ECONOMIC, SOCIOLOGICAL, AND POLITICAL INFORMATION ON THE LATVIAN SSR

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80T00246A040000480001-4
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 26
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: March 1, 2011
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: April 28, 1958
• Content Type: REPORT

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v'
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
This material contalas information affecting the National Defense of the United Btstes within the meaning of the Espionage Laws, Title
18, U.s.f7. Becs. 79S and 794, the transmission or revelation of which is any manner to as unauthorized person !s prohibited by lsw.
COUNTRY USSR (LBtviari SSR)
SUBJECT Economic, Sociological, and Political DATE DISTR. 28 April 1958
Information on the Latvian SSR
DATE OF
INFO.
PLACE &
DATE ACQ.
SOURCE EVALUATIONS ARE DEFINITIVE. APPRAISAL OF CONTENT IS TENTATIVE.
The following attachments to this report
Attachment No. l: Miscellaneous economic, sociological, and political
information on Latvia, principally the Liepaja area. The
report"includes some political observations; prices
of commodities; attitudes and living and working
conditions, especially of fishermen; and information on
military service.
Attachment No. 2: So~ewhat more detailed economic, sociological, and
political information than Attachment 1.
STATE X ARMY NAVY AIR
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.Liepaja and. vicinity:
The nuiuber of the residents of I,iepa ja cannot be estir.~ated but in a.ny case two
thirds of them are Russians, having military uniforms or these of (Government)
officials. Liepaja is considered to be a city-fortress. LJI~o does not reside in
the Liepaja Raion needs a permit from militia in order to visit the city. There
are no newly erected bt~a.ldings, except a TV tower and an administration building
in the center of the eity.~`~liurches, which have not been destoyed, are holding
public wo~~ips, f.i. iii the .A.nna's Chi~reh..These services are not opeaaly disturbed
but .fishermen as well as the Komsomol members are not allowed to participate at
these.
-The Naval Harbcr - Tosmare - is restricted for the civilians? its adjacent forest
is~full with. ammunition. In the roadstead { reids - in Ltv.~ the wa-rsh.ip "Tchkalov"
( Ckalovs - in Ltv.), which has two chimneys, is usua~.ly anchored - presumably a
cruiser, and another vessel of tl~.e class of a/m "Tchkalcv". Warships "Parishkaya
Komuna" { Parizes Kompna - in Ltv.) and "Kirov" have been observed, too. There ale
many speedboats though the Russians are telling that their base is Koenigsberg
Kaliningrad now ). The northern gate. of the harbor as well as the southern one
are closed for the -roadstead. The entrance is through the middle gate. ]from 2100
to 01.00 all the roadsteads are closed. Aproximately ten submarines have been
observed in the harbor. Anew dry-dock has been built in the Naval Harbor (.there
are two such dry docks ), Two to three vessels, each apr. 150 meters long, can bd
put in these docks ( one of them is 200 meter long ). The Harbor of Liepaja is
not foreseen for merchant ships (except in rare cases ) but only for naval vessels..
There are small naval units in the old l~~erchant Harbor ( tirdzniecibas osta - in Ltv)
- cutters, costal defense boats.
There are apr, t*0 fishing vessels and 10 motorboats in Liepaja. There is a fish
factory in Liepaja for the catch,
There are only two ~ auto~iats in Liepaja for public use; no telephone
.25X1
_~ I_
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The military airfield of Liepaja is located between Grobi and the Lake of Liepaja;
it has plenty of modern reactive airplanes. it looks like the 25X1
airplanes are being catapulted at their start - it goes with an explosion.
Documents are controlled on the highway Liepaja - Klaipeda as well as on Liepaja -
Ventspils highway. The whole seashore of Liepaja and further until Klaipeda is
fortified. The HQs of border guards is located in Klaipeda. The dunes at the sea-
shore are ploughed up in order to get ascertained about the footprints of eventual
escapees. Barbed wire has been stretched along the seashore alllt( are connected with
a system of rockets which are exploding immediately when somebody touches the wire
and are casting light on a wide area. Beside the ploughed-up space a telephone
line has been laid for the border guards. During the nights the whole seashore
( from Liepaja) up to Klaipeda is illuminated by the searchlights. Border guard
patrols are strolling; they are walking toward each other.
The State Fishing Management ( Valsts zvejas parvalde - in Ltv.) is located in
the so-called "Blue Wonder" ( Zilais brinums - in Ltv.) in Liepaja.
At the seventh kilometer from Liepaja toward Ventspils there is a coastal (gun)
battery for shelling the sea.
direLtories exis
ractories and fleet of fishing boats of Liepaja
One fish cannery ( zvejas konzervu fabrika - in Ltv.) is operating in Liepaja though
~nly during the season. It has three shifts, employing altogether apr. 1000 workers.
t is]ocated at the lighthouse of Liepaja Harbor. The catched fish are being frozen
but part of them are getting spoiled already on the boats since these have no
refrigerators. Such refrigerators are on the base vessels ( bates ku?~i - in Ltv.).
Director of the Motorized fleet of fishing bo is of Liepaja is Tchetverikov
( ~etverikov - in Ltv.spelling ); SHULGOV ( ~u~gov ) is the technical captain
o$ the whole fishing fleet; DZHAPARADZE ( D~aparadze ) is the chief of the Atlantic
fishing fleet (formerly he was the chief of the Merchant Harbor of Liepaja ) .
Fish, which is catched in the waters of Liepaja, is sent for the largest part to
soviet Union, a part of them is canned on the spot. Fishing{boats are the property
of the motorized fishing stations which are leasing them ~~~he fishing artels.
Each fishing vessel in the waters of Liepaja has to catch 220 tons yearly according
to the plan but it does not always succeed. Guard boats are patroling at the sea -
they are guard vessels of a small type; speedboats; too. These guard vessels are
of apr.200 tons, armed with depth charges, torpedos, heavy machine-guns and guns of
small caliber. N~ost often they are patroling during storm weather. The fishing
vessels are getting control.,led by directing the arms towar~ the vessel ~rhich shouJ_d
be controled and by checking the documents of the crew and the direction of the
compass.
After every escape of a fishing boat to the free world the remaining persons,
relatives end others got interrogated. At some instances they were punished i.f
they had. had direct contact with the escapees, had assisted them. After each such .
escape of a boat the controls at sea are getting stron.er.
The Russiand who arrive from Soviet Union ( in Liepaja are being put immediately
on the new fishing boats though they are without any qualificat3mis in their profes-
sion. The old and well qualified Latvians do not get the new vessels. Step by step
the Russians are pushing Latvians in Liepaja (and elsewhere, too ) out of the best
jobs sir_ce they arrive in Latvia with their famiJ_ies, relatives and the latter~~
fariilie s .
The Russians have preferences all over. In Riga and Liepaja the Latvians are not
registered for residence anymore but the Russians are (accepted ).
The old sugar factory in Liepaja is still operating, also the ~TSar'~anais hletalurgs"
and other smalJ_er plants - the production goes to Soviet Union.
~E~~~T
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The seashore of Liepaja, Ventspils, Pavilosta and other questions:
Civilians are not allowed to be at the seashore, except for a small segment. One
old fisherman, who went one early morning to the seashore of the area of Pavilosta
in order to gather the sea dung ( juras mesli - in Ltv.), eras interrogated and beaten
by the border guards because he was suspected as intending to flee
~~~.
