SOCIOLOGICAL AND ECONOMIC CONDITIONS IN AZERBAYDZHAN SSR

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP82-00046R000500410021-8
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 9
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 11, 2009
• Sequence Number: 21
• Publication Date: December 27, 1955
• Content Type: REPORT

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INFORMATION REPORT INFORMATION REPORT
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
This material contains information affecting the National Defense of the United States within the meaning of the Espionage Laws, Title
18, U.S.C. Secs. 793 and 794, the transmission or revelation of which in any manner to an unauthorized person is prohibited by law.
C-0-N-F-I-D-E-N-T-I-A-L
COUNTRY USSR (Azerbaydzhan SSR)
DATE OF INFO.
PLACE ACQUIRED
DATE ACQUIRED
REPORT
Sociological and Economic Conditions DATE DISTR. 27 December. 1955
in Azer'baydzhan SSR
NO. OF PAGES 9
REQUIREMENT NO. RD
REFERENCES
Attached is a copy
1. The complete title of the institute referred to in the report is the
Azerbaydzhan Order of Labor Red Banner Industrial Institute i/n M.
Azizbekov.
2. The "defense accord in Berlin",, referred to in paragraph 6,, is undoubtedly
that proposed at the EuropeanSecuri~y Conference in Moscow in December
1954 and finalized at Warsaw in May 1955.
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25X1
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+a.
STATE
A
cC
M11 ? . ? r r ? ? ? WE
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COUNTRY USSR (Azerbaydzhan SSR)
SUBJECT Sociological and Economic Conditions
in Azerbaydzhan SSR
DATE OF INFORMATION
25X1
DATE DISTR. 28 Nov. 1955
NO. OF PAGES 8
REFERENCES:
PLACE ACQUIRED
THIS IS UNEVALUATED INFORMATION
Radio Listening and Soviet Propaganda
UNC^nr-n
1. From 19+5 to lyp~
dustrial.Institute-Azil in Bak
at the Azerbaydzhan In-
mos every
room -in this ory contained a radio, and many of the students
listened to VOA, BBC,and other foreign programs. parts of 25X1
'VOA and BBC broadcasts on infrequent occasions at night a er work in
1953 and 1954 while visiting former Iranian classmates in Baku whc 25X1
had remained in Azerbaydzhan SSR after raduation.
(Iranian friends preferred to listen to national music .
and news broadcasts from Tehran or to Jazz music broadcasts late at ni ht 25X1
from Ankara.
while the broadcasts
were jammed one coul easily unders~d mo~fwhat was said.. The
broadcasts from London were in Persian while VOA broadcasts 25X1
were in Russian an Azerbaydzhan. many Russian and
Azerbaydzhan students listened to the Be broadcasts u the majority did 25X1
not voice their opinions of the broadcasts in student discussions. Those
who did express their opinion: said the programs were full of lies or made
some other derogatory comments. The feeling among the Iranian students
regarding VOA and BBC was mixed. A few liked the programs, while others
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stun perferred to listen to programs from Tehran or Ankara.
ly full of anti-Communist propaganda, and therefore this category of
who were ro-Soviet, did t. However, the majority of the Iranian
students fell into a third category which felt that
while Soviet programs were full of Communist propaganda, VOA was equal-
25X1
25X1
25X1
----]BBC newscasts were preferable to VOA since they were snore o
'Jeezive ana contained less propaganda.
2. Specifically VOA programs could be made to appeal
more to both Russians and Azerbaydzhani by the inclusion of American jazz
and dance music, which is very Popular in the USSR, especially among the
younger generation. while Soviet people were tired of
hearing and'reading pro-Communist propaganda after a hard day's work,
they do'not want t6 1 n to anti-Communist propaganda either. For this
reason more emphasis be placed on straight news
without eommen ar es escr ions of -life in the USA, and popular
American music. less emphasis should be placed on what he
referred to as "an i-Communist political, themes",.
3. Upon two or three occasions in 195
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25X1
25X1
a o Liberation roa as a. 25X1
t ese broadcasts at about 2300 or 2400 hours 25X1
The broadcasts were in Russian an 25X1
were accompanied by jamming which sounded like a low-pitched, steady
rumble. In spite of the jamming, the broadcasts could be heard clearly
enough to understand their entire meaning. one broad- 25X1
cast in.particular, in which Bulganin's past iire and connections were
described. It was stated that Bulganin was a former friend and co-worker
of Yezhov and therefore was an enemy of the people since he was reson- 25X1
Bible for the death of man innocent u )ryi
25X1
25X1
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e a er warned that while
many peop e s ened to Radio Liberation, it was best no to discuss
such matters,even with friends.
4. While in Baku
destine 8 io zer ay zhan.
