OBLAST POLITICAL AND POPULATION SURVEY NO. 118

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP81-01043R001800190007-1
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 150
• Document Creation Date: January 4, 2017
• Document Release Date: March 13, 2013
• Sequence Number: 7
• Publication Date: November 22, 1957
• Content Type: REPORT

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IA NORTHWEST
IV SOUTHEAST
VIII URA LS
XI EAST SIBERIA
IB NORTH
IIA BALTIC
V TRANSCAVCASUS
IX WEST SIBERIA
XII FAR EAST
IIB BELORUSSIA
VI VOLGA
XA KAZAKHSTAN
III SOUTH
VII CENTRAL
XB CENTRAL ASIA
J
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Oblast Political and Population Survey
No. 118
Iatviyskaya SSR
Prepared by
Air Research Division
Library of Congress
22 November 1957
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1. The estimates appearing in this study result from an acceler-
ated'survey of available data. 11 figures--accompanied by an
asterisk (*) are the best possible estimates to - be- derired
from accessible information and are -to--be- regarded an ai indica-
tion of an order of magnitude. Information Which might correct
or supplement these estimates should be forwarded to AFCIN-3X3,
Room 1324.
2. Popplation estimates as-of 1 January 1958 within administrative-
territorial boundaries as of 1 January 1956.
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S E C R E T
OBT.A$aT POLITICAL AMID POPULATION SURVEY NO. 118
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Statistics
1
I.
Government Controls
A.
B.
General
Control Groups
1. Communist Party and Komsomol
2. Military
3. Government
3
11
II.
Population, Labor Force, and Ethnic Composition
30
30
A.
B.
General
Urban-Rural Distribution
34
C.
Age-Sex Structure
39
140
D.
E.
Labor Force
Military and Forced Labor
142
F.
Ethnic Composition
43
G.
Prospects
44
III.
Psychological and Sociological Factors
45
A.
Political and Social Tensions
45
B.
Civil Defense
54
C._ Medical Facilities
60
D.
Educational and Cultural Facilities
64
IV.
Socio-Economic Factors
73
'
73
Housing
A.
B.
Food Supplies
76
0.
Transportation and Telecommunications
78
1. General
78
2. Rail
78
S E C R E T
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3. Water
81
).. Highway
85
0
Air
86
6. Telecommunications
86
D. Utilities
88
E. Economic Characteristics
91
1. General.
91
2. Industry
98
3. Fuels and Power
100
i. Agriculture
106
V. Urban Areas
111
I. Estimated Distribution of Communists in
Armed Forces and NVD Troops (Selected Years)
II. Estimated Composition of Armed Forces: 1956
12
III. Estimated Military Control Force: 1956
13
IV. Airfields in Latviyskaya SSR: 1957
16
V. Estimated Government Coritrdl Force: 1957
VI. Summary of Demographic Characteristics:
Latviyskaya SS`1?R, 1958
30
VII. Urban-Rural Distribution of Population:
1939, 1958
34
VIII-.' Urban Area Population Ranges: 1939, 1958
35
IX. Estimated Population, and Density by
Administrative-Territorial Divisions: 1958
-36
X. Estimated Age-Sex Distribution: 1958
39
XI. Estimated Distribution of Labor Force: 1958
41
XII. Ethnic Composition: . 1935,-1958
13
XIII. Reported Medical Facilities: 1955-1956
61
S E C R E T
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XIV.
General Educational Facilities (Selected Years)
67
.
XV.
Port Facilities in Latviyskaya SSR: 1957
82
XVI.
Economic Summary, Latviyskaya SSP. by Economic
Region
96
XVII.
Reported Latvian Industrial Production: 1955,
1956-
101
XVIII.
Electric Power Balance: 1955
105
XIX,
Liquid Fuels Storage Facilities: 1957
106
6
XX,
Distribution of Livestock: 195
108
XXI.
Areas Sown to Agricultural Crops: 1951
109
XXII.
Areas Sown to Agricultural Crops: 1956
109
I.
Military Significance of Urban Areas
18
II,
Composition of Latviyskaya SSR Council of
Ministers: 1956, 1957
22
III.
Organization of Industry and Construction: 1957
26
IV.
Rail Facilities in Latviyskaya SSR: "1957
81
V.
Chief Characteristics of Economic Regions and
Subregions
93
MAPS
I.
Location of Latviyskaya SSi
Frontispiece
II.
Administrative-Territorial Divisions
Back Pocket
III.
Population
Back Pocket
IV.
Transportation
Back Pocket
V.
Military Control
Back Pocket
VI.
Outline Map of the Economy of the
Latviyskaya SSR
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Tables
?
is
Pie
A. Number of Specialists T1orking in Latvian
Economy, by Educational Level: 1956 A-1
B. Number of Workers and Rnployees in Latvian
Economy, by Branch: 1956 A-2
C. Industrial Workers by Branch of Industry in
Cities of Republic Subordination
Latviyskaya SSR: 1955
A-3
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Area in Sq. Miles ...............25;30
Total Est,. 1958 Pop........... 2,040,000
Urban Pop :.................1;080;000
Rural Pop ...................:960-000
Cities ...............................6
(Riga, L3yepaya, Daugavpils,
Yelgava, Ventspils, and Rezekne)
Trnms ....:..........................51
.Urban Settlements ...................27
Rural Rayons. ....... ................115
Urban Rayons (Riga) ..................6
Selsovets ..........................686
I. Goverment Controls
A. General
Latviyskaya SSR is one of the 15 union republics of the
USSR. Riga, the capital, is the location of-the--republic govern-
ment, military, and economic control agencies. Prior to World War
I, the territory of present-day Latvia had--been 'ruled for *a century
by Tsarist Russia. In ?1920;--the?--independent Republic of Latvia was
established through-the intervention of the Western Allies and
existed until *x:940. -At,that time, under' an- agreement between Ger-
many and the Soviet Union, Latvia was delivered-to the latter and
was forced'to accept the status of a Soviet Union Republic, effec-
tive 3 August 1940. When war broke out between Germany and-the
Soviet Union, Germany -invaded -Latvia -in' V l91a1, --arlong-with' the other
Baltic Soviet Republics, and occupied the country until-forced out
by the Russians in 1944. Re-established as a Union' Republic,
),?I, I
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Latvia has remained involuntarily under Soviet domination since
that time. The forced annexation has never been officially
recognized by the major powers of the West.
