INDUSTRY IN LATVIA

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80S01540R001500050002-4
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 15
• Document Creation Date: December 27, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 4, 2012
• Sequence Number: 2
• Publication Date: July 10, 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 is prohibited.
SECRET/CONTROL US OFFICIALS ONLY i
USSR (Latvian S
SUBJECT Industry in Latvia
DATE DISTR. 19 WU1Y 1953
NO. OF PAGES 14
REQUIREMENT NO. RD
REFERENCES
THE SOURCE EVALUATIONS IN THIS REPORT ARE DEFINITIVE.
THE APPRAISAL OF CONTENT IS TENTATIVE.
(FOR KEY SEE REVERSE)
Indus rializixtion
1. The basis of Soviet, economy in Latvia is industrialization, and huge sums are N
allocated by Moscow for'Idernizing and. enlarging factories. Approximately
two billion rubles were devoted to restoring Latvian industry and transport
during the fives years 1946-1950, and, in subsequent years, an average of
350,000,000 rabies per Year. A whole series of new factories was built with
this money, and old factories were considerably enlarged and equipped. with
new machinery.. It is uidextiable that industry in Latvia is being well.organised
and developed, and shows 'signs of becoming big industry, where consumer goods
are being, produced, and output is more or less evenly maintained. According, to
official figures, industry is now increasing by forty percent per annum.
2. In view of the skill of Latvian workers$ the soviet authorities, under directives
f rori Moscow, 'are grtparing to increase industry more and more, particularly
in machinery production ca4 shipbuilding. By creating .a new industrial working
class in Latvia,. ecmipe ae '.of local and imported workers, thi Communists are
progressively consolidai their political powers. Latvian farmers, ruined
by dispossession, find it. difficult to uphold a national ideology.of patriotic
opposition in the face of the sign industrial workers to whom. nati=onal
feelings are quite stranke. In this wayy.the indAstrialization.of Latvia serves
the av e a or ties eeoncaincally and establishes their political aims.
3. Most of the finished products of Latvian industry are destined for the Soviet
Union. According to official calculations, which must be taken with seare
reserve, productivity of Latvian industries in 1951 exceeded the 1911.0 figures
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four times, and the 19.5 figures six times. The latter calculation might err-
hasps be accepted, since in 1945 industry had not yet recovered from the war,
nor had any new factories been built. During the la$t three years, Latvian
industry is reputed to have yielded an inceeme of 1,200,000,000 rubles. The
center of Latvian intry is. Riga, where the majority and the largest factories
are concentrated. Other towns which are important ftam an industrial point of
view are Gaya, Daugavpils, 'relgava, and Ventspils. There are onlylo"tr
industries in the provinces, e.g., Mad, building materials, timber? and peat.
Nearly all of the machinery., metal,. chemical? . textile, and rubber i tries
are centered in Riga. All Latvian industries. ,with the exception. of those
directly wider the All-Union ministries and trusts, are administered, by eight
ministries, called Local,,, Light, Local Fuel, Construction Materials,. Fo trlr,
Fe", Meat and Dairy, sadFish industries. The bigger metal
sir ..,
and machine-building factories, fear example, VEF, Riga Rdilroad Car , Factory,
etc. j, are directly subordinate to the ministries in the Soviet Unions, as are
also certain building material factories, plywood cbetmtcal, paper, and
pharmaceutical concerns.
Metal =d ,aginee~ria Plata A leading place in industry is taken by metal industries and machine-building,
which receive the gre#test attWion from the Soviet authorities. These account
for forty percent of the total production of Latvian :industry,, employ the
highest number of qua..ifieItworkers, and pay the highest wages to workers. These
industries were built up at high speed and received most of the capital.
Most of the machines came from the USSR during the first years after the war.
for ele, during the years 1947-1949. .,in addition to larger machines, 3,000
-4utting machines and 3,500 electromotors were received. , It was only after the
metal Industry had been supplied with the necessary tools that the other in..
dust-Ties started to be extended, chiefly the textile industry.
`4` Pleat
biggest factory, from the point of view. of production and numbers of'.
employees, in the "'r?. The factory has been greatly exteendai4and neat buildings.
have been erected. Ito.main products are telephone exchanges, co tators,, and,
automatic and long-distance' exchanges, all of which are sent to the USSR for
the so-called "atructtes of Comomunism". Automatic exchanges a~z;e built With.
105,000 numbers. The factory also produces various types of radio receives.
and transmitters, telex apparatus., mining abaft telephones, aut?coatatic re.
carders. for mobile excavet various radio-technical equipment, loudspeakers,
etc. One of the roducts in the Miera thirteen-tube receiver, with six wave
diapa.ons and two "dynaaic" loudspeakers (sic). A special rece ever the Baltika,
is being built for the Soviet propaganda building, the Warsaw Palace of Culture
Part of the equipment required for building telephone excbareges sad, radio-
sets comes to YE from the Soviet Union, e.g... radio tubes from NovoSibirhk.