The fishery kolkhoz of Pavilosta is "Dzintarjura". It consists of apr. 15 fishing
vessels and has 150 fishermen. These vessels are ~ trawlers, built in East Germany,
of 80 HP. A fishing vessel has 6-10 crew members. The average income of fishermen
is 800 rubles monthly. The catch consists mostly of cods.
Several new buildings for military purpose are under construction in Pavilosta.
Pavilosta is in the restricted area (aizliegta zone - in Ltv.). Majority ( of its
residents ) are P~fongolians which are in military service. there are no particular
military installations. It is permitted in this area, like elsewhere, to go to
the sea for fishing only for an eight hours sail. from the shore. When) 25X1
fishermen are encountered - no discussions Grith them take place.
If a fisherman takes for his own use even only one kilogram of cod - he is punished
up to 7g$f~ub~l~s. If fish is cooked or fried during the fishing trip aboard the
boat, a~sta~ement about it had to be made. Usually there are three Russians aboard
each fishing boat. The fishermen have no vacations, no rest, except during stormy
ti~reather..Vacation is given for the skipper and helmsman - around two weeks. Fisher-
men are not allowed to go to the church because in such case they are not permitted
to go to sea. Those who go to church are interrogated and beaten
in the church of Pavilosta 25X1
The pastor there is PUR.ENI~TS. Nevertheless the church is always
cro~,rded by elderly people. The church of Vecgale ( not far from Liepaja ) is
closed.
A kolkhoz member in the kolkoz named after ~Ldanov in Pavilosta received 34 kopeks
for an output day ( izstrades diena - in Ltv.) and 300 grams of grain of very
inferior c_uality in 1957. There are few Russians on the kolkhozes. A1]. are fleeing
the kollchozes. Kolkhoz members are staying alive by the lot of one half hectare
which is in their private use. In 1957 fishermen had to deliver ( to the State )
in Pavilosta from this private lot 30 kg meat, 50 eggs as the annual rate; further a
hide of one pig and 300 liters milk from cow. One is permitted to have one cow,
one young cattle. Until 1953 the tax for one co~r had been here 400 - 500 rubles
( annua7Ly ?~). Beginning with 1957 this tax is enforced ceiving back their dwelling house when returning home. But allegedly there are
also cases when the released person takes a look~s~ recognizes that it will be
no life here, and goes back to his former plac~ xile.
The released persons, who had been sentenced, ometime uring~the~ir~ro~e got
to know the accusations against them and the names of the people w~ made these.
Now, when returning (to Latvia), they are proceeding against their betrayers; several
such conflicts are known. 25X1
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(Latvian youngsters together with other nationalities.
Their transfer from Latvia had occured in a forcible manner though it was tried to
provide the victims with an aureol of a patriot and here. So, f.i. a youngster
had been sumi~aoned to the Committee of the Komsomol where he was told: The Party
has observed your poise and has selected you for the honorable task of the pioneer
of Communism - here ou have our order and ticket.
Liepaja:
"Sarkanais t~,etalurgs" (factory in Liepaja) is working in shifts, remelting mainly
the scrap-iron. However, transports of iron ore has been observed. Coal is coming
from Poland.
The sugar factories are gperating only during the season.
Foreign ships have not been observed in the Harbor of Liepaja; allegedly they are
sent to Riga and Vents ils since Lie a'a is used as a military base. However, it
has been heard that merchant vessels, too, caould meter it. 25X1
There are few newly erected buildings in Liepaja. The largest new building is the
edifice of the Pedagogical Institute at the Square of Roses (Ro~u Laukums - in Ltv)
but it is told that its foundations are sinking and urgent repair work is needed
to avoid the collapse of this building. Similar troubles occur almost with every
new building. Even the standartized small family houses of fishermen, which are
sold on payments by installments, are of very poor quality.
There are in Liepaj~also laborers who have been sent from Russia fob a rest.
The number of the inhabitants ( of Liepaja) is not known but apr. 60 j are told to
be Russians, many soldiers among them.
milk is almost always available in the city; sugar and flour is often 25X1
lacking - they are sold half kilogram to each buyer (prices mentioned already before)
All the ware is of poor quality, f.i. the handle of the furniture comes off after
the first opening of door or drawer; the doors get bent when the wood is dried out
~ etc. There a~e~~only very expensive furniture in the stores since the artels
make more profit inkmanufacturing them to fulfill their plan. If sometimes there
ap;~ear cheaper ones then already before a list of the buyers has been made or people
are lined up ( at such stores ); majority remains with empty hands. Also for the
permit of automobile acquisition one has to wait for several years; the motorcycles
( cost apr.3500 rubles), too, are bou^ht as soon as they appear by the Russians.
There are no public filling stations ~ bencina tanks - in Ltv.) - how the private
car owners are getting fuel and what does it cosh 2
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~tt %
Military service: 25X1
The duration of the military service is three years (for infantry) -from the 18th
to the 21st year of life. The registration is as follows:
the draftee receives apr. a half year before his enlistment a notice to get registered
If one does not take it in account immediately, another notice is served and simul-
tanennsly such remainder comes also from the place of work. At the
registration the passport is taken away, replacing it by a certificate that one is
registered for the ,.military service. Afterwards one is not allowed to change his
place of residence. Admittance (for the military service ) takes place before a
special commission, consistin- of military, chekists and physicians. One gets deferred
only on the ground of health ~ it is known that a natmality in Caucasus is considered
to be unreliable and therefore is not drafted; the same applied to the Estonians
first year after the war ). If the commission is unable to decide ones health,
the draftee is sent to a hospital. Physicians are Latvians and Russians.
While the so-called "Division of Guards" (gvardu divizija - in Ltv.) was in Latvia,
there were more chances for the draftees to remain in Latvia. This division ceased 25X1
to exist Latvians are sent to very far-away places, behind the
Urals.
/Orders are given in Russian; who dogs npt_know Russian
Beside the ta.sual half an hour a day, political lectures take place four more
hours weekly.
Food is insufficient and there ~~e-always a feeling of hunger.
workdays one receives 00 grams on days - g00 gams.
The r2iJ_itary service was made more difficult x due to the cold climate. It was
usually l.0 degrees ( centigrade s ) below zero . ~ C (~ ?~
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Service in the Red Army
The draft begins at the age of 18. The present lenght of service:
infantry, engineering units ( sapieri - in Ltv.) etc. - 3 years;
technical units - artillery, air force, navy - ~~, years.
Previously the service had been one year longer, i.e. 1.~. and 5 years.
In practice the lenght of the service is longer than the officially fixed one
also now. So, f.i. if the draft is on 12 January then this year does not count
since only a full ( calendar ) year counts in the service; thus t?sully ~.nstead
of the tl~see years one has to serve at least four years. Discharge takes place
according to the political, economic and other circumstances, i.e. unaccu~ ately.
The period of the newly draftees ( jaunkareivji - in Ltv.) lasts, f.i. in .the
engineering units ( sapieri - in Ltv.) for one month during which one had to get
acquainted with the respective regulations ( reglaments - in Ltv.), the constitu-
tion and the short history of the Farty. Tra.inings in firing is done with rifles
of the old type; the new weapons are unknoUm, and in general the weapons :are
handed out only when assigned on guard duties.
The solemn pledge takes place in rooms decorated with. ba.n7zers etc. where everybody
'ryas to swear h.is loyalty to the Red Army and. the coinrmznistic homeland. The text of
the pledge - oath has to be known by heart but usually it is read from a sheet and
one has to put his signature in a special book of pledge. Those, who do not know
Russian, get the text of the pledge told and they Dave to repeat ir. TY?e text of
the pledge contair~s a clause which requests to punish severly tl^~e giver of the pledge
in case of an offense.