With the exception of one minor boundary--change, "the
republic territory has remained-'substantially -the- *samff -,as*, that
of the independent Latvian Republic. In late l91-or?early 1945,
the northeastern corner-of the republic, -including-the-town of
Abrene, was transferred to Pskovskaya Oblast, RSFSR. Subsequent
administrative-changes have been internal, involving the estab-
lishment or abolition of oblasts and rayons. -Three oblasts
formed in the spring of 1952 - generally delineating western
Latvia, central and northern Latvia, and eastern Latvia--.; were
dissolved one year later. Grivskiy Rayon-was-abolished at the
end of 1955 and absorbed by Daugavpiisskiy Rayon. During the
year 1956, in order to reduce the number of administrative per-
sonnel and to simplify administration, 12 other?-rural'?rayons were
abolished." These rayons are as follows:
Rayons Abolished Date Territory-to-following rayons
Aknistskiy
Aloyskiy
Alsungskiy
Ap skiy
Dundagskiy
Eleyskiy
Gauyenskiy
Neretskiy
Saulkrastskiy
Tsesvaynskiy
Varaklyanskiy
Yaunelgavskiy
12/ 7/56 Ilukstskiy, Yekabpilsskiy
12/ 7/56 Limbazhskiy
12/ 7/56 Ayzputskiy, Kuldigskiy,
Ventspilsskiy
3/30/56 Aluksnenskiy, &niltenskiy
3/30/56 Talsinskiy, Ventspilsskiy
12/ 7/56 Yelgavskiy, Autsskiy, Bauskiy
12/ 7/56 aniltenskiy, Erglskiy,
Gulbenskiy, Tsesisskiy,
Madonskiy
12/ 7/56 Yekabpilsskiy
12/ 7/56 Siguldskiy, Rizhskiy
12/ 7/56 Madonskiy, Gulbenskiy
3/30/56 Vilyanskiy, Madonskiy
12/ 7/56 Yekabpilsskiy, Bauskiy,
Baldonskiy
Since graphic--materials --and -economic infonnativn`at-'hand is
?Y
based op the rayon distribution as -it ? existed -at the beginning of
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S E C R E T
1956 (excluding Grivskiy Rayon but including the other 12 rayons
now abolished), the maps accompanying this study and the discus-
sion of territorial economic features have been treated on the
basis of the rayon structure as of 1 January 1956? In 1957, in
accordance with USSR??-government--policy,--the Latviyskaya SSR was
granted the right to establish its own internal territorial-
administrative units without USSR approval.
The city of Riga is subdivided into 6 urban rayons:
Kirovskiy, Leninskiy, Moskovskiy, Proletarskiy, Stalinskiy, and
Yurmalskiy. In 1956 Molotovskiy-and'Krasnoarmeyskiy Urban Rayons
were abolished.
B. Control Groups
Communist Party and Komsomol
The most significant control agency in the republic
is the Bureau of the Central Committee of the Latviyskaya SSR
Communist Party. It directs the activities -of -all members of the
Latvian Party and its youth auxiliary, the Komsomol. Party mem-
bership is-estimated to be 67,000 and Komsomol membership to be
226,000. The combined membership of the 2 organizations represents
approximately 14*per cent of the total republic population.
The estimated 4000 full time Party members in Latvia
(about 6 per cent of the total Party membership) constitute the
Party control force. Through these professional Party workers
are channeled the central Party directives which are binding on
all republic Party organs and personnel.
The Bureau of the Party Central Committee--is the chief
policy-making body in the republic. Its members hold the highest
and most important positions in the government, military, and
economic control apparatus. The highest operational control agency
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of the Party is the Secretariat of the Central Committee. Its
production-branch departments supervise the work of the republic
and lower government, internal security, military, and economic
agencies in the republic through control of the Party units formed
in these agencies. Representatives of the Secretariat-are attached
to all city, town, and rural rayon Party committees to check on
the political reliability of leading Party, security, and govern-
ment personnel. The local Party committees supervise t3ie'work of
the Party Primary Organizations - the basic units of Party
control - 'hick are established in most organizations, enter-
prises, and agencies.
Primary Party Organizations in army, navy, and air
force units and-MVD military formations (border guards and
security troops) are independent of local Party authorities and
are subordinate, via their respective-hierarchies., to-the"-USSR
Party Secretariat.
The Party maintains its power"by controlling the
appointment-or removal of key personnel in important positions
at 'all levels. The Party professionals are subject to strict
discipline and may shift positions or organizations only with
permission of superior Party units. On-the-level of the Party
Primary Organizations, the furl-time Party member may change jobs
only at'the discretion of the Rayon or City Party Committee.
Republic Party officials act as intermediaries between
"USSR Party representatives and the Party officials of cities,
rayons, and Party Primary Organizations, who form the bulk of the
Party control force. 'Within the last year, the abolishment of
some of the central government industrial ministries and establ.ish-
ment of the Latvian National Council of Economy to take over their
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functions has vested the Repubblic government and Party with greater
authority and responsibility. -?'The-'former practice of placing USSR
? Party representatives in republic enterprises of All~Rnion signifi-
cance to check on operations and report directly to the USSR Cen-
tral Party Committee has been discontinued, except possibly at
major plants concerned with national defense. To what extent the
policy of decentralization has effected a concomitant reduction in
numbers and/or powers of-USSR Party representatives attached to
the"-Republic-Party Central Committee is not known.
Membership in the Communist Party of the Latviyskaya
SSR is estimated to be 679000. 'The incidence 6f-33 Communists per
?1000 total population is somewhat higher than the average for the
Baitic'Repixblics '(29 per"1000 total population) and lower'than the
ratio for tlie"RSFSR?"(U2 pet'-1000-total population) and for the
USSR-(36 per 1000 `total population). -"'The incidence of "1.d Party
members peg-7000 adult population (age ?18 and over) is higher
than 'the average for the -Baltic Republics" (38 per 1000 adults)
and considerably l.ower Than the ratio in the"-?RSFSR and USSR (65
and-56, respectively).
''The fact that the incidence of Party membership per
total-and adult population in the republic is lower than in the
RSFSR and-USSR does not reflect 'the industrial and military sig-
n3ficance df 'the area. Generally speaking, Party membership is
concentrated in areas which are industrially and militarily
important, and it'is true in Latviats coastal cities. Thus,
"Riga, which accounts 'for about 65 per cent`of the republic's
industrial product and contains approximately' 29 per cent of the
area's population, harbors about""50 per cent of the republic
Party membership (1953)."
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3 t C R E T
The estimated postwar distribution of Party members
and candidates serving in the armed forces and MVD troops in the
republic is shown in-Table I. -The decline in absolute numbers of
Party members among the military between 1952 and 1956 parallels
the concurrent reduction in the number of armed forces stationed
in the republic. The steadily 'diminishing proportion of military
Party members to total Party members in the republic during the
same years reflects both the smaller number of troops and the
gradual increase in the number of civilian Party members.
ESTIMATED DISTRIBUTION OF COMMUNISTS
IN
ARMED FORCES AND MVD TROOPS
(Selected Years)
Year
Total Civilian
Membership Membership
Military
and MVD
Military as
Per Cent
of Total
ommunist
Military
in Per Cent
of,U,13SR Total
1949
'55.,200
31:'203
23,997
43.17
2.8
1952
709150
1{2,030
28,120
40.08
3.1
1954
68;-378
42,964h
'25;-7311
37.63
3.0
1956
659615
13,627
21,988
33.53
2.7
Members and candidates of the Latvian Communist Party
are well represented in the organs of government, as in all impor-
tant organizations. Of the 16,712 deputies elected to local
Soviets in-the republic in-March-1957., 71879 or 43 per cent, were
members or candidates of the Communist Party. Among the 31 depu-
ties elected from Latvia to the USSR Supreme Soviet, 18 were mem-
bers of the Latvian Party Central Committee.
S E C R,E T
C
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S E C R E T
During the postwar perio3'T919 ;956, the personnel compo.,
sition of the directing organs of the Latvian Communist Party (the
Central Committee., Secretariat and Bureau) has evidenced a degree
of instability. Since the ')Party Congress in 1949, the 'Latvian
Party Central Committee has steadily increased its membership. At
the XIV Congress '(1956) membership was reported at 118, an increase
of'32 over"the membership elected by the-X'Congress. The greatest
percentual and numerical turnover in the Latvian Central Committee
occurred between the years 1919 and 1952. "This'3-year period Tell
within the era of most L.t-nsive Russification, when all things
Russian were glorified., and the struggle against "bourgeois
nationalism.," "intellectual deviationistsand other "reactionary
elements" was at its 'height a =o lowing the death of "Stalin
(March'l953), Latvian Party leaders (as well as leaders of other
republics) were criticized for excessive-Russification measures.
