DESCRIPTION OF THE CITY OF GORODENKA (HORODENKA) LOCAL CONDITIONS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP82-00047R000400490009-4
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 27, 2016
• Document Release Date: April 29, 2013
• Sequence Number: 9
• Publication Date: June 17, 1954
• Content Type: REPORT

F_ A i K-LLWI
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release a 50-Yr2013/04/29 : CIA-RDP82-00047R000400490009-4
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
INFORMATION REPORT
50X1
COUNTRY USSR
DATE DISTR. /7 Jun 1954
SUBJECT Description of the City of Gor. odenka Lei'-Iorode-r1k NO. OF PAGES 3
Local Conditions
PLACE
ACQUIRED
DATE
ACQUIRED
NO. OF ENCIS.
(LISTED BELOW)
SUPPLEMENT TO
REPORT NO.
THIS IS UNEVALUATED INFORMATION
*1
1. The city r ,:al:;r rs~denke7 had a population of 12 thousand in 1939+
The city ,a an a slight hill. There were eight thousand persons of
Ukr ,,.: r ;vaa ethnic origin, three thousand J'ewrish, and, one thousand of Polish
eton W w origin.
2. There were two large Greek Catholic churches, each with a capacity for one
thousand parson-, The chi M a.es were old and of brick construction. The
city also had one Jewish Synagogue and one Roman Catholic Church.
TNI} NOCNYCNT CONT.... I....YATION AVVCCTINN THE NATIONAL OCTCNNT
D( TAO UMITCD STATES. WITHIN THE YCANIMC 01 TITLE 16. SICTIONS 791
AND Y04, of TMC V.1. COOS, AS AYCNDCO. ITS TNAN}YIfS10H DA AEON.
LATItlm C( ITS COMT(NT1 TO ON ^NCSlOT NY AN UNAUTNONI t(O-f(N/6S. 11
}NON(.ITTN NT LA.. THE NIPA00UCTIOM Of THIS IONS. IS INONIHITCD.
3. The tallest Wilding in Grt'.-r'oienka was three stories high.
Sera '3ntse ulitsa, the main c treets ran through the center of the city. It
ran southeast to Zaleshohiki and northwest to Nezly .ska. It was stone and
gravel surfaced a d.. two cars wide.
The usual e q e of transpor w4 .tion was horse and wagon. Bicycles were
occasionally used. There war* no street cars. Buses ran thro h the city
enroute to other cities and villages. The city also had taxis fiyarkail
which were horse drawn buggies
.
6. About three kilometas nortbwe t f,tc+m G rodeo . there was a railroad station.
A large s? ar beet factory was located alongside. the station.
7. Farmers and villagers who lived fairly close to the city would bring the
sugar beets by horse and wagon to this -sugar beet factory. Others, who lived
further away brought, their beets either alon, side a railroad line or a main
road to be stacked, picked yap and shipped to 'the factory,
Principal crops in this area were wheat and rye which were brought to the
cooperative warehoussan.d association in Gorodenka where the grain was
cleaned, processed and exported.. However, farmers who had large farms
raised sugar beets exclusively.
9. Every villager and city dweller had some sort of garden where he grew vege-
tables for he use or to sell on the open rarkeet
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release @ 50-Yr2013/04/29 : CIA-RDP82-00047R000400490009-4
 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release @ 50-Yr2013/04/29 : CIA-RDP82-00047R000400490009-4
10 Schools, the poatoffice and telephone station and city administration offices
were of brick construction. The telephone office, post office and telegraph
office were in the same two story building in the center of the cst; y=! .glary
few homes were constructed: of brick.
U. In b41.lding a home -logs were split in two, the flat part would be on the out-
side and the curved part on the i.ns"14de. Flat smooth planks were;hilled to
the timber on the inside a.rja then plastered. with gypsum. Houses averaged from
three to four rooms depending 4an the size of the family. The homeswere heated
by wood as the rural areas were covered. with forest.
