MOSCOW GOLD: THE REPRESSION IN POLAND IS PROVING COSTLY TO THE SOVIET UNION.

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00965R000100150128-7
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 29, 2012
• Sequence Number: 128
• Publication Date: February 9, 1982
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

STAT
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/08/29: CIA-RDP90-00965R000100150128-7
T y r ytiR1;D
Oil Fnu
THE WASHINGTON POST
9 February 1982
Moscow Gold: The repie6sidn-iitl
Poland is proving costly to the ,
viet Union. It has been selling'
on the world market to keep the Pol-
ish economy `afloat, according to: r
telligence sources. The. Afghanist
aggression and domestic production
failures have.added to the pinch:, ? .
"Moscow.' gold"-a buzzword in
the 1.930x, to. explain-the subversio4-
of political leaders and parties by the
communists-is today a. carefully
watched, yardstick of the,. Soviet
economy's strength or weakness. For
this reason, -the Russians keep. their
transactions as secret as possible"r
But the CIA is able to glean some
nuggets-on Soviet gold sales. Witness
these excerptsfrom the agency's-top-
secret.documents: 4 ;'`.~
"Soviet' gold. sales.. Iwere?made:
on the. Swiss, market and~!i&:.eain '
Moscow some $400 million..". j ,
? "A `huge', stock. of Soviefi?gold
reportedly now at the Zurich airport
awaiting sale on the Zurich markets'',,
The commissars are as canny- ps
any . capitalists .when they,:-mark
their precious metal, trying`to'selt`
when prices high and hold?_:diiWhen
prices are low. But the needs'of theie
political adventuring can.'upseWthis
prudent policy, the CIA reports..