Since that time., the process 'has been somewhat attenuated. The
expounding of-the primacy of things-Russian continues, but less
vigorously.
The turnover in the'Latvian"Ceritral Committee is
placed in bold re'lie'f when the personnel elected at 'the X and M
Party Congresses are compared. Of"the"86 members and candidates
elected to the Central Committee by the'"X Congress, only 28 were
re-elected'by the XIV Congress. Thus, only about-329-5 per cent of
the membership of"the first postwar elected Central Committee sur-
vived the vicissittide,s' `df 'Soviet politics.
"The personnel changes in'the'Central Committee have
also affected the executive organs., the Bureau and Secretariat.
'Some shuffling among Republic Party Secretaries, comprising '3 to
'5 listed Secretaries between '1949 a6a-1956, -has'-been manifest. Of
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S E C R E T
the 5 Secretaries in'1949, only one was re=e`ledted -iri-1952. More-
over the number of Secretaries was reduced to*'3. In-1951 a new
member replaced one' from -the71952 'body, while in"1956, 3 new mem-
bers joined the Secretariat, increasing the membership again to 5.
The average turnover in Secretaries between the years 1919-1956 was
more than 50 per cent. The Bureau has, over the same period of
years, shown the least variability in personnel. Since 1952, when
the membership of this body was reduced from*16 to 11, the turnover
was held at about 25 per cent at the-2 succeeding Congresses.
The data presented above warrant the following conclu-
sions 1)'The period of intensive Russification caused the great-
est percentual and numerical changes in the directing organs of
the Latvian Communist Party. The high turnover is probable evi-
Bence of -the-lackof trust in the membership of the directing
organs by the then leaders of the Soviet Union. 2) Since
'Khrushchev assumed the post of First Secretary of the Communist
Party of the Soviet Union (September 1953),9 the directing organs
of the Latvian Party have shown more stability in their composi-
tion.
It is difficult to predict whether this trend will
continue, for the lower echelon leaders of the Latvian Party have
been under Tire for a variety of reasons. Since the XX All-Union
Party Congress (February 1956), 921 of the 2813 secretaries -6f the
Primary Party Organizations in Latvia, or 30 per cent, have been
replaced. In addition, a "significant-number" of rank-and-file
Communists' have been expelled from the Party for amoral conduct,
including drunkenness and "hooliganism." Repeated assertions
appear in the Soviet Latvian press that citizens of Soviet
Latvia enter the Party for purely personal gain. Even those
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Communists who have been recruited or-'have "volunteered" to
work in the Latvian countryside (Khrushchev'-s back-to-the-farm,
? movement) have -been accused o1f having interests divorced from
those of the agricultural institutions. In the light of these
accusations it is expected that expulsions or replacement of
individuals in'all echelons of the Latvian Party will continue.
'-'The Komsomol organization, encompassing in 7.9'56 over
half of the youth in the eligible age group (11.-;26), is the
assistant of the Latvian-Communist Party and its reserve for
membership. It is the responsibility of Komsomol to interpret
'Party and government policies and directives to the masses of the
population and to-lead the way in their implementation. The
organization is particularly charged with spreading the Party's
influence among youth, guiding them to Soviet ideals. The
majority of Party members are generally drawn from the ranks of
"Komsomol. Of the-i347 members accepted into Latvian Party
Organization iri 956;'2314.9 or-53 per cent., were Komsomolites.
Membership in the Latvian Komsomol is estimated at
'about "2269'000'. ' -The incidence of membership.,-98 per1000 total
population, is considerably-higher"than the average in the
Baltic Republics (87 per 1000 total population) and is sur-
passed only `by the ratio in the Transcaucasiari Repizlilics. The
ratio of-'506 members per'-1000 population in the '1426 age group
is exceeded only in the Armyanskaya and Estonskaya SSR's,(528
and 539, respectively).
The number of Komsomolites serving in the armed
forces and'MVD in Latvia is estimated at 111,000, or 49 per cent
of the total membership. This figure comprises "4:3 per cent of
the total number of-Komsomolites in the USSR armed forces and
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'SEC R E T
MVD troops, a proportion exceeded only in the RSFSR and Ukrainskaya
a
and Belorusskaya "SSRO s.
? Among the tasks required of the Komsomol are the Com-
munist education of Soviet Latvian youth, widespread activity in
the village, the organization of multifold social and cultural
undertakings for young people _ club s9 theaters., excursions - and
the promotion of physical culture and sport activities. From-1953
up to 19579 the Latvian Komsomol had reportedly sent"-3500 youths
to work in the virgin land areas, as well as "hundreds" of'members
to rural areas of the republic in the back-to-the-land movement to
increase agricultural production.
On the Komsomol also devolves the responsibility for
promoting the fulfillment of Party and government directives in
such domains as industry, construction., agriculture., and para-
military training. The Komsomol has repeatedly been urged to
participate in DOSAAF and to assist various organizations con-
cerned with civil defense, for example in the dissemination of
information on antiatomic and antibacteriological defense.
Komsomol also directs the activities of the Pio-
neers, a mass organization composed of children and adolescents
aged 10 to 16, and the Little Octobrists, aged 7 to 10. Super-
vision of Pioneer and Octobrist units devolves on the Komsomol
organization of the given territorial-administrative. 19a. In
turn., the work of each Komsomol unit is supervised by the Party
unit at the' comparable level. Thus., integration in leadership
and operation of the junior organizations is realized.
It is presumed that the Komsomol membership will
continue to increase in -the Latviyskaya SSR, particularly as the
? larger numbers of,childreri born subsequent to the wartime birth
S E C R E T
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deficit enter the pertinent age groups. Another important factor
is that membership in Komsomol, with the possibility of later Party
membership, facilitates personal advancement in Soviet Latvian
society.
2. Military
9
Riga, the capital of the latviyskaya SSR, is the 'Head-
quarters of the Baltic Military District, comprising Latviyskaya
and Litovskaya SSRos and' Kaliningradslcaya Oblast. Military and
naval units, which are completely independent of republic govern-
ment organs, are subordinate to various headquarters in Riga,
Baltiysk, and Mos'kva.'Af'fleet operations and personnel in the
republic are controlled by Headquarters of the -Baltic' Fleet in
Baltiy:;k, Kaliningradskaya Oblast. 'Military and tactical air
operations of the Soviet Army and Air Force are directed from'Riga
by Headquarters, Baltic' Military'District, which also exercises
-super'ri.sory control over land-based naval personnel. Long-Range
Air A 'my (LRAA) units-'based in Latvia are probably, under the
Jurisdiction of the^lst 'LRAA in -Moskva. Air Defense Command
'(FPO) personnel are subordinate-td-Headquarters---10th'-Air Defense
Region, at Riga.