1 ., arch home bal. its udm outside water wells and the water wat always cold, fresh,
tasty' and 4?ery clear.
omep, pain streets and offf. e buildings were electrified. A power plant with
a number of generators was located on the southern outp . tp r ';+,, 5 -t t B
The rainy season did not affect the city streets in Qoroderika too much as they
were solidly constructed, Haveve"..the vv1.11age streets would be muddy and travel.
was difficult
! . People in the city rarely threw arny, `Io;;veve2r the few who lived in
brick homes and were better off i-w-ot}i.d collect their garbage and take it,out of
the city to the: dumps or fields.
16. St h-ools,, city nfffi es and bu..1-din s, and a few private citizens had phones.
17.
Homes in the cear,_r of the city had radios run by electricity. Homes in the u
ban areas had battery type radios. There were quite a few radio repair shops
in. the city:.
13. Near the , a,,~, ' + eet factory was a small pond used ; for sw mwin~, Theft Vt
also a public swimming pool combined with a restaurant in the center of the city.
19. In 193%,%t the beginning of the So,,riet oc.cupationt there were about two thousand
$oylet l p ie r`ns living in private homes and who also took over the schools for
their living quarters..
20. ?e jail and, court house were both three stories high, fairly new and of brick
construction. They were located side by side in the center of the city. Cells
in the jail :e"ai_1y hold about four-five persons but the Soviets crammed the
entire jail with over two hundred, persons.
231. The NK police -wore dark grey jacket*, identification on the shoulder boards, a
irk grey caa ! with red trimmings and a red star on the cap. They wore boots
and breeches7 The 14KIVD police were -very well. `dressed but the, soldierts uniforms
were shabby a
22. Scattered about the city were t .nsmi.ths,, bootmakers, tailors and furriers.
23. There was 4 hospital, two stories high, just east of the main street.
24. There were two large theatres In the center of the city, .each .. ---hawingw_ -a, seat.
ing capacity of six hundred. Before the Soviet occupation many US films 50X1
in the : , theatres. The dialogue was ink .glIah `but words were wr tten in
U1.rainian. 'underneath. After the Soviets took over they produced their own films
in the Russian language.
25 4
There: were from five to-six small -libraries scattered throughout the city where
people could come in and read or take out books.
26. One main., road ran southwest from Gorodenka to Kolomyya. It was four cars wide,
raved with stones and gravel and solid enough for buses to use. Another road
ran from Gorod.enka. southeast to Zaleshchiki. This vas also stone and gravel
4 d ?e' ' ,.+ Another =ai.n road ran from Gorodenka south to
yatyn and was three cars wide.
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release @ 50-Yr2013/04/29 : CIA-RDP82-00047R000400490009-4
 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release @ 50-Yr2013/04/29 : CIA-RDP82-00047R000400490009-4
27 Secondary roads ran from Gorodenka northwest to Nez t viska . fe-,ic~ , Another= ran from
Gorodenka west to Chortovets 3 atad anorthe r northc
J !fromcGbrodenks to
Semakovtse. ?5127..;:I...All three roads.were s fated with stone,
28. The city had Polish, Ukrainian and Jewish elementary schools. The national
anarodniff city school was three stories high, had about 16 rooms and was
located in the center of the city. The Jewish population did not have a gymnasium.
in Gorodenka but attended the one in,Kolomyya.
29. Students who wanted to attend a--gymnasium attended the four elementary classesg
but students who did not want to go to the gymnasium would complete six years
of elementary school. However, the schools rules were, that if a student com-
pleted six classes he still had the opportunity to go to a trade school, go to
work or stay home.
30. The forested area near Gorodenka was not very dense but thick spruce forests be-
n at W'`s and followred the estr ricer,
31. The two most prevalent sicknesses in Qorodenka were typhus and TB. The typhus,
caused by lice, had been in existence since World War I. The medics didntt know
how to cure the people with TB. These patients generally went up into the
Carpathian mountains and drank lots of mink.
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release @ 50-Yr2013/04/29 : CIA-RDP82-00047R000400490009-4