VOLUNTEER WORKERS' BATTALIONS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP82-00457R012600130004-8
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: April 21, 2011
• Sequence Number: 4
• Publication Date: July 9, 1952
• Content Type: REPORT

Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/04/21: CIA-RDP82-00457R012600130004-8
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
CLASSIFICATION SECRET/CONTROL - Uo S. OF,FICtALS ONLY
SECURITY INFORMATION
INFORMATION REPORT REPORT
CD NO.
COUNTRY Bulgaria
SUBJECT volunteer Workers f Battalions
DATE OF
INFO.
DATE DISTR. 9 July 1952
NO. OF PAGES
NO. OF ENCLS.
(LISTED BELOW)
PLACE ~ ATE SUPPLEMENT TO
tcwlu ACQUIRED REPORT NO.
THIS DOCUMENT CONTAINS INFORMATION AFFECTING THE NATIONAL DEFENSE
OF THE UNITED STATES, WITHIN THE MEANING OF TITLE 18, SECTIONS 793
AND 794,.-OF THE U.S. CODE, AS AMENDED. ITS TRANSMISSION OR REVE-
LATION OF SITS CONTENTS TO OR RECEIPT BY AN UNAUTHORIZED PERSON IS
PROHIBITED BY LAW. THE REPRODUCTION OF THIS FORM IS PROHIBITED.
young People's Battalions work. in. the SIl.istra, Isperikh, Dimitrovgrad,
Khain :Boas, Rositsa, and Topolnitsa areas, at the newly-constructed Sofia
stadium, and on the Sofia-Vitosha highway.
50X1-HUM
i... The DSNM (Dimitrovski Suyuz ua Narodnata Mladezh; Dimitro" Union. of People's
Louth) is. an affiliate of the Communist Party and has a Central Committee and
5,. The Khristo Botev National Young People's Battalion consisted of 800 students,
divided. into nine companies as fa..1Zpws a
CLASSIFICATION SECRET/CONTROL.- U.S OF.FICIALS ONLY
is long trousers, shirt, ,Jacket, soldier's overcoat; each student also re-
cei'es two blankets and an enlisted manss drinking bowl and flask. One straw
mart-t ess is furnished for each 12 men for winter use.
Young People's Battalions and the Local Young People-Is Battalions.
The National Young People's Battalions are composed of university students.,
lyc\eegraduates, and young.men who are candidates for higher education. Members
wear uniforms quite .ifferent from those of the Trudovaks, consisting of blue
shorts, linen Jackets,. caps, and.good-quality rubber shoes. The winter uniform
an administrative structure like that of the Party. The head of the organization.
is a graduate of the Moscow Workers University, as was Georgi Dimitrov, a former
leader of the bSNM.
The Shta b na NatsionalnataMladezhka Brigada (National Young People's :Brigade
Headquarters), under the leadership of Penku Kusadinski, is an organization sub-
ordinate to the DS:-%4. It is financed by the municipal budget and the "budget of
the Communal Employment Ministry and is composed of two. parts. the National
THIS IS UNEVALUATED INFORMATION
D
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y ry
',$EC..FE'7/COI OL - TT ,,,S . OFFICIALS OnLY
Six companies of 46-50 students from the Svishtov Commercial College;
Two companies of students from religious schools; and
c ? One company of students fr am.'Xi 1v'i Pazar
Headquarters of the : bristo Botev Battalion were in 0veu village (N4348 E270li),
and consisted of a permanent staff of salaried Communipts and a temporary Cleri-
cal staff of students o The permanent complement was.-
Commander,. Captain Dimitur Yanev, a partisan officer who. wore the same type
of uniform, as the. others;
Political comd-mar -, An unidentified first lieutenant who directed the
student representatives who delivered political lectures to the company;
Cultural director and trainer. An unidentified civilian who directed the
student r.epresen.tatives.,who - in turn prepared .political conferehces,
conversations, and entertainment; each company published a bi-weekly news-
paper;
Food commissar, Dressed like the students and had no rank;
Trainign an mutual assistance director, An unidentified officer; tnstructian
was given six days a week, including Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning,
to groups of 10-12 students in the use of rifles, carbines, Soviet and
German Schneiders; 2
f Work d. stribu.tor. Cheep. to see that the work quota. of 3.5 cubic meters o
earth ha,d been dug and transferred 70-80 meters from the excavations'; those
students not completing their quota in the 3.5 hour work period were required
to work overtime;
Work supervisor,.. An unidentified-engineer; and
h. Doctor% Unidentified; civilian hospitals in the work area, were used., and
students requiring special attention were sent to Silistra4
Workers received a daily diet of 2,200 calories; the menu was as follows,
a< Breakfast. Tea, 50 grams of white cheese and sometimes Balkan cheese or
milk and marmalade;-
b Lunch-, A ver thick vegetable e etabl a plate of meat, a dessert made with
powdered milk. or a sweet spaghetti dish; and 50X1-HUM
c m Supper- Soup, a vegetable dish, compote or fruit; three times a week meat
was served at supper as well as at lunch,
battalion of 800 men and the Volunteer Workers Battalion of 1,200
students from Stalin University were working. on c6 str .ction of the 4 50X1-HUM
Sa muil-Silistra stretch of the Stalin railroad line. The Samuil-Isperikh
section. of the railroad was opened for service in the summer of 1949; the re-
mainder of the route was scheduled for completion by 1955 according to the 5
1r ~la.Q but was being speeded up for completion in 1953. The Samuil-Silistra
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SECRET/CONTROL.- U.S,, OFFICIALS ONLY
stretch is 72 kilometers long and. passes terrain which has to be filled to a
depth. of 16 aneters; the construction was one of thle most
difficult jobs to, be dons: in Bulgaria. Istoerikh (N1343 E2648) was general head-
quarters for the project;
the Stalin grou,pvs headquar ers were Roynovo (sic), - sper s r ,c 50X1-HUM
a total of 12,300 students throughout Bulgaria were
members of the National Young People's work grou;'ps there were six battalions. of
workers. 50X1-HUM
10, The Local Volunteer Workers' Groups are separate battalions administered by the
local.People's Councils, They are financed by the budget of the local: People's
Councils and by the allocation of the profits of the TKZS (Trudovo Kooperativuo
Zemedelsko Stopanstvo, Labor Cooperative Agrarian Farm).. 50X1-HUM
Comment. the milk and marmalade had been sent
to be given to the children but was actually channeled
to the student or groups.
SECRET/CONTROL. - U.S. OFFICIALS ONLY
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