The total number of armed - force s (see -'Tab'le II) sta-
boned in Latvia is estimated at -1509000-'(I956)*. '-''This figure sur-
passes-the totals in the other administrative units of the Baltic
area - Estonskaya and Litovskaya SSR's and_Kaliningradskaya Oblast
(85;000, 120., 000, and 95,000, respectively). The total in the
Latvian-Republic comprises over 30 per cent of the total in the
4 regions. The distribution of armed forces personnel in the
republic, according to branch of service and in percentage of
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the Baltic coastal area totals, is as followst
?
"TABLE "II
ESTIMATED COMPOSITION 0F ARMED FORCES: 1956
Branch of Service Number
Per Cent
of Total
Per Qenr of Total in Branch
of S( ii in Baltic Republics
and Kaliningradskaya Oblast
Army and 'M
.89';000
-~9.3
36.7
Soviet Air Force
(less Naval
aviation)
16,000
10.7
25.8
Soviet Naval Air
Force
4,-000
2.7
20.1
Navy
-41:;000
27.3
32.6
Total
'T50,000
100.0
33.3
?
The number of army and MVD- troops stationed in the
republic is surpassed in the Baltic coastal area only by the number
in Litovskaya SSR (98,000), while the total naval personnel (includ-
ing SNAF) is numerically exceeded only in Estonskaya SSR (53;5O0).
Both the Estonskaya SSR and Kaliningradskaya Oblast outstrip the
Latvian Republic in the number of SNAF personnel (9000 and* 6000",
respectively) located within their confines. The number of SAF
personnel in the republic was second only to the.number in the
Estonian Republic (19,000).
The military control force in the republic (see Table
III) is estimated at 60,800 (1956), of which 21,700 were officers
arid"39,lOO were NCO' s. The Army and MVD components comprised about
55 per cent, the Navy (excluding SNAF) about 25 per cent and the
Air Force approximately 20 per cent of the total military control
group in the republic. It is estimated (1956) that approximately
S E C R E T
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Si !-C'-R 'T
22;000, or X4:7 per cent, of the total military personnel in Latvia
-belong to the Communist Party, while an additional'111;0O0 military
personnel are members 6T-the'Xomsomol. Thus,approximately 88.7
per cent of the total military are either members of the Party or
Komsomol. This incidence of "Party aril Komsomol membership in the
armed"Torces"is con?idera1bl:~"higher than in-Estonia (77 per cent),
probably owing 3a-large part' to The "presence of military district
headquarters personnel.
- TABLE" 111
ESTD TED MILITARY CONTROL FORCE: 19561/
Branch of Service
Per Cent
Primary '0_f-Tota1
Per Cent
Secondary of Total
Total
Army and'MVD
11,600
19.1
22,200
? 36.5
33,800
Navy
(excl. SNAF)
_5,100
8.4
9;900
16.3
15;000
Air Force
(incl. SNAF)
5,000
8.2
-7 000
'11.5
--12,000
Total
21,700
35.7
39,100
64.3
60,1800
1/ Primary control force equates with officers, secondary
with ' CO T s.
0
'Headquarters, Baltic Military District, in-Riga com-
mands all Soviet Army and Air Force personnel (excluding SNAF)
stationed in Latviyskaya and Litovskaya SSRTs and in Kaliningrad-
skaya'Oblast."-The Military District contains an estimated 240,000
army and MVD troops and'-43;000 Soviet Air Force personnel. Of the
283000 total, an estiniated'105,000, or 37.1 per cent, are located
in Latvia.
Riga is also Headquarters, Sixth Guards Army, and
13
S E C R E T
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S'E "C 'R E T
Headquarters,?'l5th PVO Division, Anti-Air Defense (refer to Map
V). Among the other army units known to be stationed in the
republic are: in"Riga,1U/I AA Division of the 6th Guards Army; in
Liyepaya, Headquarters, CXXX Latvian Rifle Corps, Headquarters,
'43rd Latvian 'Guards" Rifle Division, and-2 U/I AA Regiments
(Field), one attached to the CCXXX Latvian Corps and one to the
'I3rd"Rifle -Division. A--U/I AA-Regiment of the"-51st Guards""Rifle
-Division is` also'believed ?to "be located somewhere in the republic.
The -ideritified-MVD 'units in Latvia are the -24ast Convoy-Regiment at
Riga, subordinate-to the "4th'**MVD -Division, headquarters at" Vilnyus,
Litovskaya 'SSR9 and"the-8th'11VD Border "Detachment at Ventspils,
subordinate 'to "Headquarters, lithuaniari Border District., at Kaunas,
Li:tovs1kaya-M.' -'The-NiVD operates its own naval units to patrol
the waters adjacent to the republic.
Naval activities along the Baltic littoral of-the
Latviyskaya SSR and all naval units and facilities based in the
republic are controlled by Headquarters of the Baltic Fleet at
Baltiysk. Subordinate to Fleet Headquarters is Headquarters of
the Liyepaya Naval Defensive District, which extends along the
Baltic Coast from latitude "S7? to-latitude?-56?. Ventspils and
the coast of the "Gulf of Riga appear to "fall within The "Island
'Naval Defensive 'District (extending approximately from Khaapsalu,
Estonskaya ?""SSR, ' to latitude -57?), with headquarters probably
located on one of the Estonian islands.
'--Riga, Liyepaya, and Ventspils are naval operating
bases-for submarines and-for surface vessels up to destroyer
size. Riga and Liyyepaya are also Soviet naval supply centers,
with general stores., POL, and munitions depots. A torpedo depot
is located at'Riga. Liyepaya, Riga., and Vetslnilgravis are
14
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SECRET
reported to have motor torpedo boat bases. Facilities exist at
Ayepaya for undertaking major repairs and for dry-docking vessels
up to cruiser size. "Riga 'has`5 shipyards, }lone of which is
classified as a principal yard.
fine 'Naval Base at 'Riga, - experimenting with air-to-
surface missiles, is reported to be possibly the main guided
missile center in-the USSR." Missile launching sites are
reportedly located at Daugavpils, Liyepaya., and Priyekuli, while
surface-to-air missile launching sites are reported to be under
construction in the vicinity of Riga.
'-Radar sites are reported to be operative in Liyepaya9
'Ventspils, Ventspils area, at--Riga/Spilve and Riga/Salaspils Air...
fields (3 sites at each), and at the airfield in Krustpils. The
repulilicl s-Baltic 'littora`l radar installations are presumed tp
form part of'the Soviet peripheral radar network.
At least.6 schools training naval or maritime person-
nel. are located in the republic capital. Liyepaya is also a -fleet
training center.
'Twerity air1?kls are located in Latviyskaya SSR (see
'Table -IV). _.,af 'these -11 are operated by the Soviet Air-Force, '3 by
i
the Soviet 'Naval Air Force, 2 jointly 'by 'SAF and"'SfAF, and 4
military/civil aiiTields jointly by SAF and the Directorate of
Civil Air Fleet.
Tactical aviation units subordinate to Headquarters.,
Baltic Military District are reported to operate 715 aircraft
(July 1957). Among these are 385 jet (day) aircraft., 295 light
jet bombers., 10 transport propeller (lt. bm..) aircraft, 5 large
'helicopters, and'20 reconnaissance jet (lt. bm:) aircraft.
Subordinate to Military District Headquarters are
15
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Airfield
'-S-E-C ??R' E -T
TABLE -IV
IRFI> DS-IN-IATPIYSKAYA 'SSR: -"195?