25X1
broadcasts of the clan-
25X1
25X1
The broadcasts generally encouraged the Ir ns to t
imperialism" and become a "peoples' democracy". 25X1
the broadcasts were being sent from Azerbaydzhan SSR since the
recap ion was extremely clear and strong in Baku. He said that the re-
oeption,was in fact stronger than that of the looal'Baku station.'and
considerably stronger than VOA. The broadoasts 25X1
were discontinued in 1952, were transmitted in e r s , zer ay z an,
and Parsi languages. no further information about the 25X1
broadcasts nor any data concerning, personnel involved in 25X1
this venture.
When the Iranian students first arrived in Baku in 1945, some of the local
population were surprised to see that they wore suits and ties and were
well mannered. because of their general ignorance 25X1
and Soviet propaganda, the had evid n xpeoted to see half-wild
tribesmen. Nevertheless most Soviet Azerbaydzhani 25X1
were quite knowledgeable o genera cons tions of life in Iran and that
the extent of local ignorance concerning Western or even Satellite
countries was much greater. For instance, in spite of foreign radio programs,
as,welli as Soviet soldiers and various specialists who had been abrcuNCODED 'rlYi
thought roost people still believed the Soviet propaganda that a 25X1
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smiled when, .they mad-the newspaper accounts of this event o 25X1
Azerbaydzheni we a eeeetly .happy when Malen ka. ved from h-is past.
as head of the Soviet government. many AAze'bs .dzhani 25X1
the local population generally-felt somewhat relieved about the 25X1
... . dhange f~r Malerkav to Ptulganin -and Khrushcchev9 beeause this was inter
preted .as~ a .general change back to former policies, especially when
Stalin s name again began to appear in the press. They felt therefore
that a harsher policy toward national minorities would not be adopted by
the present regime,
9. Georgians had more national pride and less love 25X1
for Great Russians than had the Azerbaydzhani or Armenians. By way of
illustration if a Georgian was asked directions in Russian 25X1
he frequently would not reply, even if he understood the Russian language
well. This was not true of Azerbaydzhani or Armenians. Georgians and
Azerbaydzhani enerall had more than they had for
Armenians. Armenians were 25X1
generally considered to be a s rew , but sly and untrustworthy people.
.0, Because of similarity in culture, religion, and custome Azerbaydzhani
25X1
1.
Crime and Police
the leaders in Party, government, and industry were Azerbaydzhani who had come to the Azerbaydzhan SSR during or since the Russian revolution,
though they seldom acknowledged this facto Similarly, many Soviet
Azerbaydzhani fled to Iran during the 1930s. Because of these movements,
many families on one side of the iron curtain had relatives on the other
side. This fact further strengthened the bond between the Azerbaydzhani
in Iran and those in Azerbaydzhan SSR.
ported for having aided the Germans during World War I10 Many thousands
of these people were killed while the remaining population,also num-
bering thousands of people, were deported to forced labor camps in Siberia.
ity groups since 1945. 25X1
= mass deportation in 1944 or Chechen-Ingush peoples hhoo hhaad been de- 25X1
not even their
dogs or cats were left behind. 25X1
25X1
crime was extremely widespread in Baku. Murders,
beatings, and robberies for such items as watches or petty sums of money
25X1
The hooligans) were 25X1
sometimes armed with guns but more of them veso eyysseldom op-
erated alone, usually travelling in gangs of two., three,or more persons.
The inhabitants of Baku had very little respect for the local police
and referred to them as "dogs" because they could easily be bribed. These
police feared the bands of hooligans and frequently turned the other
way when a robbery was taking place. As a result, these robbers were
rather bold and they were seldom apprehended,
3, On one occasion 25X1
Iranian student were apprehended by a policeman in a park for 25X1
having improper relations with two local girls in a public place. The
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14..
but upon being given a bribe o
courteous manner - and- released trem.
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policeman first wanted to take his friend to the po.lice::a1a1uu ;
ina episodes The dormitory for Iranian stud en s 25X1
Asian example of the extent of crime in Baku the follow- 25X1
was guarded at night by a member of a oca po ce orae.L~.)A1
a guard was armed with a revolver and remained on duty outside the
dormitory from 2400 hours until 0600 hours. On two occasions, once in
1947 and again in 1949, the guard on duty was shot to death. In each
case, the body was not discovered until the following morning near the
dormitory. It was Presumed that these murders were committed by a band
of robbers, but no one was ever arrested for 25X1
these crimes. ~n ronoze ce ,wen a murderer was apprehended, the
murderer usually received no more than a 10-year prison sentence. 25X1
r2bAl
15. In contrast to the scorn felt for the local police, everyone respected
and feared the MVD. Ordinarily, very few uniformed members of the MVD
could be seen in Baku, except on holidays such as the lot of May, when
they seemed to be everywhere. By contrast, the local police seemed to
be non-existent on such occasions-.