According to official figures which have been mads,public, V1 F now produces
forty times more telephone jets than before the vier. It must be noted, however
that the 'factory did not fulfill last year's plan for the production of tole..
phone exchanges.
In - order to increase production., the factory bad already, in .1948, established
the -conveyor belt system. The quality of the products deteriorated immed,iate4,
especially the radix receivers. The main reason was that, when enlarging the
f4.etory,many unqualified. wor'h!lra. were employed_ k campaign was started to raite
the general level of eedu atioA. New workers were enrolled in training courses
{and Stakhanovite schools. An electro. mechanical ' technical, school vas established
at the factory for new specialists. This imp veed. the standard. of peens uctien
but, even today, VEF is still fighting .against reejects, which we a ty$Cal.
feature of Soviet methods of fiction. This factory, in Leon n With most
others,, works well during the first half of the month$ and produces good quality
g , but this normal work does not fulfill the plan, and.to . do so is an iron
.rule of the Communists. Not to fulfill the plan meat unple santnm for the
administration, and lop of Ab es to the work s. Toward the end. of the mouths.
therefore there is a production rush and the result 4 a high pro ti an of
rejects.
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The workers. at, 'C axe comparatively well off. Qualified workers receive
1.,500 2,000:rubles per month, less skilled workers 800-10.000 rubles per
month. The factory Is a ng those specially favored and receives regular
bonuses. Big sums are paid for suggestions for rationalization. Several
houses have been built for the factory workers. One such house. c ising
fifty apesrtments, will be hazded over to the workers this year (19 As
'before the war, the factory has its own sports ground.
8. The number of Cassmunissth. smote the ;workers is several hundred. Nearly every
workshop buss Its' Communist cell. 0f over 2, 000 new workers, approximately
half belong to the Komsomol. ''hey, of courssse, receive preference as far as
work and further education are concerned. Of approximate'y 600 young people
who study at the Evening Technical and Working Youths ? School, 400 belong
to the lba+rsonol f and forty-seven members of the Umsomol work as extramural
students. It is much harder for those trhq, do hot belong to the laaasssoi, ?
ai ee there is nobody else to work on the night shifts.
10. In c ction with the inteutiols to bu.il.d,a new,, type of electric train, it
is planned to increase the size 'of the factory and enlarge the 'output.
These electric trains are destined for traffic between various teiru s, will
travel,at greater speed, and have all passenger comforts. At the ms nt0 the
factory produces a new type of electric railroad car, with corrugated walls, and
is to resume production of a train with ex-tts to low platforms. The electric
engines 'to drive the trains and streetcars are supplied by the Riga Electric
;quipasent Factory. Local indust9 also supplies supplies some of the pig. iron and a
form of steel tviana which is used instead of alund n a *)oet.
ere is a: ,reseaa;r^ch l b ?atory at the factory where production processes are
studied. This laboratory is reputed to be one of the mstst moderns of its kind
in Latvia. Worker g' ma, as in other important, metal works, are up to
4000-4500 rubles ' per m nth
trigs, :>raiiroad Car Plant
The former 'hirogs factory is now named the Riga Railroad Car Factory (RVR)
and sub..rdinrated to the USSR Trareport Machine-Building Ministry. The
factory has been greatly enlarged., and railroad car building workshops have
been erected. The factory now also produces subway trains,, electric trains,
and streetcars. Nearly all, the finished products go to the USSR. The smily
items that Riga receives from the factory are the electric. railrooad cars for
the Riga-M meri line., and a few electric streetcs . The factory produces
approximately twenty-five electric railroad cars, and approximately the &asstie
number of streetcars- per month. Lately, shortcomings have been noted in the
production in this factory. During the first half of this year,, the State
plan was abort by twenty..two cars. All the workshops d b not work at equal
speed, thus retarding others. The Soviet industrial disease in also in evi-
dense in this factory, when the workers have to rush work at the end of the
months eves' worising on Sundaayg, to make up for lost time. The yearly pro.
ductioa plan is increased every year. This year's., n (1932) is for
thirty percent more. than last year s s, and next year's will be for twenty
11. IUM is a,? f'kcto ry, located on the site of the former Provodniks. Factory. The
main products of this factory are electric motors for the Mottcow` subway, electric
trains, streetcar and also machinery and generators for the lighting of rail.,
road cars. According to the plan for 1950., the factory also mass--pr educes '
household machines,,. mostly washing machines.