AIRFIELDS-IN-
Target
Class 'Number --User
Riga/Salaspils
Riga/Spilve
Liepaja/East
(Liyepaya)
Tukums
(Tukum)
Vainode
(Vaynede)
Riga/Sldrotava
Riga/West
Ventspils/-
Targale
Krustpils
Krustpils
Cirava
2 0153-8094
2 o1538096 SO
Civil
2 0152-8604 SAP
B TAF
2 0153?8126 SAF
2 01528609 SAF
3 ol53-8095 SAF
-Civfl.
3 01538098 SNAF
4 0152-8612 SAF
4 0153-8011. SAF
Type
Primary defense base,
pilot training, radar
sites.
Primary defense base,
pilot and'paratroop
training, radar site.
primary defense bases
primary defense base.
Primary defense base.
Primary defense base.
Alternate bomber base,
advanced fighter pilot
training.
Alternate defense base,
pilot training.
Alternate bomber base,
fighter; pilot and
paratroop training.
4
0153-8042 SAF
Reserve base.
I
-'OI52 6p Ste'
" Fighter recovery base.
Ezere
Liepaja/North
4- ._oz53=-$oI9"?'?-SAF'
5 0152-8605 SAF
? Fighter recovery -base.
Reserve base, pilot and
._"
-'
'(Liyepaya)
-TAF
?
Eider training.
g
Ventspils/South
5 0152-8611 SAP
"other," possible pilot
Jelgava
Civil
5 0153-8029 SAF
training.
Reserve base, pilot and
(Yelgava)
Civil
paratroop training.
-"Duridaga
Bauska
?5 -o153=018 "'W ..-Reserve-'base.
5 0153-8005 SAF Possible auxiliary field
Tor-Riga.
16
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AIRFIELDS IN LATVIYSKAYA SSR: 1957
(Continued)
AIYfield
-Class
Target
Number "User
T e
'Gluda
5
~O1~3-$030 'SAFF
Reserve base.
Riga
.b
-"-0153=8093 -SNAF
Seaplane base.
Liepaja
6
0152-8603 SNAF
Seaplane base, possible
(Liyepaya)
reconnaissance base.
Military Commissariats, estabTisl}ed at "the republic, city and rural
rayon -levels, which participate in mobilization planning and the
stockpiling of military supplies.
The Latviyskaya SSR Society for Cooperation with the
Army, Air Force, and Navy (DOSAAF) trains pre-inductees in a program
of'basic indiechnical military skills and provides refresher courses
for veterans. The republic committee of DDSAAF has recently estab-
lished a department with the primary function of acbninistering an
antiatomic'defense (PVO) information program. DOSAAF is charged with
receiving instruction and disseminating information to the public
at large Concerning various aspects of civil defense. The or4aniza-
tion'has"been portrayed in the press as neglecting to pursue their
responsibilities 'in respect to the-'PVO program with sufficient
Inergy and enthusiasm.
'17
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"S'"E -C R E T
Urban areas orllocalities in Latviyskaya SSR having
military significance are as follows:
- LITARY -SIGNIFICANCE 'OF 'URBAN AREAS
?
Alternate
Place Name Military Installation or Operation
Riga
Principal. port and naval base. Provides
logistic and operational support to lim-
ited number of submarines. Possibly
capable of expansion and situated so as
to have strategic significance. Con-
tains complete logistic and operational
support facilities for light surface
craft. Motor torpedo boat base. Gen-
eral stores, POL, munition dump, tor-
pedo depot. Fleet training center:
coastal artillery school; Nakhimov
(naval cadet) schoc3l;'Tleet EM train-
ing detachment; advanced fighter pilot
school.
Possibly main guided missile center of
USSR. Air-to-surface missile experimen-
tation. Surface-to-air missile launch-
ing site under construction in vicinity.
Hq., Baltic Military District: Hq., 6th
Gds. Army; Hq., 241st MVD Convoy Regt.
Hq., 10th Air Defense Region: Hq., 15th
PVO Div.; Hq., U/I AA Div., 6th Gds.
Army.
Air logistic support capability.
Airfields: 2 Class'2 primary defense
bases (radar sites); one' Class-3 pri-
mary defense "base; one 'Class '3 alter-
nate bomber base; one Class 6 seaplane
base.
Liyepaya Liepaja Principal port and naval base. Pro-
Lepaja vides complete logistic and opera-
Lepaya tional support'to a large number of
submarines. Contains complete logistic
and operational support facilities for
all types of surface ships. Hq.,
Liyepaya Naval Defensive District
(LMOR); general stores, POL, munition
dump. Motor torpedo boat base. Fleet
training center: naval infantry school;-
communications specialty school; fleet
8Z training detachment; naval intelli-
gence school.
Hq., CXXX Lat. Rfl. Corp.; Hq., 43rd Lat.
18
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Alternate
Place -Name Military Installation or Operation
FIGURE"I
MILITARY SIGNIFICANCE OF URBAN AREAS
(Continued)
0
'Daugavpils Dvinsk
Dinaburg
"Dunaburg
S E C R E T
Gds. Rfl. Div. ;'Hq., U/I AA Regt., CXXX
Lat. Corp. (Field); Hq., U/I AA Regt.,
43rd Rfl. Div. (Field).
Air logistic support capability.
Airfields: -one -Class -2 primary defense
base; one-Class-'S reserve base; one Class
6 seaplane base, possible reconnaissance
base.
-Missile -launching site; radar site.
Reported missile launching site.
Yelgava Jelgava Airfield: one class 5 reserve base.
'-Mitava
Ventspils
Principal port and naval, base: could pro-
vide-logistic and operational support
to limited number of submarines. Pro-
vides limited-logistic and operational
support to limited number of light sur-
face forces. Contains complete logistic
and operational support. facilities for
light surface craft.- Fleet training
center: small craft training school.
Hq., 8th MVD Border Detachment.
Radar site.
Airfields: one Class 4 alternate defense
base; one' Class`*5 air'*base.
Radar site.
Airfields: one Class 4 alternate bomber
base; one Class 4 reserve base.
Tukum Tukums Airfield: one Class 2 primary defense
base.
Krustpils
Bauska Airfield: one Class 5 air base (possible
auxlliary'field'Tor 'Riga) .
'Dundaga Airfield: one ?Clae6-5 reserve'*base.
Vaynede Vainode Airfield: one Class 2 primary defense
base.
Cirava Airfields one Clasq 4 fighter recovery
base.
19
S E C R E T
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MILITARY SIGNIFICANGE OF URBAN AREAS
(Continued)
0
Alternate
Place Name Military Installation or Operation
Ezere _ Airfield: one Class 4 fighter recovery
base.
Gluda Airfields one Class 5 reserve base.
3. Government
Republic civil government control agencies are located
in the capital, Riga, and are directly subordinate to the appropriate
superior agencies in Moskva. The most significant government con-
trol agency is the Latviyskaya SSR Council of Ministers which con-
trols and coordinates the activities of subordinate Executive Com-
mittees in each of'the 6 cities of republic subordination (Riga,
Liyepaya, Daugavpils, Yelgava, Ventspils, and Rezekne), 51 towns,
and 15 rural rayons of the republic.
The government control force of Latviyskaya SSR is
estimated to represent approximately 11.6 per cent of the total pop-
ulation. (See Table V.)
The primary control force, as shown in the above table,
?
comprises employees of 'the governmental administrative and judicial
agencies at a-I1 levels of control, from the Council of Ministers to
the remotest rural 'soviet and from the Republic Supreme Court to
Peoples' Court and the militia and fire defense services. This
group does not directly supervise the production of goods and serv-
ices; rather it exercises over-all administrative supervision over
almost all aspects of economic, social, and cultural activities
affecting the republic population, which totals 2,040,000.