The discipline in the Red Army is very strict. All those in higher ral~l~s have to
be saluted if even ten times in ~ short period of time, f.i. tahEn the officers are
strolling. Nevertheless one dodges as far as possible to salute the r_ancom.s.
Strict sentences follow every even so small offense and L~.sually - if one complains
of unjust, undeserved sentence - a more severe one follows. The number of th.e
political commissars ( politruk - Dr.) ha.s been diminished: if formerly they were
even at the platoon level, now they are only at the batallions.
Uninterruptedly the unconquerability of the Red _~.r?my and the advantages of the
commL~nistc homeland are emphasised by claim~.ng that in the capitalistic countries
the massed are suffering from hunger etc. ~nong the Russians - Red Armists themsel-
ves the belief prevails that all progress comes only from the Russians and, with
few exceptions, they (Russians) are also told to be ready to fight for their t1Great
I~omeland". Their opinion is not only onesided but in
general U~ithaut much knowledge. ~lowever, there is great interest for. the jazz
music which they are readily listening to, especially from East Germany~~ and
The food in the army is bad and insufficient; usually one small bowl of porridge
(bie2putra - in Ltv.), 800 gums tasteless O'ahich often, in order to relieve
the hunger, is consumed at or_e meal; sugar - 35 grams daily - is served t~~ro pieces
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in the morning and 1,5 pieces at night with unpalatable tea. ~ The monthly
rate of tobacco is 600 ,;rams of "machorka" ( s ecial brand of tobacco which has
a sweet taste; made of inferior tobacco which is smoked by wrapping it in 25X1
pieces of newspapers. Who has relatives, who can afford it, receives parcels to
improve his food; money, too , is sent. A soldier receives a monthly payment of
30 rubles; the subscription of the Krasna?ya Zvezda , which costs 17 rubles for
three month, is deducted from this pay - the subscription is compulsory. 1}uring
the previous years each had to sign for at least 200 rubles of the State Loan
obligations which is not compulsory anymore lately.
The clothing: a shirt above the trousers, boots or leg-bands, a hat without the
small peg (pu~l~itis - Ltv.) and in the wintertime a heavy overcoat ( sinelis - Ltv.).
The relatives are not receiving any relief in money during the draft but they are
enjoying so3ue advantages in the matters of taxes and dues. The salary of the offi-
cers is good; their food and clothing much different in its quality (from that of
25X1
One gets leave after two years of service; one month at the most.. ~n o~der to get it
faster or beside the regular orders, it has been obtainec~o~y,s~ei:awh~~i ~~Ce~Luting
the guard duty one shoots and kills a civilian in the vicinity and claims that it
aproached the post and did not follow the warning given. No investigation takes place
in such case and the gui7~ soldier ( the killer ) gets tiro weeks at liberty.
The barracks might been left only on Saturdays and Sundays, for not more than
four hours. In case of overdue a severe sentence is imposed - usually $/. days
in arrest with reduced meals which are insufficient also normal]_y,and by limiting
the rest time etc.
The Latvians are dispersed among various Red Array units oli.tside the homeland;
however, a certain number is serving in Latvia, too. In former years smaller units
were put up ~,~iationalities which is not permitted anymore. It happened that
a Latvian unit, a platoon, was marching through the streets of Sevastopol in a showy
manner and singing the Latvian songs - it had pleased the local residents , creating
attention. Nextday this unit disappeared from the city - it was broken up in
separate individuals who were transfered to other regiments.
The main task at the engineering ( sapieru - Ltv.) regiment was to build the roads,
buildings etc. The organization and leadership of these works was weak -- all tried
to dwell on the given assignement, work as long as possible, avoiding efforts.
Foe example - one is assigned to make a ~ho7_e of one meter in the wall where later
a pipe of five centimeters is inserted; he stays on this work for a week. The windows
and doors are often reconstructed several times without any necessity because some
o$ the superiors did not like them at this side but his successor orders to put
them some half meter to the left. Though there exist blueprints, these are ignored
or changed.
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. General s. essentially after
the fall of Stalin. YVith very few exceptions a}}1 the ~ and
even Russians themselves were glad that Sta1~~Yva~d hand25X1
there were cases,for instance ity~~h~~~t~x.~t~ia-~t of gz~i~f ~ h~'t Sta-
lin was dead,and went to his statue to moarn. Most ,of them were Part~!~~3n-
bers,but there were .also p1a.Rxz~si~,ns r-l~~dd-d so.~t,~riahia- were =~le:d but
did not dare openly to show their joy. Some of the Russian and ev~u?'~,tvian
communist officials said that it was bad that there is a change i~n~~th~e gover-
ment which might bring changes they did not like. There were open ~te,l~s that
Stalin had been murdered, tha~#~:. ~;~a~tl~.b3tik already for a long time and
only now the new government men announced it. On the whole the petr?he-!-did
not show their real feeling except for Party members who took the~i~?a~tand
for or against the new government though not o only. There were m~5hy ~vho
fear the change and would ld~f`tv~'1Yc=~r~t~h~ng as it was before.However,
the change came with the official Party announcement which was read elrerywhe2
without commentaries - in the Red Army,Party meetings,councils,co:::munist
youth, ko hoses,and .- ,Y:~sh,q~te~ a{a~d, faet~O ~.e~f, ;~,ypry~b,ody listened in silence,
b'u'ti`'3`~ ~'' j~lairi' tha~inany di~` nod-~l~.~e ~~el~ gfrl ~~~~ial.~ly;~~h~,~tschev;
policy was accepted,but there is a passive resistance. Chr.has promised many
things,no taxes for kolchose workers more food and clothes better living con-
ditions,but in reality the things are about the same except some minor im-
provements for market goods and textiles. The living conditions in towns are
better than on the country side. Un the country side it is almost a desperate
situation. The workers are mostly oxd eople and children. Young people try
to get to towns and leave the kolchose and.govchoses. Bvery year the har-
vest is left more and more on the field without anybody taking cart of it.
People are disappointed and do not care about anything.'ihey work sojmuch as
it is ne~essary for their own living. The same can be said also about the
towns. T e Latvian communist officials are completely subordinate to Russian;
who invade the country every year more and more. Latvians arc compelled to
leave their country and go to the anew lands' in Soviet empire as workers,
specialists and colonisers. Lately they arc not deported but reque.,ated to
sign a paper that they leave with their own free will and for life-time.This~
is as bad as the deportations,were,oven worse. It is possible to avoid but
it is difficult. Russians are ~.lmost in every Latvian town but less on the
country side. The Russians arc both the army men and the civilians.The lath.,
try to take over all key positions in every way of life. 25X1
Hungarian revolt wss known almost on the same day when it started. s~:new~
was spread by those who listened to the broadcasts from abroad ~'
/there was a revolt in Hungary. General opinion
was that there will be a general war without any doubt even Russians thought
so and were very much upset and frightened. Latvians even silently hoped that
the hour of freedom was near and if the revolt had not ended so quckly,it
had been possible that something would have happened even in the Baltic stain
General disappointment after the Hungarian failure and that nobody ever hel-.
ped them has been very bitter indeed. The Communists renewed their oppression
with greater effort than before and spoke in their meetings of the mighty
power of Russia and punishment which awaits those who dare to oppose them.
