COMMUNICATIONS AND TRANSPORTATION FACILITIES IN RUBEZHNOYE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP81-01030R000100440003-9
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 6
• Document Creation Date: December 23, 2016
• Document Release Date: November 4, 2013
• Sequence Number: 3
• Publication Date: April 2, 1954
• Content Type: REPORT

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CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
INFORMATION REPORT
CONFIDEPITIKL.
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This Document contains information affecting the Na-
tional Defense of the United States, within the mean-
Mg of Title 18. Sections 793 and 794, of the U.S. Code, as
amended. Its transmission or revelatIma of its contents
to or receipt by an unauthorized person is prohibited
by law. The reproduction of this form le prohibited.
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COUNTRY USSR (Ukrainian M)_
SUBJECT
DATE OF INFO.
MACE ACQUIRED
Communications and -Transportation
Facilities in Rubezhnoye
REPORT
DATE DISTR.
NO. OF PAGES
2 April 1954
6 50X1-HUM
THE SOURCE EVALUATIONS IN TAN WORT ARE DEFINITIVE.
THE APPRAISAL Of CONTENT IS TENTATIVE.
(FOR KEY SEE REVERSE)
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2. RUbeehnoye is located at N 49-01, E 3843.
On page 51 paragraph 191 Moskviton should read MOskvioh,
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STATE
Aix
ARMY
NAVY
AIR
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FBI
AEC
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OSIFISSNIIAL
: ?! A
Ole
Cent s WOR VDrstimiagii8S10
NWT 's Ocommixicatiens and transportation
legilities in lubeshaoys
Tia 4 urensmas.
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SPINA
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DATE DISTIL /0 Ptt gy
NO. OF,EAGES 5
NO. a INCI.S.
IMMO Sow) ?
? 1141PIUMENT TO
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cosparomesi
1. the telephone and telegraph cuter
lasted la the poet office building
There Tore se okay brangages of the telephone one ago
' Si illy. Whether there were rash **changes outside of the
lebeshneye ii Wawa to le.
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wn of Rubeshioye was
ton of
? 2. there was so. Small switekboari locatel in the Isuilding
? which beetled all leis' *mg tangibly long distance calls.
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3; .thers, was a local telephone system in Rubeshnops which was chime
211444 Soh. the *montage mentioned above. The systole sag an 50X1-HUM
amtignatet one with no antesegtio dial systems, but an old type of
flank arrangemetA. If a phone call was to be eau the exchange -
47
wain& be centagVel. the desired number reached through it,
?here wire no public toss- 50X1 HUM
phase booths in Wilboshnoyet and anyone dimities to make tkphone
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call had to go to the telephone exohange and use one of their
phOnes. Generally speaking the only places where telephone
installations were made were in offioial agencies, offioas of
key personnel, and in private hones of VII0s.
whether it was possible for private persons to make long die-
tanos phone calls.
4. it was possible to reach a long distance op-
' tor by using any local telephone instrument. \
several- Si414t chiefs had done this in
canheotion with official business. According to these Soviets,
the procedure was first to contact the local operator, who
would route the call through the city of Liskhinstroy, about
10 kne southeast of Rubezhnoye and then to Noscow.
/
5. The Connection with the above named neighboring town was so-
ooaplishod in a very few minutes, but certainly not as rapidly
as would be accomplished with an automatic system.
]what the monetary rates were for any type of call. Al-
though the German specialists were allowed to use the telegraph
facilities, do: not know
what the rates were.
6. The telegraph and telephone lines were all overhead lines,
and no lines which were installed underground. ;
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1010S AND RADIO STATIONS
7.
the exact location, but about 14 kms south-
east of(Rubezhnoye.was a small barbed wire enclosed area, which
was rumored to be a small ammunition dump. The area was about
1002 x 40., in the middle of which stood two steel mete on the
top of which a plain wire antenna was stretched. The masts
resembling ship masts stood about 90 - 100m apart. no
more information on this subject.
S. Just before ley 1951, four types of radio sets of
Soviet manufacture were available to the public in prices
ranging .between 300 - 1500 rubles. All sets except 41e least
expensive bad a short wave lead. The "Record", which cost about
500 rubles, had three multiple purpose tubes (pentodes), and one
rectifier for 110/220 V. The meet expensive sets had an auto-
Static volume centre'.
9. The hobby of radio building was quite popular &song the younger
people of the tows of Suleshnoye? and the leek stores which had
technieal literature on radio building available were &WO? '
filled with youngsters interested in this holly. There was a
law however, that made it imperative for all radios te be regis-
tered when home built. The registration took plass ales at the
telephone sot telegraph exchange.
0 ONTISSITIAL
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10.
11.
12.
lj.
CONPIDNNTIAT.
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The purchase of spare parts and tubes was possible in the various
state owned stores and the bazaar. There never seemed to b? any
shortages of this commodity, how wide spread the
use of radios was among the populatiolobut the price of 500 rubles
for the *Records radio was very reasonable for the wage standard
of the Soviet workers in Rubezhnoye.
en official announcement or law which specifi-
cally prohibited listening to foreign broadcasts, ant
anyone being apprehended for this practice.
it was safe to assume that thoirwho had radios were exposed to
foreign broadcasts. As a matter of fact, many Soviet co-
workers listened to as was discovered from
casual conversations with them. This of course was kept strictly
secret, and no mention was ever made when it was thought that
willing ears could overhear their conversations.