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S E C R E T
TABLE V
ESTIMATED GOVERNMENT CONTROL FORCE:
1957
Prima
Control Force
Administrativ
e
Per ent
Category
Total Control Force/
-Number
of Total
Republic Govt
. 140,900
31,800
9.1
Local Govt.
89,300
8,800
10.9
Militia
6,400
6,4oo
100.0
-Total 236,600
27,000
1i:.4
'Does not 1ricl0e professional workers of the Communist
Party, officer and NCO components*Of the armed forces and members
of the MVD and KGB troops, and economic supervisory and managerial
personnel.
- The secondary control force consists of employees
staffing government nonadministrative agencies engaged in such
activities as' health,'education, and various public services. This
group 'has no respoiisibilityfor policy determination, but carries
out Jie directives of ' the primary control 'force Within the framework
of policies of-1iigher'-USSR agencies.
The largest concentration of control personnel is in
the city of-Riga,' including approximately-13 per cent of the repub-
lic total coritrbl'force employed in government, health, and educa-
tion services. Other concentrations of control personnel are
''located in-the cities of Liyepaya,'Daugavpils,-Ye1gava, and
Rezekne, which together with-Riga contain more than"75 per cent of
the repiiblic's urban population and a substantial part of the
industrial enterprises.
--`USSRcentra1 government agencies ex4cise immediate
control over operations' bearing specifically on national security.
S E C R E T
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SE C"'R"MT
All military and naval operations are directed by USSR commands in
Riga and Baltiysk, respectively, although the Ministry of Defense
is theoretically a union-republic ministry. All-Union ministries
or committees in Moskva control all rail and maritime transport,
foreign affairs (also nominally under a union-republic ministry),
major aspects of internal security and telecommunications, and
probably a-few major industrial enterprises engaged in war produc-
tion.
The chief administrative and executive organ in the
republic is'-the Latviyskaya SSR Council of Ministers, subordinate
to the USSR Council of Ministers. Its membership includes the
highest government officials, who supervise under Party leader-
ship virtua-ily all aspects of economic, social, and cultural life
of the republic. The composition of the Republic Council of
Ministers is given in Figure II. Union-republic ministries in
Moskva, with responsibility for over-all economic planning,
supervise the respective subordinate ministries in the republic
in respect to the conduct of agriculture, cultural affairs, higher
education, public health programs, trade, and finance.
FIGURE II
?
COMPOSITION OF LATVIYSKAYA SSR COUNCIL
OF MINISTERS: 1956, 1957
As of January 1, 1956 Effective July 1, 1957
Chairman Chairman
First Deputy Chairmen First Deputy Chairmen
Deputy Chairmen Deputy Chairmen
Chairmen of the_ - Chairmen of the
a). Committee of State a). Committee of State
Security Security
22
S E C R E T
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S E C R E T
COMPOSITION OF LATVIYSKAYA SSR COUNCIL
OF MINISTERS: 1956, 1957
(Continued)
? b). State Committee for Con- b). Scientific-Technical Com-
struction-and Architec- mittee
tural Affairs
c). State Planning Commission c). State Planning Commission
Union-Republic Ministers of
Union-Republic Ministers of
Agriculture
^M_
Agriculture
Automotive Transport and
Highways
Building Materials Industry
Communications
Communicational/
Culture
Culture
Defense
Defense!/
Finance
Finance
Fishing Industry
Food Products Industry
Foreign Affairs
Foreign Affairsl/
Internal Affairs (MVD)
Internal Affairs (MVD)1/
Justice
Light Industry
Meat and Dairy Products
Industry
Paper and Wood-Processing
Industry
Public Health
Public Health
State Control
State Control
State Farms
Textile Industry
limber Industry
rade
Urban and Rural Construction
Republic Ministers of Republic. Ministers of
Education
Local and Fuel Industry
Municipal Economy
Social Security
Education
Automotive Transport and Highways
Communal and Local Economy
Social Security
Lumber Economy and Lumber Industry
Construction
Justice
-1/-.These ministries are o token organizations charged with
some administrative and support functions.
2/ In December 1957, the All-Union Ministry of State Control
was abolished and a Committee of State Control formed,and attached
to the USSR Council of Ministers.
?
23
S E C R E T
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?
?
In the recent national reorganization of industry and
construction, Zatv'iyskaya SSR was established as -;0 '"1 July 1957,
as one of the new economic regions bf'the USSR. Tie Latviyekaya
SSR National Council of the Economy ('Sovnarkhoz), subordinated to
the'Republic 'Council of Ministers, was set up to take over for the
republic most of the administrative and planningrAaictions formerly
retained at the central government:level by those All-Union indus-
trial ministries wffich were abolished within the past year. Thus,
the authority and respons'iliility of the republic government organs
in'respect to coritro1. over the republic economy have vastly
increased.' The Council of Ministers, through the Economic Council
and'the'local Executive Committees, now directly controls the bulk
of industrial production and virtually all capital construction
(excluding construction of rail and port facilities) in the
republic. -Republic ministries are charged with the administra-
tion of justice and 'of soc.al welfare programs. Responsibility
for sooiali:st'lega'!ity is entrusted to the Procurator (attorney
general) of the republic, who is appointed by and is responeib1.e
to the USSR Procurator General.. Primary responsibility for pro-
viding the population with food,'housing, local transport, gen-
eral education facilities, and municipal services lies with the
Council of Ministers, working through the local Executive Com-
mittees.
The Latvian Supreme Soviet, to which the Council of
Ministers is"theoretically subordinate, is the organ which gives
"legal sanction to -the Party-inspired plans and directives and
provides a facade'-for so-called Soviet democracy. Its functions
include mobilizing the population in support of state, military,
and industrial projects and disseminating political propaganda.
24
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SECRET
The Council of Ministers and Supreme Soviet work through
the subordinate Executive Committees of the rural rayons, the
? cities of republic subordination and the towns, which carry out at
the local level the decrees, resolutions, and legislation of the
higher Party and government organs.
The Chairmen of the Republic Council of Ministers and
of the local Executive Committees are charged with coordinating the
activities of lower agencies in respect to passive antiair defense.
The new organization of industry and construction, as
it became effective 1 July 1957, is shown in Figure III.
The chairman of the Latvian Economic Council is deputy
chairman of the Republic Council of Ministers, while the-deputy
chairmen and members can, at the recommendation of the Chairman of
the Council of Ministers, be named ministers of the Latvian govern-
ment.
-The regional Economic Councilts chairman enjoys the
rights of a former All-Union minister, while the 4 vice-chairmen
have the powers which formerly devolved on the heads of the Chief
Directorates of the All-Union ministries. The council can issue
orders and resolutions in execution, and in pursuance, of USSR and
Latvian-laws. Decisions of the Latvian Regional Economic Council
can-be nullified by either the Latvian or the USSR Council of
Ministers.
Industrial enterprises-in the republic total about 900.