In spite of that people. listen to foreigh broadcasts,especially BBC,les~ now
to VOA or FREur.,because they think it is not worse while to risk their head;
It is possible to listen to every broadcast but it is not allowed to tell
others though in practice it is usually done. However, everybody is disap-
pointed with the present regime and expect changes which they think will
come from inside if the Russian big bosses will start to fight each other.
~;eonomical situation and prices are about the same.For instance, aloaf ~Sf
bread cost 2-3 Rbl,butter kg - 27 Rb1, ~iargarin kg - 12 Bbl,]3eaf - 6-7 Rbl.,
pork - 14 - 25 Rbl kg, bacon kg - 25-30 Rb1., rice kg - 7 Rbl.,corn - 2-3 Rb7
flour kg - 2-4 Rbl, DQilk Z liter - 2-4 Rbl,/in Summer cheaper in '-Yinter dear
ogg~egg - 0.80 Rbl - 1.40 Rbl.,potatoes kg - 2-4 Hbl.,grapes kg - 24 Rbl in ,
Latvia, in Russia /Sevastopol/ - 7 Rbl kg. However, the prices paid~to the
farmers-kolchose workers when they bring the stuff to the town and the of-
ficial Commercial shops buy them are completely differcnt.Thus, for a kg
pork the sops pay to the farmer only ~ ~b~~.e. 50~ of the price they '~%
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waves.~he ` fiehii~g boats.`'
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is i. C" .i... ...... "i 1. J:, ....:~ ;J 0 :. _ ,. ~.: .. .. ..
_. _.
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i 25X1
rya es der month for a worker are not large. t~ clerk earns 300 to 40o i~bl, a
factorywork~r,acc0rding to the.~:_type of ~~ork - 6a0-zoo-800-1000 Rbls. A !-
fisherman is. paid according to his catch plus a certain ~remi~irn' - but even
his~avarage income is between 60o to,,8oo Rbls per month,but if he is succes-
sful,he might earn 1000-1500-2000-250o Rbls per rnanth. Thus it mig}~t happen
that with all premius and good catch a fisherman might earn per year c.25o00
Rbls,,but it i~ only on the paper.In practice his income when all the dis- +
counts are made and lams ta~:the s.t~te paid are much less. A :vorker with a
good job ir. a factory might earn as much as 12oooRbl per year,but again he
never _get,s ~~the whole sorue - there are always loans to the state, communist
organisations and other unexpected and regular disc0urits. ~.n army officer`
in the Red army has,according to the rank, iOOORbl to 30a0 l~bl per month, k
?soldier's wages on the other hand, are 3o R01 per month, of which sum }1e has1
t
go
to pay to the state a loan for 200 ~.bls per year and for prescribing the
official newspaper - 17 Rbls. ~'or e~aeh'star'the officer. gets loo Hbl more.
Prices of clothes: a man's suit - /good one/ 1200-2000-250o Rbl
v
a
i
,
a_4
ery s
mp~
quality,~ianufactured y uldiga textile factory,-- 4~o Rbl/pepper-salt,/
e o ,~ 1 m/ 36fl-4o0 Rpl a good duality,pu.t it is alrr~ost impossible to'get
c of on :the official marke~,neither a suit of a good quality; stockings - '
30 ~.k~lt apair, ~~a~'s_ socks - 5-12 Rbl per pair, man's shi~1~ of silk - loo ~a
man's shirt of cotton ~ 74-3D ~~ul, man's shoes - 250-400 l~ul,according
q '` y ~ '
Railway~tick~tsdb~sesustreetgcars:~a~igasLiepaja,snol~oticketand everiainore. ~
g cost 35 Rbl.
To ~o to ~,iepaja from~any place a special permit is required which usually
is stamped in the passport.This is requested by the ticket seller before the'
ticket is sold. A stx~et
-car in Liepaja
cost o.3a ~nl /? 0
2o Rbl/
a
b
_
.
.
,
,
ass
to urobi~a from Liepaja cost single 1 Rbl.
Fishing in Li ~aja:~.t is a general opinion that the fishermen have the best
1ife,because they earn rn0re than others do,however,the truth is that almost'
everything goes back. to the state of what they have earned and the fisherman
himself-has left little money to get sornet~iing better. A fisherman has t0
work 24 hours and more without any rest at all and as soon-as he has come
back to the base-with the catch h~ is immediately after the delivery reques-
t
d t
l
e
e
o
eave for the s
a again. Thus t}Ze life becorues unbearaole anal people
start drinking too much. recording to the ~egulati0ns the stag shouldltake
55~ of the catch and the fishermen could keep 45gb,but in reality it is dif-
B rent everything is given to the kolchose and .the fisherman get a premium
according to the catch.There is always a certain norms fixed which;if not
achieved,the fishermen are punished irrespectively 0f the fact th at v~eather
has been too bad for catching anything or if there were no fish. The whole
catch of the fish is handed over to the state;i.e. to the Fishing kolchose
~'
"
I3o~~eviks
which is the only fishing kolchose in Liepaja and is regarded as
as a kolchose millionair. the Director of the kolchose is Friekaus,a Latvia
There are about 45 to 50 fis}Zing trawlers in Liepaja which all are
in the kolchose. 4~n each trawler them are at least six men - captain mate,
engineer/motor man/,the roaster of the trawl and One or two hands
Acc
di
.
or
ng ,;
to the statutes of the kolchose the captain had two get 2 parts of the catch
t
i
o
,ma
e -
.8, en l
ser - 1.5, trawl master - 1.5, and the rest 1.5 each,i.e.
of the whole 45so share which goes officially to the fishermen and plus pre-
rni
~b
/
T
ums,
onus
.
he brigadeer of the kolchose was a roan called Bins
sr.vv n~i, ~cne -craw. masse
70o to 300 }~bls, and of ccourse
'
-
~~ ha;d~ ~
all these
loans to the
~ ~ r, ~- ~~~3~ 'voluntarily' i, ~. , if some
one declined to pay he `,gas threatened to be ~,hrown out of the work and even
arrested 'as an enemy af:..the state'. A ~
roup o~ the party men go t0 each
,
crew of the fishing, trawlers with the brigadeer`~uss and ask ever one t
Warne th
th
'
e ~~
ey
are willing to loan to the state
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25X1!
~th~ s,tate lottery?obligations was cancelr~
led and postponed for 25 years, In other`~words,people were deprived of chant+,
both to win something and to get back their money against the bonds they had`
purchased as in practice 25 y~ars,mcan th~.ttthe mor~cy gill never bee return~f
~~'~~~~ to ~.~ ~~.~ nab c~~sed `~~~.xcY t~~~s~ ~, nt.~~x~~ in tx~e w"hd ~ popul-
~`~~ ~h ~h~ woe i 1~~a~ ~~.~h~n.g ~~~~,~.~~ ,~s.~~ ~~ $aso ~ o 'ishcr-
'~ ~.~~ '~dt! 4~~'~ oth~ ~i..nd~ ~ai.n ~~t ~~?: ~.,~ _ ~n ~'
.~ . t~~e:~ sc dcv~oe~ ~r~~l~r~~a t~~?~~~~,~in 5` a ~th~r~~ 3~ ~ ~~ ~.~~""' .