12. REZ.cansenced working in 1947, and at present there are 10500 workers., most
of them young people. The factory still has not got all the workers it needs
and is one of the Riga factories which in constantly looking for wesrkersst. At
present, most of the workers are Soviets. The shortage of labor can be
explained by the fact that the factory ban not provided ssuf#icient housing,
.+c About one-third of its 'workers are now living in a narrow, over.c rded hostel.
This in also the main reason why the factory has not fulfilled its plan.
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13. The sip r0 pair works located in Old Mi.lgr vis is one of the largest works
in Riga. It occupies a large,, hermetically sealed-off territory. Hugs *tss*
were spent on establishing it and it is to be even further expanded in_(
connection. with the new plane for shipbuilding. The factory is su ordinate
to the USSR Ministry of the Merchant Fleet. It already has floatTg decks.
Besides repair work$ pa rful deep-sea tugs and metal barges are built. Fias
the last year and a ha,.l ., however, the factory has not fulfilled its plan;
during 1951 it completed only eighty-two percent of the plan. Workers in the
factory are mostly very young people with few quaalificatic ; there are about
800 new workers. A campaign has been started in this factory to raise tke
standard of educaationp as. ny of the workers have had.only five to sere years'
schooling. Workers are sent to evening schools and put into tra.ininga, to
raise their qualifications. If schools are some distance away is the tan,
workers are even provided with transport by the factory. In connection with the extensive pcroduction plans _df the factory,. there is a lack of
qualified engineers. To prepare qualified engineers, it is proposed .to
open a myr shipbuilding faculty at the university.
14. As already mentioned., . these shipbuilding works are shrouded in secret.
Most of the workers and engineers are Soviets. Ito information an the number
of workers employed is available, but it is estimated that there are several
thousand. A nev
small town has been built for the workers in South, or net,
Mi i.gr vis, and three more houses were to be ready this year (1952). There
is no doubt that the works will be further enlarged and will beam one of
the largest,inatallaati in Latvia.
15. Thy is a shipbuilding yard in Ma,ngaalip subordinate to the Ministry of the
Fish Industry,. which builds fishing boats for the Latvian fishing fleet.
16. ,he ffw Automobile Electrical Apparatus Factory is located on the enlarged
site bf the former German Army aircraft factory near Braasa railroad station.
The factory employs 1 200 workers and is one of the largest in Riga. It
was established i.n.19 6 and is subordinate to ' the USSR Ministry of Auto.
mobile and Tractor :Industry. Tbt factory has the most modern machines, and
the most highly qualified workers are employed there. The factory, produces
automobile instruments., mostly a speedvmeters,y, which axe sent to the out
mobile industry in the USSR. in 1952, measuring inatrt*fttz worth 2000,000
rubles were sent to the Volga-Ion Canal.. Workers receive bonuses regularly
a and 9xv the best paid in -Riga. The factory has been awarded the title,of a
"?Stakhamovite faactot?y.
17. Mtere are several other metal and machinery plants in Riga which are subordinate
to USSR ministries, but their pr?oductios is on a smaller scale. Among these
is the Machine Building and Repairs Plant subordinate to the USSR Ministry of
the Rivaer? Fleet p located on the site' .of the for rr a P. This plant produces
floating grab -crane* for electric paaerer stations under construction. In the
second quarter of this year (1952), the plant produced four cranes for the
` lga-ion- Caaa l and is now building cranes for the Tur am Canal.
18. The J(ec nical Factory subordinate to the USSR Ministry for Forest Industry
produces mobile electric power plants and electric saws, which are used in
local forests and also sent to the Karelo-Finnish SSR, and woodworking
machinery,. which is used in the local wood inttuttry and likewise sedt to
the USSR.
19. The HOM-Meteorological Apparatus Factory produces instruments and apparatus
of various kinds., such as instruments which automatically record the water
levels which are sent to the ao called'btructures of C wmuni ".
20. The Ztaalons Factory produces precision instruments for local and USSR academies
of sciences and scientific laboratories.
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21. The Machine-Building Plant subordinate to the USSR Ministry for Meat and
Dairy Industry `prowduces dairy equipment. One of the new products is .a me.
cylinder, two-stroke internal combustion engine, 1W .9 for dairies, which
is also seat to dairie* in the USSR.
22. The remaining Latvian metal works and mechanical repair work r, which are
aaalgameated as industrial combines., are subordinate to local industrial
of .nistx'iea .
Sax'k irryax a+e tR:!;rd Star) ,
23. The largest metal plant subordinate to the Ministry for I,veal Industry is
the arks na Zvaigzne Bicycle plant. This factory was enlarged in .19 by
ace new building. During 1950, . it produced 75#000 bicycles, but in .1952 it
has produced over 8f000 bicycles per month. Part of the finished. products
go to neighboring republics. ,The factory employs over 1,500 workers.
