HEALTH IN THE USSR

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00810A001800420006-0
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: April 3, 2002
• Sequence Number: 6
• Publication Date: July 27, 1953
• Content Type: REPORT

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CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
INFORMATION REPORT
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 18 prohibited.
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REPORT NO.
DATE DISTR.
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REFERENCES
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27 July 1953
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SOURCE:
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THE APPRAISAL OF CONTENT IS TENTATIVE.
(FOR KEY SEE REVERSE)
1.. I believe that the governmental body responsible for collection-of vital
25X1X health statistics in the USSR was the Ministry of Health.
Collection of statistics'was one through normal public health channels (the
agencies concerned being, in ascending order, RayZdrav, GorZdrav, OblZdrav,
the republic Ministry of. Health, and the all=union Ministry of Health. I am
inclined to believe that'there were no public health statistics readily avail-
able in the USSR except'for.birth and mortality statistics published periodic-
ally in various Ministry"of Health publications which were on sale in book-
stores and sent to subscribers. These publications included Sovetskaya Medi-
to . ina; a weekly (7),and'Meditsinskiy Rabotnik, also a weekly ? . I consider
such published statistical data, especially mortality rates, unreliable; I
think the mortality rate in the USSR is much above the official figures.
2. The two diseases of national significance in the USSR were TB and VD. TB was
more common in southern areas and VD in northern areas, especially among the
minority groups and in large seaports, such as Arkhangelsk. Diseases,of
regional character were;
a. Botulism, in the Turkmen SSR
b. Trachoma, in Nanaysk National Okrug
c.. Lupus (lupus ulcus, lupus vulgaris), in Irkutsk and Yakutsk oblasts
d. Ringworm, in Asiatic republics
e. Infantile paralysis, in Belorussian SSR and the western Ukraine
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Hamsters, Siberian marmots, and rata were carriers of bubonic plague.
This disease still existed in southern Ukraine and the Siberian
steppes. Extermination of hamsters and Siberian marmots was
organized by regional fur procurement agencies (zagotpushnina),
Which at the same time utilized the furs of these animals.
Extermination of rats was carried out by regional public health
agencies:(RayZdrav, GorZdrav, and OblZdrav). Such campaigns p
however, were- primitively organized, and the -results were generally
poor. Dogs and cats were carriers of various herpes, trichophytosis,
and rabies (bolezn vodoboyazni). Horses were carriers of Siberian
peat (sibirakaya yazva).
4. The. following tvnes ation- were given in the USSR on a
25X1 A national scale
a. To all children: scarlet fever, measles, smallpox (repeated
s
every
even years), and tuberculin vaccine (sic), which I believe was
of either Swedish or Danish manuracture;
Typhoid, paratyphoid (paratif), and cholera to adults. A vaccine
called trivaktsina, containing immunization drugs against all
three diseases,waa used for this purpose;
c. Tetanus, when required in individual cases. I never heard of
any cases where inoculations given to the population were not
effective. After World War II there were some rumors in
Kherson that"-sometimes the doses of vaccine administered were
too large thus giving the disease to those vaccinated.
In general, the normal diet of a working man in the USSR was adequate
Ni.r.p its caloric value nor variety. Although the workers'
daily diet contained sufficient amounts of albumins, carbohydrates
(uglevody), and starch, there was a constant lack of fats; this'diet
also included a great deal of bread (up to 800 - 1,000 gm., potatoes,
cabbage, very little meat or fish
and still less fat- B
tt
,
u
er, cheese,
:and milk were practically non-existent in the working-class diet.
The bad effects of such an insufficient diet were clearly to be
seen in rather widespread cases of anemia. Irregularity of meal-
times was'also detrimental to workers' health. Usually both
husband and wife worked, and there was not enough time to prepare
even?a decent breakfast. Lunch, eaten at work, usually consisted
of a crust of black bread with some margarine, or boiled potatoes.
The only substantial meal was dinner, but even then there was not`
sufficient time to prepare it properly, since with sb few canned
goods cooking required time.
a. Rationing of food products was discontinued in 1948, and since
that time no foods were rationed.
b. Sanitation inspectors (saninspektor), attached to rayon and city'l'.
public health
ff
o
ices, saw to the purity and sanitary condition
of foods. This control, however, especially in the rural
regions and small urban communities, left much to be desired.
good inspection of stores and public markets was done in an
ineffective, superficial way, if at all. Often the inspector
simply took their weekly fees (bribes) from stores and market
traders, and let it go at that. I assume that
i
th
l
,
n
e
arge
urban centers like Moscow, Leningrad, and Kiev,. sanitation control
was much more thorough.
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national control of potency, production, distribution, and standardlzati(A
of the. quality of drugs was supervised by the Chief .. Pharmaceutical
Directorate (Glavnoye Aptekouipravleniye) of the Health Ministry
a. Although there was Soviet penicillin in the USSR, production
could not satisfy requirements. Considerable guantities of
_
25X1A penicillin were imported, F
I
from East Germany, Hungary, and probably Czechoslovakia. In
the years immediately following World War II, I saw a great
deal of penicillin which had been manufactured in the US and
England. 1
I never saw streptomycin in the USSR but heard that this drug
was also imported from the West.
3f;
c. I .believe that raw quinine was also imported, most probably from
Indochina.
As far'as I know, the only non-governmental organization for health
and welfare in the USSR was the Red Cross and Red Crescent Society.
I think even this .society received some subsidy from the government;
its annual membership fee was 2.40 rubles. I believe the society's-
main task was the enlightenment of the population in regard to hygienic
and sanitary rules, prevention of accidents, and the fight against TB.
This was done by means of public lectures. popular publications
office headed by such a sanitation expert, who, in smaller plants,
doubled"as head of the plant's dispensary. In larger factories the
dispensary was headed by a practicing physician (medical doctor).
d. All antibiotics were usually in short supply. The quality of
Soviet-made manufactured drugs and medical supplies was quite
adequate, although packaging was not always handy or attractive.
I am inclined to believe that provisions for industrial hygiene in
the USSR were taken seriously and that much was done in this respect.
Several large medical institutes, such as those in Moscow,
Leningrad, Kiev, Novosibirsk, and Sverdlovsk, in addition to medical
schools, had special sanitation-hygiene schools (Sanitarno-Gigiyeniche-
skiy Fakurtet) which prepared men who would be qualified in industrial
sanitation,hygienic, and prophylactic service.. Graduates of such
schools were. not granted the right to practice-medicine in the
USSR nor were they employed as physicians in hospitals, clinics,
or sanitoriums; their activity was restricted to the enforcement of
sanitary, hygienic, and safety measures in all kinds of industrial
installations, Normally every large plant, factory, and industrial
installation in the USSR, depending on its size., had a-sanitation
War II.it organized quite a large number of its own evacuation tr4ins,
hospitals, and sanitoriums for wounded and sick soldiers,' I do not
know the-size of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Society, but I believe
that in KherSon /f640N-3235 10 to 15% of the entire .population were
members. This same figure could be taken as average for*the entire
urban population'of the USSR. In rural areas the membership was
mach lower, not exceeding five per cent.
floods or earthquakes; they would send medical personnel, medicines,
food,- and clothing to those in need. In wartime, the mociety.'s
activity was on a much larger scale. I remember that during"World
aid of the population in regions affected by natural disasters such as-
e
p en.ere in peacetime by this society consisted in administering
tnbPrnvi1 1-n .1 rA vn-t an4hi nr.o i-.. n'L..t'I .i....... Ml-- ---.&-A. ~ . _ ., _ S
distribution of leaflets, and the preparation of posters. One practical,
b
i d d
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