~- _ {
li
'
l
t
~~'
rooms
v~
~ ~ 1~~
~.z~~.
e,
do. =~~v~:. cc~nd~ition a~~~ too; un~ears.bl~~~~~`;
1~: #.~~n m~? ~h,~me h~~c o~.ly,v.b~ _ f`~~1 ~~~'n_r'~~~ own
nas bc~x done. Party houses and official buildings are rcoaired and eve
bents are low,
,s,~ ~.._ = - ---- ------.~_ _.~~~__ 't..,..:~-~ ~-i,.,~,,,a~ .~>s r~,r,lzr n>nm~ c~ce 3~~ii- nn-l-1~~n~r
all in.h~.bltants arc Russians. They arrive constantl
Industry in Licpa~a is about the same as all these years it has been, There ''
is ~ ~cd fish factory,it is actually the old one,but much expanded. How-
ever, it workcs only during the fishing season,arld later is closed.There arc
three shifts and altogether there are working about lt~oo peoplc,~en and ygom?!
cn., The raw fish is put on the ice and the fish is divided into three elan-~
scs _ onc,two and three. The 3rd class is almost rotten anc~ cannot be used
and already on the fishing boats is in such a state. as should be thrown awa
as there are no rcfregirators on the ordinary trawlers. However, there arc y'
two big so-~callcd base ships ti~vhich have cold rooms and, which come out to the'
sea to the fishing boats and fetch the catch,but it is not enough. The direr=
tor,who takes care of the whole Liepaja fishing fleet is a Soviet Russian
by name - Tsch~tverikov, the technical ~osnmandcr of the fleet is Russian
Sch, a captain navy/; In I,epaja_thcrc is posted also the ~hicf of the
tlantic shipping formerly he was the chief of the I,ie a'a commercial fleet
cared ~'aparadzc. X11, fish,at least over 8(~ro which is caught in the Lie - ~
is sent to Russia both salted and raw or as tinned fish. papa
to the ATM-sta,,tions, ~~hich officially hire them to the fishngoA~tcis~oAg_
cording to the plan ea.~h,.f~hing trawler should catch 22o tons of fish per
year,but this cannot always be donc.However,there arc sortie ships which have '
luck and they catch even more. Th
~ atrol b
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.~ ~ _ ~ 25X1
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SECRET
entrance into the harbour both fishing and War harbour. There are two big
ships,and about 20 swift boats. All the boats are armed with light and heavy
guns a~.nd with machine-guns and mines against the submarines, and torpedoes.
Genrally they come out when the weather conditions are bad. Such a patrol
boat comes straght to the fishing trawler with all guns ready to shoot then
three of tYie crew of the patrol boat,armed with light machine-guns come on
board the fishing trawler and check first thing the comap~ss and then the
maps and documents,whethe the fishermen are in the appointed square or no 25X1
Each time a boat leaves there is a strong control after?
words and surveillance is increased. This was so after the last two flights
from Liepaja and now the ~flGB men check every boat before it leaves. To check
the water tanks /as it was the last boat where the men had hidden themselves,
the Russians have invented a special instrument which looks like an umbrella
without cover. They put this thing through a hole into the tank and then
spread it like an umbrella would do.In the case it touches something and ean?
mot be opened the Russians order to open the tank. They even are so suspici-
ous now tha if they see that the nuts of the screws are greased, they take tl
the whole boat for control. Those who have lived with the escapees usually
arrest and accuse as participants even send them away or put into prison,
relatives and acquaintances undergo a scrupulous investigation and are puni-
shed. The newcomers Russians are put on completely new fishing trawlers
although they have not the slightest idea about fishing.Latvians,though have
been fishing for years do not get new boats. The tussi~..~~ ~, ~ r ~.v~; with dll
f milies and try to press out Latvians and therefo~~e there is a constant
cud.-The Russians have precedence every where thus for instance,Latvia~is
are not registered as newcomers neither in Riga nor Liepaja the ~ussians,on
the other hand are gegistered inspite of the housing shortage. In Liepaja
~ there is still the old Sugar factory, the Metal factory 'Sarkanais Metallu.~
j and a couple of other smaller iron works. Also the coast line is guarded
! and there are hearty gun positions close at the entrance of the harbour and
every evening the coast line is closed for all kind of traffic and harrow.
There are also flood-lights from Liepaja to Klaipeda,making the sea as light
as in day-time. The coast guards have a certain assigned space which they
have to watch and they go in fairs on this space one pair from one end the
other from the other end and meet in the middle.
Schools. children attend the school when 7 year-old. The elementary school
aFi s seven classes and the secondary school four classes,so that it takes
eleven years to go through school.The Russians go only 10 years. After the
children have gone through the secondary school and if they like to study
at the university or a higher institution, they have to go and work on a
kolehose for two years and only then they are allowed to continue at the. 25X1
university or other higher school.
The train Ri a-Sevasto of cost,single, 30o Rbls.
De rtees return home when they are completely exhausted and unable to
wo. o them return back to Siberia again,
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Once
there was a Latvian guard in Riga,but it was disformcd and both officers and
soldiers were sent to Far East or other parts of the ;soviet Lfnion but separa
tely. This was the only Latvian unit which still continued to exist after
the war,but did not last long. There is no Latvian army. ~ soldier has nQ
passport but if he goes home, he gets a special permit.Besid~s there is the
so-called"Soldier's or Service Booklet". the war-har
bour in Liepaja there were two ships Stan ing - 'axim orki~ and Ordzinikid~!
The officers' and soldiers' wages were mentioned already before. To this 25X1
must be ad::ed,however, that the officers were free to eat at home especially
those who were as regulars in the army and lived with their families. Some
f the officers ate in the mess and got the same portion as the soldier and
0o gr machorka and 3 boxes of matches both for soldiers and officers alike.
owever,the portions to the regular officers were handed over 'in hand'while
he soldiers had to sit at the table the food was put on the table and they
hmmselves had to divide,it, for instance bread. 'Thus it happened that some
~id not get anything at all and some too much. A lieutenant got an additional
~.oo Rbls for each 'star'. Soldier's clothes consist of: One greenish blouse
issued for 6 months, of the same colour trousers galifeiki/,canvs.s:~i.~dle,
to pair of shoes of canvas with rubber soles for 8 months, leg-bands for a
year, 2 pars for. summer and 2 pair for winter, ~- uniform coat of camels wool
warm for 3 years, a short jacket called 'buschlatt'/puffaika/ t'or 3 years,
a cap/winter/with special ear coverers, for 2 years, the 'boat'summer ha~25X1
for a season usually was completely torn and ragged at the end of~summer.
In a bats ion ther~.were3oo-40o men f .om all 25X1
na iona es ut all b s eak Russian.