Radio Factor iJn of &S. Popov
...i.~ ~rrii Yi 11 4 M~ '^24. This is the former Radiotechnickaa 7*ctory, which has expanded rapidly. A
new factory building has been erected; the factory has been completely re.
constructed and eulied with new machinery. The radio receivers produced by
Radiotechnicka yerd some of the beet in the whole USSR. Iatelyy, since cone
belt production was introduced., the finished product has deteriorated in
quality. The factory Oxip;I.oys all its former t kers, including the director,
who is the farmer owner, itis and the desi
started producing its largest receiving set, thesR.. ~aa. Recently . In addition to
radios of which the annual output is apprs ceimately 5;000 sets, the factory
also produces instrueeat$ for measuring the composition .of alloys. Theme
instruments are constructed in collaboration with the Academy .of Sciences.
It is also planned to produce television apparatus.
25. The Coospreasor Factory in worth meetz is ing. In addition to c easo"1 it
also produces refrigerating .machines. This factory has been .enlarged. by aa.
new building.
26. The Imanta Agricultural Machinery Factory produces threshing and grading
machines; production of the latter has been especially incrwseed.
2=7. The Stars Tractor Repair Factory likewise produces agricultural meachimry.
It carries out major repairs for local motor tractor stations and also
produces complete sets of flywheels.
28. The Riga Electra.=Armature Factory produces lighting equip nrt and fluorescent,
bulbs. In summer 1952, 8,000 units of Such lighting apparatus were Sent to
the new university buildi ,in Moacov. Electric light us made of
bakelite is also iced by the Speks Factory. The Elektrrn Electrical
Equijvm3t Factory produces electrical house old ap stus.
29. Mention must also be sad a of the Spar as Pig Ix`" Foundry; the acre' and Nut
Factory; Rigaas.Mats jjsts; the Deaugavpila Bicycle and Motorcycle Chain Factory;
the Omoga. Bicyc1 Faetgry; the Darba Spars Aluminuaaware Factory; the Metal
Sieve Factory, anal several artels producing consumer goods.
30. In addition to the abaem maenti d metalwurks there are undertakings in other
branches , of industry subordinate to the Ministry.of local Industry, such as
ailicatay, ehsical.e, etc., . which will be review in subsequent Vhx.
A total if 102 undertakings is subordinate to t4s ministry,
a mostly tam asd
rural district industrial cabins . These b . t organizations are amaal gsma,
tienne Of smaller u x" i pgi 'in towns and pfta Asa and inc,l ude, for exaaOle,
local weaving,, ba iekn`oar s,, fl=uasaiill,s,a sa tlls, farm implea ntsc, . faniture,
shoemaking,, tailoring., and aaechanieal workshops. The aim of these local in.
dustrios is to produce consumer gelds for the local population, i.e., foodstuffs,,
furniture, woolen cloth, . building maaterials,.lathework gods,, simple farm
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equipent, etc. focal resources Of raw material and farms FMA=e are used.
On the whole,, the finished products are of poor quality. Repair work takes
a long time AWL-is carried, out carel4sly. Little check is kept on under.
takings belonging to a.'. binat,.and wily managers are able to malmah a Wofit,
both f'rrnaa consumers and fvorlours. It is officially planed to increase
the output of furniture and building materials for collective far".
31. The rubber, leathery footwear, and textile industries are subordinate to the
Ministry of Light Industry. Besides. the building industry, this ;ministry, and
its undertakings caused the authorities the greatest eaaceprn in 1931. , The
main items were unproductive outlays, deterioration in the. quality of productsx
no -f ulfillment of p1ann over expediturae on raw materials and wmamgess, causing
los*ei amounting to 1+,000,00 rubles. This was the reason why the chief,
Cabi, . was relieved of his post. The situation imptrvret in.1952$ sob far as the
quality of products is ,concerned.. but there is still .m a juggling with the
percentage figures, of rejects. Rejects can scarcely be avoiW,. when and er?
ta;ki t produce forty-five percent oaf' the plan during the last ten days . of the
month. The rubber factory,. Meteors, rfor example, during the period January
to July 1952, had loss of 3;,000, 000 rubles due to rejects a nd..of 175, 000
rubles in excessive production expenses. In the textile industry, it is
typical that the f0male workers are mainly interested in braking all stets
of records 4 tending up to sixteen lounay tying threads quicker, etc q thus,',
it must be assumed that, with the emphasis on speed.,, the standard of quality
mist inevitably fall..