Subordinate to the Latvian Economic Council are 420 of the approx-
imately 613 enterprises of the former union-republic and All-Union
ministries, which produce about 80 per cent of Latvia's gross
industrial-product. The remaining enterprises of local-industry
and former union-republic ministries are under the jurisdiction of
25
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0
FIGURE III
ORGANIZATION OF INDUSTRY AND CONSTRUCTION: 1957
N
U
State Planning
Commission
Goa lan
9_Functional
mDe artments:
unspecified
SSR`Council
Jof Ministers
-epubli:c Courici~
of Ministers
Large-Scale Industry
Council of National
cono Sovnarkhoz
sacs Wirectorates:
Electro-Tachnical and Machine Building
Fuels and Power
Building Materials Industry
Paper and Wood-Processing Industry
Light Industry
Fish Industry
Food Products Industry
Meat and Dairy Products Industry
hemical And Silicate Industry
Material Technical Supply
Combines and Trusts, Respective
Individual Enterprises
Scientific Technica
Committee
Local Industry
republic Ministry of
ommunal and Local
Economy
ity or
ayon
scutive
ommittee
artment of focal Econo
Individual Eater rise
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the departments of city and rayon executive committees. These enter-
- prises produce about 20 per cent of the republic's gross industrial
product.
The enterprises of the Council employ 132,000 of the
estimated '206;000 'industrial workers and employees in the republic,
or about 614 per cent.- The enterprises -of the Council produce 9.5
-tifllion rubles worth of goods, or"1.2 per cent of the USSR total.
Information is not available as'to which of the 83 enterprises
previously subordinate to 26 All-Union ministries are under the
-Regional Council. Some of the enterprises of the All-Union ministries
which have'been preserved or given the status of All-Union Committees
'(Avia~ion'Industry, Defense Industry, Radio-Technical Industry,
Ship-Buz-'Iding'"Industry, Chemical Industry, Electric Power Stations,
etc.') are-'transferred to the subordination of the Latvian Economic
Council according '"to a list confirmed by" the -USSR Council of Minis-
ters. In some cases, the remaining"AI1 Union ministries transfer
operational control over their enterprises in Latvia. "However, the
ministries 'can still-bring influence to bear on these enterprises,
for they have'been charged with the planning and coordinating func-
tions relinquished by USSR Gosplan under the reorganization.
'Under the industrial reorganization, the industrial and
construction departments of the City and Rayon Executive Committees
have acquired greater authority and responsibility in the direction
of local industry. The departments plan and direct operations of
supply and distribution for industry within their jurisdiction,
with some coordination and supervision by the Republic Ministry of
Communal and Local Economy.
The State Planning Commission is concerned with long-
range and over-all planning for the total economy. A Scientific-
Technical Committee under the Council. of. Ministers has been set up.
27
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S E C R E T
Its functions embrace the study and dissemination of information
on the achievements of domestic and foreign science and tech-
nology with respect to their potential application in-the repub-
lic economy.
Two organizations in the republic will be primarily
concerned with material-technical supply: the Economic Council's
Branch Directorate of Material-Technical Supply will deal with
problems of supply and distribution for enterprises of the Coun-
cil, while'the Republic Trust of Material-Technical Supply will
concern itself with supply and distribution for local industry,
communal construction in cities and rayons, and other branches of
industry not subordinate to the Economic Council. Coordination
'between 'the'^2 bodies is probably realized by the Latvian Gosplan.
The reorganization of industry and construction was
preceded and accompanied by grants of responsibility in the non-
industrial sphere of administration in Latvia as in the other
union-republics.
"The"Chairman of the Latviyskaya SSR Supreme Court now
becomes a member of-the"USSR Supreme Court.-'The republic govern-
ment has-been granted more leeway in 'the -allocation of budget
'funds. "The 'Latviyskaya SSR -has also been granted the right to
establish its own lower territorial-administrative units without
'the necessity of obtairiing USSR approval. --This authority' also
entails the'right'to establish its own court system according to
the republic territorial units.
The Ministry of Justice at the USSR level, which'pre-
viously was- charged with 'the tasks of 'training qualified judicial
? personnel, creating"-the material conditions-for the,proper func-
tioning of the judicial organs, and preparing elections for the
28
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'S E-C 'R E T
Peop'le' s Courts, has been" abolished. In Latvia, the Ministry of
Justice'Is now'a 'republic ministry, -which,probably-has assumed the
? functions in 'the republic previously devolving on 'the--USSR 'Ministry
i
of Justice. Moreover, in February 1957, the USSR Supreme Soviet
enacted a law whereby the republics were given the power to formu-
late 'their own" laws on the judicial system and' judicial procedure
and also to adopt civil and criminal codes. However,' the- -law
adopted by'-the USSR Supreme Soviet leaves within the competence of
the USSR-the establishment of the "fundamental principles of legis-la-
-tion on the judicial system and judicial procedure aid the funda-
mental principles of civil and criminal legislation.
The'union-republic Ministries of Agriculture and State
Farms were merged into"-theMinistry of Agriculture, while a Direp-
"torate of 'Grain-Products -has probably been set 'up under the Council
of Ministers to assume the functions of the abolished USSR Ministry
of Agricultural Procurement.
The union-republic Ministry of Urban and Rural Construc-
tion, including its designing institutes, was reorganized into a
republic Ministry of Construction. The new ministry also assumed
control over the organizations of the abolished State Committee on
Affairs of Construction and Architecture, formerly attached to the
Republic Council of Ministers.
The general trend in administration is toward increased
responsibility of the republic government organs in both economic
and noneconomic spheres. However, while'the area of independent
action is expanding in some directions, there is,little evidence
of real concessions in'political and legal affairs. For example,
the Party continues to operate on the basis of "democratic cen-
tralism," with emphasis on centralism, and to maintain its monopoly
29
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S E C R E T '
of power. The Latvian Procurator (state attorney) is appointed by,
and is responsible to, the USSR Procurator General (Attorney Gen-
eral). Moreover, while the Latvian Procurator appoints the procu-
rators of the rayons and cities in the republic, the approval of the
USSR Procurator must be obtained. And, as long as the USSR central
government retains the power to amend or change the USSR Constitu-
tion, which is binding on all the constituent union republics, it
appears highly unlikely that any true federalism will develop.
The USSR, despite the present trends in administration, remains a
highly centralized-unitary-state, and the role of Latvia and the
other union republics will continue to be determined by and from
Moskva.
II. Population, Labor Force, and Ethnic Composition
TABLE VI
SUMMARY OF DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS:
LATVIYSKAYA SSR, 1958
Total population ....... ......0..................2,O1t0,OOO
Population density
(persons per square mile) ..................... 80.5
Urban population ...... ................. ....... ..1,080,000
Urban proportion of total population............ 53%
Labor force ......... ............................1,255,000
Proportion of population in labor force......... 62%
Population in working ages (16-59 years)........ 13425,000
Females per 100 males in working ages........... 122
Military personnel ........................,...... 150,000
Forced laborers ................................. 30,000`
Proportion of Latvians in total population...... 63%
Proportion of Russians in total population...... 3)%
A., General
Up to World War I, the peoples who occupied the area of
present-day Latvia had undergone centuries of domination and
30
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S E C R E T
exploitation by the larger nations surrounding them. Dating from
the~L~th century.,-the native inhabitants were kept in a state of
virtual serfdom under the successive rule of German Knights and
`landowners (the "Baltic Barons"), Swedish sovereigns, Polish land-
owners, or Tsarist Russian administrators. Granted independence
through Allied intercession after World War-I, Latvia enjoyed from
"1920-19liD a period of independence in which the little country made
considerable progress in establishing itself as a nation along com-
paratively democratic lines with a Western orientation. The popu-
lation was relatively homogeneous: with native Latvians comprising
about 75 per cent of the total toward the end of this period.