There are very few civilians
n e rimea and Sevastopo a' ~er a war. almost all inhabitants are
soldiers and officers and army people with their families. In Sevastopol
the torpedoes are examined, all kind of torpedoes. The harbour is rebuilt
and forti~'ied,new roads are built. It hap~~cned once that in one unit there
were together only Latvians. Once they went through the streets of Sevasto-
pol and sang Latvian songs.Peoplc crowded around them aiid there was quite
an excitement as they sang in Latvian and a foreign language sung openly on
the street in Soviet is not a customary thing. after this accident the unit
was deformed and from that time there are never then two or three Latvians
in a unit generally one. If a man is called up in the army and it hap_;ens
that he is not taken in December but say eight days in the January next year
that year is not anymore counted as served thus the official serving time
in infantry i$ 3 years and 8 moths. One year is stolen by the state, and the
soldier is cheated. In tank divisions - 3 years /the same thing about calling
in,and therefore the time is longer/, the .sailors or as they are called the
se4 infantry - 4 years and longer, the flyers - 4 to 5 years. During the
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,,
days 5.3o a.m. on Sundays 6.30 ~..~rny/.B:rea~fast ~cons~.sted on all days of: ~ ..~~
30o gr.black bread porridge 24o gr /one ladle/ and saouce /oil of~ suit.-suds/~ ~
or earth-nut oil, 20 gr sugar, a cup of tea. bunch - /12 to 1 o'clock/,bread
black,3oo gr, soup- one platz,/c- one liter/,porridge /corn buck-wheat which'
was rather good, or.prosa - bad, or of potatoes, or grainf,and souce.~
1'he registration and calling up in the Red army is carried out in the fol-
lowing way: the young man liable to serve gets an order a half a year before ~~
~thc mobil~.sation day to rcgieter himslef.If the young Sian disob;~ys the ii~?st
order there is sent another and to this id attached also ans order from the
Cadre section of his employment place. iy~hen the registration takes placQ the
young man has to hand in his passport to the mobilisation commission and gets
a paper of registration which from now on is his personal document telling ii
that he has been; registered for serviee.After this proceedure the y?n~ man
in question is riot allowed to change his address,i.e. to leave his present
roam or flat. Cn the calling-up day he has to come before a special far j
commission which consists of military men,P1IG13 men doctors. A young man is ~'
freed from the service only on the ground of bad health not otherwise. It is~
also known that some peoples in the I~aukasus are not called for military
service on the grounds that they are unreliable.`rhe same thing vas about
Estonians during the first time of the Soviet occupation after the war. if,
however,the war commission is not able to judge the health of the young man,,
he is sent to a hd`spita.l for examination.`~he doctors can be both Latvians ,
and Russians. his long as there wa,s in Riga,Zatvia the Latvian Division it
was possible to serve them an thus remain_ v.,..,~~_..~~9t..~.a~~divisi~n ~ra~
tomes ~e ore rn~.1it r cour
and is punished like a d~serter ~~~.j~~}~~j'The plan of the day is as ~`o~lo~vs:~
r
f
p p ~ ype o arms, or ~.nstance, tl~.e sodiers in the tank d~v~.sion
got 9o Rbl per month. The soldiers and the lower ranks het the sames_food,eat
together,and sleep in the same roo~.s. the officers get better fo,od,;~leep in
separate, rooms and. live separately. ~'he service is very difficult and them
are c~;ses when people desert, cor~nit suicide,or het a break down /menta.l/. A
~~ a soldier v~ho .comes 2 hours late from a Dave ~ f
before. the regulations in the Red army are the same as the were during the~_
Stalin; time. In 1955 an order was_read issued byLhukQV
that the disciplin must be stricter now in e army and from that tune a 25X11
4 hour marching daily was introduced, according to Prussian fashion.. There~~x1
~+rere no alarming signs of differences between the serving Russian'
and other nationalities. All the higher officers are exclusively Russians
but lower ranks, such as a lieutenant,could. be also of another nationality.
For the ranks of the officers aye selected persons with higher educationx.
`the infantery men have a sallary each 3o Rb1 per month but this vary and
de ends u on th t f
= 6 SECRET att ~ to
v~e~t 17n on, for instance, behind the Ural mountains.
~~25X1
commanding language was Russian and those who did notknow it had to learn25X1
it without farther delay. "There were no special punisll?ment for not knowin
Russian, but the whole service became much more difficult.
there had been several xussians who had never had in their i Mime any kind
of connections ~rfth civilised people and had for instance never seen a camer~
? - 25X1
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25X1
6 a.m. all get up then follows 1/2 an hour of exercise, 1/2 an hour to bake
the bed and wash between 7 and g o'clock a.m. lectures or military. 25X1
exercises, breakfast g o'clock, then 1/2 an hour political lecture than mi-
litary exercise, 2 o'clock p.m. lunch,than military exercise, between ? and
5930 p.m. the afternoon rast,then 2 hours of military exercise or lectures,
then 1 hour to cyan the tiveapons, then 1 hour for personal needs, g.3o p.~n.
the dinner is saxvad,than 1 hour free, and then the evening control, lo.3opm'
a
promenade in a closed unit with singing, .11 p.rn. all go to bed. The poli?
tical lectures besides the daily 1/2 an hour lecture-are ~. hours in weak.
Workdays oo gr bread,on Sundays Soo gr. The service was difficult
because the cold v~ras immense -4O'C as a rule.
Political situation: The -old eornmunists did not like the fact that Pllolotov
and other big b?sses from the Stalin time~v~are thrown out. Molotov was con-
sidered as one-of the old communists of Lenin time. `i'he change is talon very',.,
sceptically. the whole Soviet Union dur-ng the years after the last war ex-
pected that a help.Will~eome from outside and the Will be freed from the
communism. Tha people talked of help
/However, with every ye~~ that
past the hole died. No;~ people have lost all llopa and accept the life as it
is and many think it is better to make mood terms with the ruling losses.
their o 1 eas an~, seek the way to the co~~nun~.st party in ardor to get a
better part out of the miserable life in the competition with the Russian
oppressors.During the first years after the war there were resistance move- I'
meats in the Woods and among the students and pupils in the schools.NoW thew
is nothing lift of these movements and nobody has heard anything of their
existence. In lg?g the Soviets issued a decree promising that ail guerillas ~,
who will ivayu fightin and hand over their armP~Wil' Abe spared. 5oina of tll
g p g
first Who obe ed this decree sere for soma time s erred ust to show to the
h
ot
ers that they l~,vad and to get more out of the woods.Soma time latar,ho~v-
aver, all those who had deliberately come out of the Woods were punished
and accused of hiding arm~,etc. and got a sentence to 25 years daportatian
Russians and Latvians do not like each other. Russians still continue to comp
in the whole Soviet Russian Russians who have sattl~d in Latvia tryvto+gatvN
their relatives them. They are registered in both Riga .and Liepaja witr~out
any ceremony at all,9~hile Latvians era n,ot accepted. `There are more and more
mixed marriages - Russians and Latvians. Thera are even cases when the Rus-
signs try to adapt themselves learn Latvian language and teach it to their
children. The relations between Latvians and Russians are not good. The Rus-~
signs envy Latvians and show it by saying 'ti latisch'. Fighting ~.atween
Russians. and Latvians is ~uita frequent.~uring the Stalin time it vas danger;
ous to say something bad about the Russians as than erne could expect a sever
punishment.I~TeW the risk is not so great but still exists,hoi~ever,people spca
now more freely. People listen to the VO:A,but not so much as they used to doh
especially after the failare of the Hungarian~rcvolt nobody wants to hear it
It is also difficult to hear it because of disturbances, One who has listener
to it is in danger if he tells what ha has heard. The pupils of the Trade
and Technical schools era compelled to ~~ign a paper that after they have
finished the school they will voluntaar~.to ~7ork for two years in a place the
the state ?avill appoint. The sch?ol time however lasts only,on soma acca.sions
6 mo~.~hs and at longest 2 years. ,During the first years after the War the
the pupils for these schools ware gathered by help of militia. and I~TKV~,
because nobody ~~anted to ~ there as the conditions ware unbearable. Many
r~~m~.vrfar7 ~-.- n ~ - - --
--
---
+ +
~-
- ----~~++~ ogee NV11VV1
are sent e in e Ural, moountains to the new industrial centres there.
