TRACTOR PERFORMANCE ON THE KOLKHOZ IMENI CHAPAEV

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00809A000600030122-3
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 26, 2011
• Sequence Number: 122
• Publication Date: November 15, 1952
• Content Type: REPORT

Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/09/14: CIA-RDP80-00809A000600030122-3
Tractor Performance on the
Kolkhoz imeni Chapaev
SUPPLEMENT TO
REPORT NO.
CLASSIFICATION
gr?.rg~r%Garr ^v urns ..~
_N IRAL IN P EL.LIGENCE AGENCY
INFORMATION REPORT
DATE DISTR. is Nov 195?
NO. OF ENCLS.
MISTED BELOW)
...::::::..........................
.
ION SscRBT
Du"BUTION
F 10119 111 1
"ur knlrho, used the old KhTZ (Kharkov Tractor Plant) wheel-type tractor dating
fr"m 1934-35.
't'hese tractors were utilized a maximum of approximately 1,000 hours per year.
'hen the work was heavy the tractors were used around the clock in two shift, 'with
a brank of one and one-half to two hours between shifts for maintenance and re.
fueling. There was no definite tide for the shifts as thin depended or thr work
and the season.
All norms for work fulfillment by tractors were translated into terms of "soft
mowing" for statistical convenience. This meant that a given number of hectares
of ha"rowing would be decreased by an established pcreentag+ to arrive a
standard work unit, called "soft plowing." In terms of "soft plowing" each tractor
plowed 800 - 1,000 hectares a year, A tractor brigade consisting of four tractors
world plow more than 3,000 hectares a year. In the fall of the year, vlhen the
amount of work was decreasing, a tractor brigade would cut down to three, two and
one tractors and do repatri or. those that were inactive.
The fclloving were approximate work norms per tractor per say:
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
(C)
(h)
(i
(J~
(k)
D*eD plowing (24-30cm) - 1.5 hectares
Autumn plowing (20 -P2em) - 3.5 hectuzvs
Shallow plowing of stubble (6-8cm) - 12 hectares
Cultivation (6-8cm) - 15 hectares
Saving winter crops v'.th a multi-seeder anit - 24 hectares
Hcrvesting with a combine - 10 hectares
Rarrssting with a rapper-binder ("ehatka-gamoskidka") - 12 hectares
Threshing, usinG tractor power - 15 tors
Harrowing for moisture control - 30 hectares
Sugar best planting by a two-seeder unit - 12 hectares
Sugar beet planting by a three-seeder unit - 16 hectares
CLASSIFlr
AT
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/09/14: CIA-RDP80-00809A000600030122-3
 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/09/14: CIA-RDP80-00809A000600030122-3
a werk season (from April to November) a tractor used up to ten thousand kilograms
:-~f Ker-aene A tractor brigade used up 400-500 kilograms in each 24-hour period. There
were nor ',r kerosene consumption arl any additional kerosene was paid for by the tractoriat
-ul -f is awn pocket. He -'aid *he same Government price as the "Machine tractor Station" (MTS)
- -ne ruble per kilogram. Normally a tractor would consume 40 kilograms for each three hectares
^f "soft plowing." However, actual consumption was greater since the tractors were worn out.
T- et around this, trectoriste plowed shallower than the norms established by agronomists, but
e': an b-, cutting, corners in this fashion they occasionally had to pay for over-norm kerosene
cr ournption. There were instances of ?rork stoppage when the kerosene supply ran out.
Pic-re World War II, PMTS tractors had been used for road maintenance, but aft.. the War, this
was no longer possible since tractors spent ac much time in the repair shop. Major ,van
maintenance was done by ;raders temporarily assigned to the Y -TS by the Regional Highway De-
part^:ent ~"Raionniy Dorozhaiy Otdyel."). Labor was provided ly the kolkhoz.
B. There was no effective factory guarantee for farm machinery. The following is a concrete
example: kolkhoz a sprayer from the Kirovograd Agricultural Machinery
Plant for 6,500 rubles. This sprayer was ordered arbitrarily for the kolkhoz by the Regional
Agricultural Department and paid for by the kolkhoz through a transfer of funds et the bank.
The sprayer did not work and the kolkhoz was simply out the money. A complaint could have been
lodged against the factory but this would have had no effect.
o. F"-iir work on trnctore was done .t the FITS repair shop under the supervision of toe MTS
senior mechanic, the actual labor often being performed by the tractoriate themselves. The
senior mechanic made out a statement ("Akt") for each-job of repair work done, showing the
date, type of work and identifying the machine repaired. A repair job often lasted but a
few days until a fresh breakdown took place. This was due to the lack of spare parts.
Crude makeshift parts would be substituted and naturally they did not last long.
10. Bearings and other parts fps' farm machinery were obtained from the Office of Tractor Supply
("Kontnrn Traktosnab") located to Kirovograd, which supplied the whole oblast. The MIS
made up a list of necessary ports and submitted an order ("zayavka") to the director of the
office of Tractor Supply, The latter distributed what parts he had available to the MTS
in his territory. Naturnlly supply did not meet demand. Items hardest to obtain were
bearings, bulbs and spark-plugs; pistons and piston rods were easier to obtain. Payment was
made through it transfer of funds at the bank. Old bearings could be sent to the factory to
be renovated, but this was prohibitively expensive. Old bearings were examiner carefully
a.:d those still usable were retained. The MTS senior mechanic regularly travellei around
neizhboring grans to obtain parts wherever he could find them, Kolkhoz members themselves
c:ton resorted to buying ;.r..9 at great cost on the black market to keep tractors operating.
U. In general, It can be stated that a kolkhoz would be willing to pay an exorbitant price for
a tractor on the black marked I heard of such c tractor priced at 18 thousand rubles; this
r+as in osier to operate the tractor independently of the MTB. such a t_nctor you-d ouichly
pay for itself in reduced payment@ in kind to the MTB. Ho ever, this would be possible only
in the case of kalkhozee which were quite remote from administrative control or kolkhozas
which had extensive forest property. In the latter case, the tractor could be hidden in the
forest and uerd for illegal timber cuttin;; and ter eultivtting small plots hidden to the
woods.
SECPBT/3ECUR= INFORMATION
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/09/14: CIA-RDP80-00809A000600030122-3