Textile Ixiduatry'
32. M-w textile industry is the next largest, after the metal industry. It must
be acknowledged that, with tl aid of Moscow? the autkbrities .are doing a great
deal to consolidate this industry. The fabteriees are being reconstructedp en.,
lerged.A and supplied with new machinery. In spite of new eauipmant, the prmiar
level of production has only been raised one and a half tim s,*. with the e xception
of the production of silks, whsre the prewar level has not yet been x' ached,
This estimate is according to *fficial figures, and it is probably n*t- quit.;,u e
high in actual fact. Cotton materials are plentiful in the shy, .lout good
quality woolen materials and silks are difficult to obtain. Knitwear is pl stir
ful, so it can be assumed that production exceeds the prae Ar level, certaLz ,.--,
not, as reptarteed,. by five times,, but only by two or three times in most cases.
Thera is even the i mia ,, at times, . that there is save production of knit,.
wear. Compared with the first years after the war$ when it was very difficult
to obtain knitwear, the position has definitely i ol. It nasty, be anumod that
the production of silks win, Imiprove shortly, `as the !tips Audums.Factory has
received sixty lama from. Tbilisi. So far as quality, is eonceeFrnedr . textiles
in general do not reeadh tbe,pr standard. Until recently, patterns on
materials.were still very pwro and there was no variety, but conditions
have improved recently. Materials for metes t suits are gently of p or quality,
wrinkle easily, and are not tong.-wearing. There are, ho eever, good materials
available, but the d ,d is very heavy, and consequently they are difficult to
obtain.
33. '' Production figures in the textile industry, of course, are never officially
divulged. The public is only given some overall figures , concerniingg dyer. %afi l.1 nt
of the plan,, and. percentages. The industry employs ovei 2o,000 workers, .of wbtsn
6,ooo are new `workers. The industry continues to expand, and the is a heavy
derAd for workers. The factories Zasulauks Nanufhktvra and. Bt lssivicka have
berme cobinesm where new workers are being trained. That are special technical
adds in Riga for the light industries, which also lie worlmret for the
textile industry.
3k.. The output cotton.materials .amounts to up to appreximately ,,000,000 a per
year. A q tity of the finished products goes to Belorussia and : other parts
of the U8SR$ for example, Svordlov tk. The authorities have pla=ed to incise
the output of cotta and woolen textiles. Raw materials for cotta manufacture
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are imported from the republics of Turkmen, Kazakh, and Uzbek in Central Asia.
Flax is imported from Belorussia and the Kalinin area, but imports have been
reduced lately because of local flax crops. Anew flax-processing plant is
under construction in Deugavpils. There are also plans for sheep-raising in
Latvia, in order to reduce the imports of wool.
350 In Riga, there are six large. combines and approximately fifteen factories
working for the textile industry. A great many private spinning concerns have
been amalgamated in.the combines. The only factory in Latvia producing silk
goods is Rigas Audums, which has been. completely renovated and supplied with
new machinery. This combi a produces several types of material: washable
silks, crepe-do-chine, a.crepe material woven fraa, a mixture of artificial
and natural silk, and also im r ved .textile, of artificial fiber.
36. The Bolsevicka.Combine, formerly Buffalo, produces woolen and.cotton materials;
part of the latter is sent to the Belorussian SSR. Lately, production technique
has been improved by rapid-spooling and other machines.
37. The Zasulauka Manufaktura Factory was completely rebuilt in.1949. New machines
and new looms on the Kananina system were installed, giving up to 9,000
threads an hour (sic). One weaver operates from twelve to sixteen logs.
The combine has developed into the most modern textile factory in Latvia, and
the cotton yarns it produces are so,far of very good quality.
38. The spinning mill of the Rigas Manufaktura is being reconstructed and supplied
with new machines. This combine produces the colored textiles Weston and
makau, finished and semi-finished.materials,.and cotton yarns.
39.
The Parizes Komuna Combine, formerly Dancigers, produces only woolen cloth
suit and coat materials,
40. Sarkana T`eksti.lniece produces cotton materials, yarn, and.cotton-wool. Although
the combine employs some 1,300 workers, its level of production is low,.with
many rejects, and output is.not large.
41.. ,'Where are a number of other textile factories in Riga, for example, Juglas
4anufaktura,,Nurzemnes Manufaktura, Merino, 8. Marts, Sarkana Baltija, Rigas
Teketilfabrika, Lento (knitwear goods), Mara, Sarkanais Rita (hosiery), Aurora
(produces only 1 2'0 .stockings), Xosmos, Kemdzijufabrika, Rigas Files, Fabrika
(felt), etc.
42. The biggest textile factories in the provinces are the Jelgavas Lin* Verptuve
with 10,500 spindles and 500 looms, and the Mazealacas Tekstilfabrika. The
latter receives flax frcma Vidseme and produces canvas, sacking., and toweling.