Like~iise to the Soviet are sent all those who have taken university and
other higher degrees. Some of these ~~~~~d remain in their new places-and
do not. return back as it i~ easier for them try i ; v~ +here and ~competa ;with ,
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the Russians. The fate of the ~ortees. kll deported can be divided roughly'
into two main groups or categories: 1 those who were punished and sent to
concentration cameos for life or for certain space of time.To this group be-
long the deported of 141, the Legionarees of the Latvian 19th division and
all those who-were accused of working against the Soviet communist atate.
2/those vrrho were deported to inside of the Soviet empire for settlement and
had never been tried in a court or accused of anti-communist activity.`~o thi{
rou belon the farmers who were deported in 1949 mass deportation to Soviet
saw in Kazakstan a village where there ~~ere only Lithuanian dep?r 25X1
tees farmers. Both those who were punished and the deported have ri~ht,if
they have got the amnesty,to return home.
concentration camps are still overcrowded and there are a lot of_people sail;
~~vaiting for amnesty or those ;~vhose petitions have been refused.
~ Some of the deported farmers have had luck in Siberia
and they have even managed to,~ve some property and in ~tussian eyes are rich
Thus one of the deported when he got the amnesty,on returning home to Latvia+,
from Soviet he sold there his little house for lo,ooo Rbls and on returning;
home he was accepted in the kolehose and got back his former living house,.
but not the other buildings. From Siberia he had taken with him also all kint
of products he had saved about 1 torn /this is the weight permitted to be.
transported by railway by a private perso~3/. '.here have been also some other..
cases when the deported on returning home request back their houses and go't
them,but these eases are not frequent. ~n the other hand thers_ are cases'
when the `;deported man arrives hams and on finding that the circumstane~s a.c
against him,returns back to Siberia from where he had come. Some of the ae-
cused and punished` people have got knowledge of the persons who have denai$aa~,
ced them during the court procedure and on teturning home after the years
in the concexta:tration ea~tp they now turn against these persons-traitors.~~
in the steppe. The soil is very fruit~ui and the first
harvest has been very good:i~obpdy can-tell what will happen later when the
land will be exploited. The young men who had been sent but there lived in
very primitive conditions;. In spite of the fact that they had already lived
them for a year they still lived in ~~~t tents,both in summer ~,nd winter,
there were only a few buildings built. ~3esides the Latvian youth there have
been also young men and women from other nations. `.the Latvians were sent
by force though the neT,~spapers at that time wrote of volunteering
and called them as heroes and patriots -- they are too deportees. ~~~hen they
were sent out they each were called to the Committee of the Communist Youth ',
in Latvia where the secretary said:"The Farty has watched you for some time
and has found that your behaviour has been excellent and therefore has given
you an honourable appointment to be a communist pioneer.l-iere is your order'
and here the ticket." This was how they volunteered to Sibera,not what you
read in ne;~spapers. ona~~fled back to Latvia, .leaving behin
him all his papers ,therefore he has no possibility to register himself of-
fieially in Latvia. The only v~ay out of this is to get into a kolehose. in
Liepaja there is the iron factory 'Sarkanais l~iet~lu~gs' which works inthree
shifts and melts the scrap-iron. However, even iron bar has been seen.The
.coal comes from Foland.The Liepaja Sugar factory works only during the seasox
~orei~n ships do not come to the Liepaja harbour but go to Riga or Ventspils
because ~hepaja is a military base. `~her~ are some rumours however that beg-
inning with ~~,~~ the next summer it will be opened also to foreign ships.
there are very few new building in Liepaja the largest new building was the
Pedagogical institute on the Roza/roses/square,but the foundations of the
building are sinking and the building is 'in need of urgent repair,otherwise
it ~vill turn round.The same thing happens almost ti~rith ~srery new building.
There are standardised fishing hou~~-on part payment to fishermen but
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they are of bad quality. In L:iepa.ja them are the Russians who have come here
on recreation purposes. The number.of inhabitants are not known but it is
'estimated that 6O~o of.thern are Russians many soldiers. The foods and vistual~
Bread ~,nd milk one card get always but sugar and flour a~~a short and thes' e
commodities are sold only ~,/2 kg to a buyer. All the commodities are of ba~i
quality. Thus for instance the furniture is also badly made handles fall off,
the doors twist,etc. The shops keep only very expensive furniture for it is
convenient for the Artels to produce the more expensive things in order to
fullfil~the-plan. The cheap fu~n.iture,if available,is quickly colt and one
must enlist for it. To by a car a special permit is neccessary and one has
to wait for several years to het it,also for motor bycieles/price 35~m Rbls/
These are bought by Russia Zd._.:l,at.. fans do not get a chance. There are no
private gasoline stations. j
planes,redriven and rockets in large numbers. If one .observes carefully_._.h.Aw.
'th_.p.~an.s~~xa.-~o~a,~ up into the ai~~r than it can be seen that they are shot out
are only two public telephones in Liepaja and no telephtune catalogues.~3etweez
Grobi~a and the Liepaja sea/inland-sea/ there is an aerodrome with modern
Commune of Paris' and 'Kirov' has been seen. There are many swift boats,
though Russians say officially that the swift boat base is in konigsberg.
The entrances Northern and Southern are closed for traffic in the port.All
the ships go through the Central gate of the harbour.From 9 p.m. to 4 a.m
the harbour is closed for all sort of traffic. About to submarines have been
seen in the harbour. di new dry dock has been built in the ]~~taral Port,now
them are two dry docks.In each of these docks can be placed two or three
ships about 150 m long,one of the docks is 20o m.long. The Liepaja harbour
is not opened for the commercial ships only on special occasions, the port
is reserved entirely for navy. In the old commercial harbour there are pate.
rol boats swifts ~aoats and smaller naval units.. In Liepaja there are about
?0 fishing trawlers and to fishing boats, and a Tii~u~.ed fish factory.fihere
'ably a cruisi~r, ar~d ar~oti~~r ship of "lschkalov' type. even the ships 'The
In this port there is the war-of-man'Tscrl~alov'/w~.th two chirrrn.es/, is ~rob-
special permit to visit it from the militia.Thc~re are no new buildin.gs,excep'
the television masts and a government house in the centre.`Ihere are church
services in the churches which were not destroyed during the war,for instancy
in theAnna Church.The services are open a3.zd not disturbed but fishermen and j
the communist youth are,not allowed~to attned them, Tosmare _ Naval Port is ~
forbidden to the civiliaii~ and the surrounding ~voods are fufull with amunition
the largest part are in military uniform. Liepaja is reg~~?~ed as a.fortifie
town.Those who do not live in the town hit its jurisdiction,have to get a
are s;t pr'esent'; ~su.t { ~: ~'~~ ~;~~imatec~---tha1~, '~~~-~...~~ `h~ ~..t'~.~s, a.~..
~~, is -a a~~al ba.s~. Itis difficult to tell hove many inhabitants there
,'e&ac~ ~habitants.Today there are ~~o~a and ~.o~it off' then Rusia.ns.
' llot~, ~ ? k~ from Liepaja ~.n ~.irect~.on o~ ~en~sp.:~s anc~ 4nce~ ~~~~~
`.possibly like fro~~:. atapult with a detonation.
rockets;a avhole system and explode,ana laminate 25X1
10
:'roads. All the Liepaja coast li~.e down to Klaipeda is fortified.In I~laipeda
are the headquarters of the Frontier Guards. `Ihe sea-side is every day harroi
~ved`so as to enable the guards to see if sorry have tried to land or escape.