Religion
16.
were more religious. 25X1
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be over 50 years of age. people living in the country 25X1
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2bAl
Ino more than 10 percent of the people in Baku attend- 25X1
ed religious, services in churches or mosques with any degree of regu-
larity, and the vast majority of the eo le who did attend appeared to
17. Since the war, the churches and mosques were permitted to remain open and
seemed to be in a fairly good state of repair, from r rances,
but new construction was generally not permitted, only 25X1
one exception to this rule. In 1949, money was ra se rom oca pub-
lic donations and a small mosque was built on the site of an old Moslem
religious shrine which had been ruined near the outskirts of Baku.
Allegedly, when fiord of th B ;reaches i tr zafarr blkras 1ch Bagirov,
then the first secretary of the CP in Azerbaydzhan SSR, he ordered
this mosque destroyed and A 'beer stand (pivnaya bmtka) was erected in
its .place. - * 5 5 , mm irov's fall from grace, the beer
stand was destroyed..and a mosque was again erected by the people. This
time there was no interference on the part or the authorities. Despite
the sDirited din lay on the part of Moslems in this ore instance= 25X1
the essence of true Islamic faith was practically non- Z-1"
exiozenz in zer.,aydzhah SSR and that only a "shell" of religious-feel-
ing:remained. Generally,many non-orthodox changes had been adopted,
For instance, it was not?.uncommon tor some poor semi-demented old Sian
to ' be ,accepted as a holy man because of hiss eccentricities or phyeiical
deformities.
18. All the priests and .mul,ahe in Baku were old men 25X1
,they..were treated with respect by the. people,: and 25X1
voluntary donations from the people.
purely to religious ~.themea =and did not. preach against the State,. 2.5X1
churches and mosques were maintained purely on the basis 25X1
apparently were not bothered by the authorities as long as they adhered
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19..
Liv,L g,, Conditio s-
P~4
The remainder
rubles per month, but
the Buzovny Oil Trust
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-6m
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JU a- young drilling engineer of
25X1
.
wad theoretically paid a salary of 1,200
25X1
ly received only about 950 rubles a month
.
was withheld for taxes and the State loan.
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Occasion-
all received a bonus of 100 rubles a month when the monthly
work quota was fulfilled. Only the technical and directing staff of the
trust received such a bonus, though it was higher in some cases than in
others, depending upon the position held. 3
25X1
20.. Toward the latter part of 1952 an a artment in 25X1
Buzovny (N 40-30, E 50-07) in orerto Moser to place of em- 25X1
ployment. The apartment consisted of three rather small. rooms, in
addition to a kitchen and bath, one of the rooms and 25X1
shared the kitchen and bathroom witn a uss an family of four who
occupied the other two rooms, only 80.rubles per month for 251
share of the apartment rent. s included the cost of gas and 25X1
electricity. Because he was single and earned a relatively high salary,
I
-%.'I _ A. - % -9 --- ---p er -
y
lutely needed in the way of clothes. In this respect been 25X1
fairly well supplied because he had 25X1
received free clothes including 19 , es, an other necessary
items while studying in Soviet schoolsa
was
save between 100 and 200 rubles per month by buying onl
what Mhe~abso-
21. Stores in Baku were generally well supplied with necessary consumer items
25X1
after 1953, inclu
Meat
ding som
e clo
thes imported from the Satellite countries.
was
item of
food
which seemed to be fairly scarce
.
-
however,
even though there had been small yearly
25X1
price cute
since 1947, an the standard of living had noticeably im-
25X1
proved, the average Soviet family still earned barely enough to get along.
22. In the summer of 1953
a four-week vacation in the Sanator-
ium for Petroleum Workers Sanatoriy dlya Neftyanikov) i/n Ordzhonikidze
i
25X1
n Kislovodak (N 43-55, E 42-43). The majority of the individuals in
this sanatorium, which was exclusively for persons employed by the petro-
leum industry, were on the level of shop foreman, section chiefs, and
engineers, although some were apparently ordinary workers. Very high
ranking individuals on the level of deputy ministers, chiefs, of chief
di
rectorates
etc.. usua
stayed in more exclusive rest cent
i
Kislovodak,,
ers
n
there were literally hundreds of various sana-
25X1
toriums in $ s ovo s , The Sanatorium for Petroleum Workers was one of
the large health resorts In Kislovdsk, with rooms for about 250 persons.
No more than two persons were quartered in each bedroom, and some indi-
viduals were given private rooms. This sanatorium was surrounded by a'
garden and it contained a large dance hall, a library, a dining hall, and
a gymnasium. It was very comfortably furnished and well staffed with
domestics. The food was first rate. Individuals could choose any one
of four or five selections from the menu. A typical meal consisted of
soup, the main course, a salad, some type of fruit for dessert, and tea or
coffee.