Canvas is dispatched to. the USSR, especially for the, "structures of Communism".
The factory equipment, except for automatic combing machines and new looms, is
old.
43. The Mara knitwear factory is at present setting up forty new machines for silk
knitwear, by which production is to be increased threefold.
P
44. All three rubber factories.in Latvia have been working,on the conveyor.-belt system
for some years. The equipment has, been ,only partly modernised. The factories
have been enlarged, and the number p f workers has also increased. For raw
material., they use natural rubber and kokk_
45. '' biggest rubber factory Is still the Sarkanain Kvadrats, and its main products
are galoshes and rubber boots. The output in comparison with 1940 is deputed
to have been doubled. In this futgry, as in the Meteors Factory, which has a
similar type of production,. there is a high percentage of rejects, and workers ' .
discipline is bad. In producing rubber b6ots,.the hot vulcanisation method is
used; this is given as one reason why-output has risen. Production at the
Sarkanais Kvadrats is approximately 3,000,000 pairs of rubber boots a year.
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4+6. The Varonis Factory has a specialized type of production - rubber sheets,
tubing, rubberized drmrs, inner tubes for bicycles, bicycle tires, transmission
belts' Trutaer soles., etc.
147. Of rubber goods, rubber shoes which have imitation leather uppeers are most in
de-meednd. Because of their price, seventy rubles, they are the people s s foot..
wear.
Feather and Footwear Industry
riA...Y~+~w~. brW.Y.rWr/ Y AY Y 1~~
48. There are nine rather-processing factories in Latvia, four footwear., and two
leather goods-factories. The biggest is unsrs3.which processes leather.
The biggest-1`ar3twear factory is the n ily built 1. Mai js, which produces
approximately 1, 800;, 000 'pairs . of footwear a year. Marked extensions, of the
leather industry cannot be anticipated., sinz =limather is in short supply and
allocatitns are rationed. Such goods as suitcases, briefcases, gloves, etc.,
are being produced in small quantities. Goods of this type are mostly made
of imitation leather.
Building Materials try
49. 111.1here is a great demand for building materials, owing to the repairing of war
damage and the new industrial construction. Therefore, the building materials
industry was::quickly restored and even enlarged. The total output, however.,
could satiaf knay the larger industries and the communal housing projects.
.All other builders had to draw their materials from small producers and from
farms. As a''wholethere is a shortage of building materials, especially bricks.
Many plans, therefore, for building on .kalkhosy remain on paper only, and
lately the kolkhozy have been producing bricks for their own ads. 'Likewise
because of the shortage- of_ bricks, .buildings. in towns are being constructed with
many interruptions . In order to obtain an uninterrupted supply of bricks, the
authorities have set up a brickyard inBolderaja. The-opening ceremony this
summer (1952) was attended by all the "big. comrades".. This factory has the
most modern equipment, ail production is mechanized, _.d bricks are produced
with revolver-presses. These yards are reputed to produce about half the total
of brick production in Latvia (approximately 60,000,00, part of which also
goes to the USSR. All other brickyards.are in production; one of the bigger
yards in- Nalnciems produces 6 000, 000 bricks per year. She factories are em-
ploying new m*t.hods in order to increase the supply of bricks-.producing bricks
with the addition of slaked lime, after which the bricks har4en without the
necessity for baking.
50. The Brocens Building Materials Combine has been considerably extended and
modernized. It is reputed to produce the beast cement in the Soviet Union, and
has the largest-output of slates, Up.to 13,000 slates per shift. A large
proportion of the finished product, especially slates, is sent to.other
Soviet .republics. The Riga Cement Factory is also working. The building
material factories in Cesis and Nigrande have been supplied with new equip-
ment, and the latter produces approximately 2,700 tons of lime per anmua.
These factories also have a new product - Sand,, unslaked lime. Slates
are also produced in the Riga and Lepaya slate factories,. and part of their
products go to the USSR,, mostly to power stations under construction an the
Volga. The Riga Slate Factory produces approximately 3,000,000 slates'per
annum. The Riga Gypsum. Factory produces dry plaster, gypsum insulation
plates, and light concrete. The yearly output is approximately 1,1000,000
aq m of typsuu plates, which are also sent to the USSR. The Bolderaja Ceramics
Factory produces 285 tons of drainage pipes per math, approximately one-sixth
of which output consists of rejects. The gypsum plant in Salaspils has been
supplied with modern machinery and employs modern techniques. This plant is
producing gypsum plaster plates for the new Nolkhoz House in Riga. Part of
the products also are,sent to Leningrad. The Segues Factory produces roofing
felt.