All over the place on the coast there ~ Nv~r~es which are connected with
~~?""`rl'Ii?e`~`oeuments are con rolled on 19~.e?paj`~I~laipeda and Liepaja?Vent~pils
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 the same time and meet. The State dishing Headquarters are in the so-called
Alt I ~
a-wide district. Them is also a telephone lire only for the use of the coal
guards. During the night tune all the coast ]_ine until Klaipeda is illumina-
ted with floodlights and guards patrol the coast going in both directions atj
I31ue wonder in Liepaja. Seven kn from Liepaja in the direction to ~Ientspils
sea-dung and ;"aas immediately taken prisoner b the least guards examined 25X1''
severely,beaten and accused of trying to In Pavilosta there is~
a fishing koichose 'Dzinta,rjur;a' ?.nd there ~,re 15 fishing trawlers and abouti
15o fishermen with hands. These trawlers were built. in fast Germany and have;
an engin power of 80 HP. ?n one such trawler there are 6 to iO people9
fisherman earns about /in avagage/ COQ Rbls per month: Cod is the fish which
is most caught.. In Pavilosta t:her~ are several new buildings built for rnili?
tary purppses. and even the Pavilosta is in the forbid;den zone.Y~iost of the
Red armista are T~iongolians. No special military., equipment has been seen:Like
in other places even from this ha.r~bour the fishermen are allowed to go out
th
fisherman had once early in the morning gone out on tyre coast to collect t~P~'
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,Civilians are allov~ecl to visit a little section of the Liepaja coast line
and then only on appointed hours.~ven in Pavilosta it~is very strict.An old
there is a heavy-gun coastal battery for shooting at the sea.
~n e.sea not farther than e~,ht hours voyage from the Boast,
eac tyvo weeks. If a fisherman vi~lts a ch~.rch c~ervice he is thrown out of
his work and even beaten and puzii~hed. ~~~ himself exper~.ericed the had
last Christmas together with his mother v sited the church service where
,~ p ~ s. the .
fish is~cooked or staked on the~trawl~r during the fishing time a protocol
must be~ written which describe why it' was done. Genially on each tra.~~uler
there are three ?~ussians,`fhe fishermen have no rest whatever except when
there is storm. Qf~cially there is a holiday for the captain and the mate
h -
.,~~~~, ~"" '~'~25X1
cod which he .has ~a~~~i~.1; caugh he has to oa- fine u to 70~ Rbl If
._
1~`?i" > y . r s
~- 11 '25X1
u T
no bread on;the kolchoses or~i~erylittle. People hear the VOAgvery badly ~.nd
listen to it less ~~,nd less. after Stalin's death people feel more free than
before,however,the Latvians and even Russians say:"One devil died but there
eame._ten instead". Thera is also a saying about Russians who fortify the
coastline that they even fear from t i ..own-dung. ill the part mamba
e
g sue. a sul , man s sandals -30 Rbl a pair. "There are such
queues. sometimes up to 15flO people, that it is a plain luck if one gets
something. phis is in Lepajabut it is characteristic also to Pavilosta and
in other parts of .Latvia. In the Tinned. fih factory a ~~orker ge-~~ 12 Rl~ls
per day. 'the spirit of Latvians around Pavilosta ~,nd }7earby districts is
very depressing and people now hope that it will be Germany"which will free
them from the comrrrunist slavery. `They -have no illusions anymore c oncerni~ig
the :~nglish and ~fnericans, especially after the failure in H
,
The rites are as follows: Horse meat can be y - 95 f' ~
purchased in a.l'1 shops and is ~:
regarded as a basic food/ kg - SRbI, i kg cattle meat - 12~-3.4 Rbl,i kg mutto~
14-16Rb1, 1 kg fresh park- 2G--25 Rbl, l kg smoked pork -35-3II ~~1, Sugar 1~g
9 Rbi ;only 1 2 kg can be purchasedj, 1 kg black bread - 1.20 1~b1, A load
of white bread 2nd class - 2.80 Rbl, the first class is not available, one
egg .u- ~, Rbl. A man's suit ready made,cast 2000 to 250o Rbls and it ie almost
impos ible to
t h 't? '
p o s 3 kg meat,5O eggs a yearly
tax for the state. One pig-skin,3oo liter milk of ape cow. It is allowed to
keep one cow, a calf, a pig. There is however a tax on the co~v a,nd until
153 the owner had"to pay to the state 30o to $oo Rbls for keeping it. `t'he
tax was again renewed in 1957; except for last four ears
~1953 1 6
c a lher~ are very few I
iussians in Kolchoses ;
~,nd everybody tries to get away Born thern,if only possible. The life of a
kolchose Tavorker depends upon ti~hat he can get out 'of his Z/2 hectare land
i~hich is regarded as his p~~operty. In 1957 the fisherman in Pavilosta ha,d to
give to the state from their private 1 t ~
Pavilosta in 1957 a worker received o.34 Rblsvand~~pOVW11uu ~uaiwv? in
day.The grain was full with h ff n ~ gr of grain for a work;
`
_- _ J _- - e -~-_- ?- _-~ _ ------
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t t
.
--- ....~.,.... .. a,. ~~wu NCCis 1L.11.J,. UV1 LX~.._.Q~~. _. A~eY ~-~-~? Un the -,
:U ~.~.~-~fter the service he had been reat~n r,T nfY,~ n -~, ~.1?,~,.,.,,1.,,, - m,_ _-- .. _
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_ ~ ~ ~ _ ? _Jt~tit!
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tell all the time that eo le who fled were handed out to the So-
viets, also that the have handed out thou-
sands of the refugees who came after the war. tis a consequence of
this people fear to flee and better su ter and stay behind. 1'her~ are about
5000 Russians settled in the l~kme~rags , about 10 km from Pavilosta. There
are also several coast batteries and fortific~.tions in the nearby forests.
It ~ s a~ Q~ on gsible that the.r~___ar..~.._s.aok~#._ bases. The civilians are not p~r-
mitted there.. In the Riga Bay U,nd near the Horn Kolka are the fisherman rho
were regarde as unreliable and they are edrefully watched. Ventspils is a
commercial harbour but even naval ships arrive ;end stay on the side of the
town. The former Customs park is full with soldiers.
Genral opinion is now that nothing will change for a long time,howevcr,
there are still hope left. Tnose who come home from the deportations are
completely broken. Even some of the younger have returned and a couple of
former legionarees.There are quite a lot of mixed marriages. Youngster 15-
to 18 year old are alread educated in the spirit of communism, and do not
believe in Those who return are sent to filtration
camps in Soviet Russia and if t ey return after a couple of months they are
in such a state that they have no where to god no work,and nobody accepts 25X1
them. There are some weapons stored from the war time. People are robbed on ~~
broad .daylight. In nights the robbers-throw a lasso on their victim from a
tree or a fence. 't'his has happened in Ventspils,Liepaja and also other pla- "
oes. The statues of Stalin are still in some places and some of the communis'
do not like the new order at all,especially the removal of Molotov,lVIalenko~r,
etc. The people in a kolchose cannot move freely as their passports are
with the managers of the kolchose.If someone is caught wi~ihout the limits of.
the kolchose and without proper documents he is arrested examined and puni-
shed.Those kolchose workers who earn their living as woodcutters, get 6-7 Rb~
per day with their own bread and work clothes.
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