3,
arriicVions. but simply came to Kislovodak to enjoy a restful vacation
many of the people in the sanatorium did not suffer from any
some., however, suffered from rheumatism, various skin and nervous
diseases, and came to take lamp treatments and mineral baths for which
Kislovodek was famous. There were several means by which a person could
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:,go, to such _a atrrt o .. Eva ?W z~ "t te.._P yuz in the Oil Trust - pasted.
the nevi , :a#' iivid~xale who were eligible to go to various health resort,.. .
euekr eelec-t-i.ofts were, .based primarily on the iedtiv dU81-?.d., . 25X1
-employment records and length of service a, Selected individual... received .
permits ( ) from the ProfSoyuz which entitled them to en Joy' all..
facilities, food, quarters, and treatments free of charge. They had only
to pay for the round trip railroad fare. However, only a very small
percentage of the workers received free putVvk i to resorts such as were
in the Crimea or in Kislovodsko The majority of the selectees were en-
titled to go to Mardakyan (N 40-30, E 50-09) which was 25X1
relatively drab in comparison idi slorodsk0:, Some individuals managed
to obtain a doctor's permit recommending a visit to one of the resorts
of health. In such instances, the ProfSoyuz usually paid most of the
cost while the individual paid only a small part. This means was utiliz-
ed for the most part by relatively high-ranking employees, such as plant
directors, deputy directors, or chief engineers. It was also possible in
some instances to purchase a aut8vka through the Central Permit Section
of the ProfSoyez in Baku.
In 1948 the Soviet Party and government started)
a drive against "cosmopolitism". 0 defined "cosmopolitism as the
advocation or admiration of anything foreign, and particularly anything.
Western. This anti-Western drive remained in 9ffect until Stalin's
death and caused many individuals to be sent to corrective labor camps,
accused of being "cosmopolites". In
1948, the former Dean of the Petroleum Industry Faculty and Professor
of Economics at Azil, named Beskin (fnu), was allegedly arrested and de-
ported for having written a book in which he praised Henry Ford and
Amaerican production methods in general. At about the same time, the band
leader in a Baku night club called the "26 Commissars" was supposedly
arrested and deported to a corrective labor camp for having continued
to play Western jazz music when this had been prohibited. As a result
of this campaign, jazz, tangos.. and other western music could not be
heard except on foreign radio programs; only derogatory statements about
Western culture, economy, art, etc., could be found in newspaper articles,
magazines, and books. Foreign movies were no longer shown, and people
generally became afraid to have any close relationships with foreigners,
to wear Western clothes, etc. Many individuals who had at first been
rather friendly with Iranian students, became more reserved in their re-
lationship during this period. After Malenkov became head of the Soviet
government in 1953, this policy was revised. Lectures,were read to
workers and employees which generally explained that culture should not
be confused with 'cosmopolitism", and that while the good points of
national (Russian) culture should be upheld, there was nothing wrong
with adopting the better features of foreign culture. As a result of
the change in policy, Western dance music and foreign films were again
permissible, and these have once more become very popular with the local
population,
there were few Soviet films which people enjoyed, mainly
because they were generally full of propaganda and technically inferior
Cossack life and singings was one of the few relatively_ _recent Russian
e an~~-__ LJ _L
the German film "Girl of My
ular included Tarzan films
o
,
p
were very p
Dreams", the Indian film "Hurricane", and Italian films "Street Song"
and "Carmen
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Puppet Azerb .dzhan State- in? Iran 2 In, the latter pmt flf..1946,...-many Iranians- who had been involved in the
.1ornation of the independent Azerbaydzhan Democratic Republic in Iran
fled to the USSR after the downfall of this puppet state. Some of.the
younger and better educated individuals were entered in tekhnikums in
Baku, some were given jobs in industry, and some were arrested and sent
to corrective labor camps. The ority were put to work on various col-
lective farms o no specific information concerning 25X1
the composition 01 s -uppe ov rnm nt i? m hod of recruitment, or
what became of its leaders. the ptippet government 25X1
was formed as a result of So vier ins ga on, an the first step was 25X1
to form an independent pro-Soviet state in Iran wh c would be a prelude..
to a revolution in the entire country which would have the purpose of
making Iran a Satellite nation under?Soviet control similar to Satellites
in Eastern Europe.
Rumor Concerning Bgirov
2. The only information concerning deposed nation- 25X1
a1 leaders was that the former 1s secretary o the CP, Azerbaydzhan SSR,
M4.r Dzhafar Abbasovich Bagirov, was removed from his lofty position
shortly after Beriya's arrest by Malenkov because he was a close friend
of Beriya. It was rumored that Bagirov was first dispatched to the
Kuybyehev'Petro.leum Trust, where he served for several months in the
position of deputy director in charge of administrative and supply matters.
Sometime`in 1954 he was supposedly arrested and imprisoned and has
remained in prison since that time.
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