There was one central public address system in the town of
Rubezhnoye (location unknowa) which was apparently controlled
from the telephone and telegraph exchange. There were several
loudspeakers in open public places, and also a possibility of
a connection in homes.,
any jamming on any wave length in the radios
in Rubezhnoye, and if there was such a procedure in force, it
never became obvious. Radio reception was poor before 2200
hours because of the general widespread use of the electrical
system, but never such that it was not possible to hear long
or short wave broadcasts.
TRANSPORTATION
Railroads
14./ from Gement \route of travel was from
Wolf en in Germany to Rubezhnoye, through Brest, Smolensk and
Moscow. In Brest the Soviet rail gauge tracks began anC
transferred from one train onto a Soviet type. There were
no other gauge changes between Brest and Rubezhnoye. From
Brest ?to Moscow the line was double tracked? and not electri-
fied, as was the line from Moscow to Rubezhaoye. Throughout
the trip to and from Rubezhnoye very little of the
train system itself,
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There were numerous stops along
the way because of many broken sections of lines, and it seemed
that every 50-60 kms. stopped for as long as three 50X1-HUM
hours. Construction gangs were a common sight and most of them
were probably prisoners ofwar or slave laborers. 50X1-HUM
one thing in Rubezhnoye, however,
i The road bed was not covered 50X1-HUM
with crushed rook, but the ties were laid on hard packed dirt. ,
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The ties themselves looked as if they were of pine or some other
light oolorsd woods and were not treated with tar. nen a track
vas laid, the rails were fastened onto the ties upon a flat oar,
and the whole completed section was laid onto the road bed, not
individually, as tine in Germany. The rails them- 50X1-HUM
Selves were fastened to the ties with lar seise type bolts.
never saws diee'il (online in the OSSits and ?o no ?ow where
they spirited. . in May 1951, elan 50X1-HU
along anftherproute i M
via Xharkovs.the southern route. From
Rubeshiloye all the way to Driest, the line was double tracked and
in soot 'condition. ' There were few. stops, and thsee.wire of a
Short dukation. '
13. \another item which may be of intertit. 50X1-HUM
Urban teak oars which arrived from the interior of Germany
were not trensioadeds but Atter some adjustment in the under.
Carriage, sontinued on their way on Soviet rail gauge tracks.
/adjustments were made, but when these oars cod.
1 tinned on their way on the Soviet rail gauge traolIt_they. rode 50X1-HUM
on only &Inuit half of the Soviet rail gauge rails Over no- 50X1-HUM
tiosd'iny building of what would sees like electrical lines any-
wbere.along our route into the USSR.
16. All thil000motives seen in the USSR were in good 50X1-HUM
operating order and were clean and almost' new looking. The rest
of the telling stock was in battered and dirty condition as
evidenobt-by.the type of oars on ay trip in and out
of the-lISSR.. I 50X1-HUM
It seemed that all freight
trains were always full of free riders, giving one the impression
that there were no passenger trains available. This practice
resulted in .nony fatal accidents to these riders. After 1949? .
tht government took strict measures against riding the rail and
anyone caughtwould-be immediately arrested. 50X1-HUM
? The passenger oars
to add frOp the 'USSR, were of the pre-WorldTar I vintage, and
we're ins.bad'stete of repair. There was no central heating
antheativen,qhtained fron'a coal or wood buiner placed in the
middlflf,the:oar. Most of the oars were without runnintwater,
necessitating the extraction of hot water from tite lecenotive
for welshing end cooking purposes. The only luxury oars\
were of German make which were being routed from Bisset,
th went fres there,
lot water was Also made
available at stations for a nominal fee.
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17.
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there were diners and all modern facilities aboard
express trains travelling between large cities.
All roads
rt roads,
inn &VIM art , I "
The eel, surfacing was in the town itself, and this was a rough
type of Cobblestone. Most roads were level not built up, with no
about 5n wide.
fully loaded three and five ton trucks used them
i[*kittfficulty. There was no new road construction going on
anywhere in or near Rubeshnoye, but repair crews worked diligently
in the lite spring repairing the winter ant early spring damage.
Generally the roads were full of deep holes which sometime .
reached a depth of one meter. ,
19. The state of vehicles in Rubeshnoye was as bad as the roads; they
were badly worn and in a poor state of repair. The only trucks\
litere of the two and one half - three ton class. The majority
were three ten. They were either old Studebakercor ancient So-
viet models. These vehicle.s were all *rank started and were held
together literally with string and bailing wire. Rubsshnoye was
else the happy owner of two very old model busses. One was a
Soviet model for 14 passengers and the other a German maks for
25 passengers. These two busses ran a shuttle between Rubeshnoyi
and i small town north east for workers employed at the Khisken-
binat. Is addition to the truck vehicles, there were also two or
three ?M0skwiloheo in this town for the use of the Direotor of the
plait and key personnel.. These were hand started oars.
bow may trucks and passenger oars there were all in all,
the system of licence plate numbering. Motor-
'voles were almost-unheard of here, the only one or two which did
exist ware very old ant noisy models. Dioycles were becoming mere
nuisrous in thw teirh of dubeshnoye in 1951, and these
were the pride of:h11.4ke were fortunate dnoughtoown elle. Theis the
bicycles were purchased, The only repair shop and
!Jilin station An or around Rubezhnoye was in the ihiakoubinat.
grounds and was owahd and operated by this plant. indeed the most
common neanttof.transportation was the common wagon or oart. These
were seen im-great numbers-far outnumbering the motor vehiolei.
20. Most of the traffic in this -area was freight, and practically all
was neterised. The Soviets used motor vehicles to transport
everything, for some :reason not relying on rail transportation at
all, or at least net noticeably so. !
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