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51. In the first years after the warr, before the glass factories were restored,,
.there was a aevore shortage of glass in Latvia. Later,, the so*call ed "record
glass ",x produced by Stakhgaovite methods,, came an the : mw rkiat but was of law
quality, badly formed and containing air bubble&. Only recently has _the
quality become mare .or less acceptable, and supply adequate. The l must
glass factory is in Sarkandaugava Riga,,and until recently it produced only
window panic but has now started to produce foam and quartz glass. Thin
factory received the Stalin Premium for the world record for quick pu ,.ling
of glass with Furko machinEas. The most modern glass factory in Rift is
nunars- du Laeplesa iela, which has been supplied with new machinery. It
produces bottles,. vials, laboratory vessels,. etc. The total output of window
panes in Latvia at present is approximately 1,800,000 sq m per annum.
52. The Riga Porcelain and Pottery Factory, formerly necovay produce, besides
porcelain and crockery., high-voltage insulators.for USSR pacer atati . The
factory, bas. recently been completely reconstructed and s4 plied with.new
machinery. The factory - can of boast of its crockery, however, as. onl3 , an
occasional dinner service is without a flax. Because of the low qual.ityar the
factory hags loss of k00, 000. rubles during the first half of 1952.
Forestry and Timber Industries
53. Recently, the foreairy,industry.has received great attention. The university
and'arestry schools prepare an increasing number of experts whose task it
will be to carry out the official forestry policy-to plant now feats and
cultivate the old ones, especially in marshy districts. extensive drainage work
is car$?ied_out in marshy areas. It is felt in Latvia that-it is high time this
was done, since just after the war the Communists followed the Germans in ruth.
lesssly cutting dawn the forests. This reduced the overall area.under forest to
a ,considerable extent
54. During 1950, forestry 1apr9vement work was carried out on an area of 17..000
ha and 60,1000 ha were replanted. All Latvian forests are divided into-two
classes. To the first belong 154,310 ha of forest on which felling is not
allowed; all other forests belong to the second class.# which it is permissible
to cut only within preacribdd limits and subject to reafforestation.
55. The authorities are aiming to mechanize all forest work by. supplying modern
equipment-electric saws;., mechanical loading mac aixry, . trucks, and, tractors.
Some success has been achieved.; during 1947, i14, boo .cu , m? of timber was
mechanically prepar i; ? in 1951, . this figure was .already .over 300, 000 bu m.
Machinery, however, is not yet aufficient,and difficult forest work still rests
heavily din the manual workers especially on the kolkhoz farmer. As in bygone
days, when every farm was expected to prepare a certain amount of timber, now
every Ira' l as is expected to fulfill & .certain quota. For example, a totai
of 810000 cu, a was wed by the Mazsalaca forestry . a rrgaaizsation, , of which 64,000
cu a was for industrial purposes. Of this, 30x,000 cu, a was prepared by the
forestry lumberman and the rest by farm workers. Leading is m+ mechanised,
During 19510, the Latvian forestry industry produced 3,400,000 -cu m . of timber,,
of which 1,,500, 000 cu a was ebanieal.ly transported. During the same year,
the industry produced 241+,000 cu a of lumber.
56. The forestry industry,# which is subordinate tea special minire
shortcomings, which are aka acknowledged by the. atittoorities at a) their
congresses. The maehipe for preparing ,and transporting timber likewise has
many sho 'tcoings, and Is thus .not being utilized to full capacity. The
floating of the timber is delayed every spring ands, as a result, it has to be
transported by ;rail. The .cost, of wages in too high, because th* 804th Trust
and the North Trust between them have 1,041 employees more than d. in
consequence, the cost per cubic motor has risen,, and the State has .lest profits
amounting to soave 15,000QO00 rubles.
57. A woo ker $s ealrnings in the forestry industry are as high as those of a skilled
worker in.the best metal plant, reaching 2,000 rubles a mouth. Many city
people who are physically we11 devl4L Rged . tyke up forestry work in order to
earn better pay. With increased mechanization., forestry 'work has become lass
arduous. The earnings of a kolkhoz farmer are on a, considerably lour scale.
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58. In addition to timber, the forestry industry produces resin, which iae processed
by the Jugla.Chemical Plant, Riga, into colophony and turpentine. This factory
has recently been sitppited with modern resin-processing and clar3 fying equip*
men,, which is reputed to spewed the process by forty peeent.
59. Nearly all the timber produced for industrial purposes is processed by, local
woodwar"king concerns - ialtmil,ls, plywood,. match and fuxn~ture factories, and
the newly established shoeilaast and tar factories; pit-props for the min** in
the Don basin are exported to the Soviet Union, as are railroad ties.
