drinking was quite normal and customary.
.However, when Chuyk?v's ~"d~?y-regime" was established, not only the consumption
of liquor increased, but individuals who had never done so before began to drink.
The number of those who drank went up to $0 percent or more. An officer would
bring a bottle of vodka with him to lunch, keep it under the table, and empty it
during the meal; or the vodka was put in a teapot and poured into teacups or else
simply served at the table disguised as soda water. On the: other hand, the number
of solitary drinkers, who had been scarce before;,. considerably increased.
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~? another officer very often used to tune 25X1
his radio to foreign broadcasts He would go from one end of --
the dial to the other, would stop at VOA, lie en for one or-two minutes, and
then go on further. Then again he would return to VOA, listen for a few minutes,
and make some remark about "dirty American lies". It wr~s.obvious that the mane
was interested in foreign broadcasts, and when he; was by 25X1
hi
self h
ft
li
t
m
e o
en
s
ened to them.
$. The prom t reaction of foreign stations to the latest Soviet news was ver
welcome
the foreign stations would be broadcasting their comments on the 25X1
head nee, Everybody was interested to learn what the other side would say.
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.= ~~, ~ SE'~RET/SEGtI'Rl'TX arr~t~~~~~~o
x
. m~o _. 1
1C?`.~ Wired speaker ~.nstallatians and group radio listening centers were
av~eilable in new buildings, blacks s~f apartment hottset~, plants, .
factories, and military berre.a~ks iri t~.e USSR and Soviet one of
C+ermar~y. , However, ix~ private' apartments, ownex?s hmd tc~ buy lamed- .,
ap?aker?s if they wanted such l~.stening serv3:~es . Since loud-
epeaker~t were. match cheaper' than radio receivers, the lour ineom?
Elas~ in? the 3c~viet Union more often bought. 1oud.speakers thaM
personal radios. Ynstallation of loudspeakers we.s mest~cc~on in
' tarbara centers, .and the larger savkha~ ~ ~ .and kolkhozy^ where., grcan~
listening centers-were narmall~ installed in kalkhoz and sovkho~
c lt~bs .
a ,~
on ~ .the Kherson market e ~ ? .
a. "NfOSkvich ' e medium azad -long wave; lg5 rubles 1
the fQllawing,types.oc~ radio receivers which mere avail bl
e.
_'"A~insk`~a with the-same wave lengthy as.the Rekord; 1,244 rubles
`'FA4": with-all wave lengths; 1,200-I, 304 rubles
`'Rekard `j: ,mart, meditam, and long wave; 364 rubles
"Leningrad': with all wave lengths and built-in record player;.
1,6Q0 ruble.
1~~e~ Radio repair shops. were encountered in teawns where .there were
electrical equipment and radio stares with which they were generally
of filialed, Parts .were a~.ways ava~ilabl+s, a,ltb~?ugh the supp7.y of soma
was sC-metimes scarce, In smaller towns people preferred t? hr~,ve
their radios repaired by, amateur radio technicians .who would de
better ,~a'b far less money than the state radio repair shops. ::
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~:3'.? Jamming in the TTSSR and Smviet Zone was tzite effective
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Ckermany that ~amtning was done
mainly y' the Prague radio station , VOA broadcasts in Ukrainian
both in Kherson and in the Soviet Zones were no dammed as much a,s.the broad- 25X1
casts in Russian,
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SECRET
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