MORALE AND DISCIPLINE AMONG SOVIET OCCUPATIONAL PERSONNEL

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP82-00457R002100770002-6
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 20, 2016
• Document Release Date: March 16, 2006
• Sequence Number: 2
• Publication Date: January 3, 1949
• Content Type: REPORT

CLASSIFICATION CUNH.pd1D N%~~2-%JA7RRP"
Approved F "As~ei ~LMA FINFORMAT'ION REPORT CD NO.
COUNTRY Germany (Russian Zone)/USSR
SUBJECT Morale and Discipline among Soviet
Occupational Personnel Document No.
PLACE
ACQUIRED
.DATE OF IN
Class. C:IANGED TO: TS S
a.v v.LAL.IIl'~ 111 41ZI.:7J.
II LJ
DECLASSIFIED
~?DA Memo, 4 Apr 77 TJPPLEMENT TO
Auth: DDA REG. 7 1763 oRT .
nat_r. - 1 2 MAY 1978
THIS DOCUMENT CONTAINS INFORMATION AFFECTING THE NATIONAL DEFENSE
OF THE UNITED STATES WITHIN THE MEANING OF TIIE ESPIONAGE ACT 50
AND $2. AS AMENDED. ITS TRANSMISSION OR THE REVELATION
U. S. C.. 81
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THIS IS UNEVALUATED INFORMATION.
Recent checks on discipline, morale, and political reliability in
Saxony disclosed that both Soviet troops in Germany and SMA
personnel are now better disciplined and have -a much higher morale
than at any other time since the end of war. It was expected by
Soviet authorities that the reorganization of the SMA and large
scale redeployment (up to 25% of the total personnel) would start
a wave of desertions. But the evidence so far is,that very few
Soviet citizens desert upon notification of their redeployment to
the U.S.S.R. Soviet officials are now confident that defection is
no longer a serious problem. Soviet military commanders, SMA
officials, and Political Sections of SMA and of the Soviet troop
units received commendation from Marshal Sokolovskj in acknowledge-
ment of their superior work and devotion to duty,
25X1 (Comment: This development is considered significant in
view of the facti
25X1 that Col. Gen. Shikin, Chief of the Central Political Directorate
of the Armed Forces of the U.S.S.R., in a-special directive addressed
to Maj. Gen. Andreev, then Chief of the Political Directorate SVAG,
25X1 severely censured 1ndreev for the "outstanding deficiencies in the ntl,rr'
work of the Political Directorate, its subordinate units, and the
party organizations" which resulted in very unsatisfactory ideological-
political education of enlisted personnel
25X1 to political duties of Soviet officials.
Mars a o 0 ovs and his
Army Deputy for Political Affairs, Lt. Gen. Ponomarev, addressed to
,.Soviet Army unit commanders, refers to the recurring "betrayal of the
Fatherland, suicides, robbery of the German population, performed
by members of the Soviet occupational forces" in Germany. The main
reason for this state of affairs is stated by Sokolovsk t to be the
fact that " Soviet military personnel were guilty of keeping or
living with German women". Following this directive the Soviet
security officials successfully limited the relations between Soviet
personnel and Germans to bare minimum. There is no doubt that this
segregation of Soviet personnel from the German population is
credited with the now reported improvement of discipline and morality
of S
CLA IF1 TIONv-
ENTIAL
DATE DISTR. 3 Jan 1949
NO. OF PAGES 1
STATE I NA Y IB
ARMY AIR JAI FBI