Finished: products, ver$ such as plywood,, furniture, prefabricated houses,
matches, xcaodtar,, wooden parts of tools, etc., are expaiteed in .large quantities
to the USSR. This is the reason for the considerable enlargement and roconr
struction lof the woodworking factories in Latvia, the introduction of now
techniques, and the increase in the number of workers, especially in .the ply.
'W'ood and furniture factories .
6o. There are four plywood factories in Latvia at present Latvi jaa Bwmj, Furriers?
and Lignums in Riga, and VV.Jkans in leuldiga. The latter has been espectal,ly
enlarged and ogloys approcctmately 1.1000 'Wurkws. Latvi jaa Bern bas been. tra=,*
fwd, into a woodworking cosbinel its products are sent all over thh Sariet
Union to the furniture, railroad car, and shipbuilding indxest] ie5. it mulct be
ass ed that plywood is sent to the aire raf V U**; because aviation ply*
wood is also produced by ,all these factories. The four 'plywood facto r .eea
between them cannot satisfy the demand and are constantly raising their output.
61. There arel . three match factories: Vezuvs and K meta in Riga, ,and Sarbana
Baltija in Lepaya,, and the output of the latter has been considerably increased,
62. A special,standard prefabricated house industry has been established .which,
in conjunction with the Spars sawmilly produce* 10000 prefabricated houses per
year. Tbee'se are exported' to the Soviet Union., the projects on the Volga, and
even as far as the Georgian SSR.
63. The furniture industry has Winded rapidly. There are five. f urniturelt ccabin
and two factories in Latvia where furniture is .mass produced. Furniture is
sent all over the Soviet Union, especially to Moscow and Leningrad,. where tyre
is a demand for good furniture., and craftsmen are carrying out all the orders
for the new university building in Moscow. The largest furniture factory in
Latvia is now under construction n'.Talmiera.
Payer Industry
64. More or less respectable writing paper is now available,, but this was not the
case even a few years ago, when writing paper could scarcely have been. worse.
Books were also printed on poor-quality paper. Although the quality of gaper
has now improved., the local paper industry is capable of producing a much
higher quality.
65. The Slake Paper Combine has been developed into the biggest- paper and cellulose
undertaking in. Latvia# which also produces most of the newsprint. This factory
also produces ethyl alcohol from paper by-products. An ultra-modern alcohol
factory has been established for this purpose. Other paper works be
mentioned include those at Ligatne, Jugla, and Jauncieme (w ich produces only
cardboard), and Staicelee There is a total of fifteen factories in the paper
industry. Part of the output goes to the Soviet Union; mostly to neighboring
republics.
Chemical Industry
66. The largest chemical factory in Latvia is the completely reconstructed Riga
Superphospbates Factory, which was destroyed during the war. Acceding ,to
plan, this factory was to produce 180,.000 tons during 1950, but there are
indications that its productivity has increased. The finished product is sent
to the Lithuanian SSR, Belorussian SSR,, and the Ukrainian SSR. All other
chemical factories are of secondary importance.
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67. In recant years., a pharmaceeutical induct y has been established in Riga. The
fete' phWAaceutical laboratories pas vittusly existing log' be c .ennlaargeed and
reapplied with essential equipoa ant, and new factea y bui141 bz been erected,.
There is a .n penicillin factory on Maskavas Iola,* Rigs,,ii ich aorrplsyes se real.
hmdred work rs. The Riffa ceutical Factarry, fr riy Skaf, Wafte" a
new pmparati(on, !`Peek" pa int *salicylic avid;), f -mood, in .acct
with methods of Prewar A. paln4ns and tethers. This preparation .is 'u
effectively against throat and skin tuberculosis. The BXperim~ental.Vitas n
Factory produces vitamin C Iran rose-hip syrv,. vitenin B fra mridicinal.
bretrerts yeast, and the preparations histamine and histidinee.
Peat
68. In an endeavor to offset the funds which are expended on the in art of coal
and the preparation of firewaod, the authorities have started to step up the
production of peat. The Latvian peat bogs area rich is fu is and ecoaeiamists
advocate thaaat. they sheuld be deveeloped. The production of p"t in Lat,ia
=w becca an .iwhvstry,, all of which has been wed &Ad supplied with
equapmmest such peat "`agegeteaesft, excavated and other maehinlly. Six
new factariot bases been almOv-, In Latvia there is =w a total of *5 peat
factories,,y ch agdW.s4ite 8, 000 workers. The yearly, output . is 601,000, tug
of peat. twe are also factories which produce insulation plates na",*f
peat. In the Balox,,Tirelij and Seda marshes, there are peat briquette factories
with .s ceaabined output of apps xately 70,000 tesna per annum,. At present,
onee third _of all peat production is .mechanised. It is planned to -mete peat
,.eduction. cmep letely maaa