Cataclysmic events of the past 17 years in Latviyskaya
SSR have effected profound changes in the internal composition of
the country's population. In Latvia, as in the other Baltic
Republics, war losses such as were suffered by many countries in
Europe were only one aspect of a population decrement experienced
among groups which-had-been resident in the republic prior to
1939? A series of forcible occupations by alien conquerors,
accompanied by evacuations,'deportations, and executions, occa-
sioned further reductions among the original population base.
During 'the early war years between -1939 and 19141, virtu-
ally a_ll 'Baltic ? Germans in Latvia, comprising over 3 per cent of
the population, were repatriated to Germany-by Soviet-German agree-
ment: - der`the `f`I.rst Soviet occupation; frosa '19110=191 , many
Latvians were deported'"to the USSR, 'while others-fled to the Welt.
'Wheri~the 'Germans 'forced out the Soviets in 1941, maintaining con-
trol until 1944, the Jews, comprising about 14.8 per cent of the
population, were subjected to wholesale extermination. Some
Latvians accepted voluntarily assignment to work camps in Germany,
31
S E C R E T
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S E C R E T
while others were deported for this purpose. Still others fled to
the Soviet-Union to escape German oppression or to avoid mobiliza-
tion into-the German Army. An analogous flight took place in the
opposite direction when many Latvians accompanied the German Army
an3 civilians in their retreat before the Russian troops in 1944.
In the immediate postwar years, following reoccupation by the
Soviets, large-scale deportation of dissident elements to remote
regions of'the ZTSSR further reduced the indigenous Latvian popula-
tion, particularly those resisting collectivization. The subsequent
in-migration of population groups in large numbers from the Soviet
"Union proper - chiefly Russians, including Soviet administrators,
technical advisers, technicians, and military - have more than
compensated for the decrease occasioned by war losses, wartime and
postwar"Birth deficit, and deportations which affected the original
population base. Participating in this in-migration were unknown
but probably significant numbers of ethnic Latvians who had been
-'long-time residents of Russia. They comprised those who had
migrated across the borders eastward during earlier times of Rus-
sian domination under the Tsars - or, in some cases, their descend-
ants - and who had been assimilated into the Russian and Soviet
culture. Many of these returnees reportedly could not even speak
'Latvian, or spoke it poorly, but they bore ethnic Latvian names.
Statistical comparisons between the total numbers and the
over-all age-sex structure of the prewar and present inhabitants do
not reflect the sharply altered character of the population. In
total numbers the population has experienced a modest increase of
'2.3 per cent, and the proportional-'relationships between major age
? groups has remained relatively constant. Prior to World War II,
when Russians represented less than 11 per cent of the population,
32
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S E C R E T
0
the rate of natural increase in -the rei ii is was 'low - 3.4 per 1000
popaation tI937-1939), compared td -13.4 per 1000 population in the
-USSR (1940). This low rate was one manifestation of the country's
closer resemblance to Scandinavia and Estonia rather than to East
Europe or the Soviet Union. If the prevailing death rate and the
low birth rate had continued, Latvia might have been faced with
'the possibility of a-decline in population. Thus, intervening
political and economic developments may have forestalled, at least
'temporarily, a population decline through excess of deaths over
births.
Latviyskaya SSR
(1955)
USSR
1956
Birth rate (per 1000)
16.3
25.0
Death rate (per 1000)
10.5
7
5
Rate of natural increase
5.8
.
17.5
(per 1000)
?
As indicated, both the birth rate and the rate of natural
increase in Latviyskaya SSR are low compared with the USSR aver-
ages. The seemingly high death rate in the republic is mislead-
ing, for it reflects chiefly the very high percentage of the popu-
lation (14.8 per cent) over 60 years of age.
A major feature of postwar development has been the marked
shift from a predominantly rural to a more balanced economy through
rapid urbanization induced by pressures to greater industrializa-
tion and flight from oppressive conditions of collectivization.
Prior to World War I, about 65 per cent of the population lived in
rural areas. Now slightly more than half (52.9 per cent) are urban
dwellers. The rural-urban ratio of-the labor force has changed in
approximately the same proportions.
In spite of the relative constancy in the proportional-
distribution of major age groupings, a significant rise in the
33
S E C R E T
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predominance of women over men - alreatr manifest prior to the
war - has occurred in the prime working ages (15-69 years). The
exclusion of the Russian military from this age group, as well as
the male majority among Russian in-migrants, indicates a really
serious shortage of Latvian males.
B. Urban-Rural Distribution
TABLE VII
N OF POPULATIONS
URBAN-RURAL DISTRIBUTION BTI8
19391/
Per Cent
Population of T ~l
Urban 728,000 36.5
Rural 1,266,000 63.5
Total l,991.,000 100.0
195/
Population
Per Cent
of Total
Urban
1,080,000
52.9
Rural
960,000
47.1
Total
2,040,000
100.0
Per Cent Increase
or Decrease
1939-1958
Urban
48.4
Rural
-24.2
Total
2.3
Projecte,c .+from 1935 Latvia"
Census.
21 Estimated.
The increase of 48.4 per cent in the urban population
between 1939'and 1958 was concurrent with a decrease of 24.2 per
cent in the rural population. About 78 per cent of the total
34
S E C R E T
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urban population is concentrated in the 6 cities of republic sub-
ordination -`Riga, Liyepaya, Daugavpils, Yelgava, Ventspils, and
_Rezekne - while the remainder is distributed among towns and urban
settlements of 10,000 or less. Riga alone, the adninistrative,
industrial, and cultural center of the republic, absorbed 58.5 per
cent of the total urban increase since 1939, presently accounting
Tor'-29 per cent of the total republic population and 55 per cent of
the"total urban population. The city of Liyepaya, second largest
city in Latvia, important port, and only steel-milling center of
the Baltic region, has undergone an even larger proportional
increase than Riga (see Table VIII).
TABLE VIII
URBAN AREA POPULATION RANGES:
1939, 1958
Cities of
1939
1958
Per Cent Increase
'or Decrease, 1939-1958
Over 7:00,000
-
386,000
695,000
80.1
50 ioo,ooo
-
,
61;000
62,000
1.7
20=
50,;DoO
82,000
'88,000
7.3
10-20,000
32,000
10,000
-68.8
Less than"IO 000
167,000
'225,000
334.7
Total "
728,000
"1,080,000 '
148.4
Riga
386,000
592,000
53.1
Liyepaya
61,000
103,000
68.9
The average population density of the rural rayons is 37.9
persons per square mile (see Table IX, refer to Map III). The
greatest concentration of population in rural areas is found in the
eastern and particularly southeastern flax-growing rayons. The
most densely populated rayons are Rezeknensk3y, Preylskiy,
Daugavpilskiy, Karsavskiy, Vilyanskiy, Dagdskiy, and Kraslavskiy,
35
S E C R E T
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S E C R E T
?
H
H b o
o to
En 81
N ti
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0
Q rI a`
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0
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r P; a H
q
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W H- cg c - u-N'0 ~H%D E4 U- N
U-N M ri MN ~7 MW IA IND ~t r0UI%Hmm-tC %.O
rnrna' o a' o 0% a'a' a%0 m 0 a%rnrna'a'
HH r-I H H H r~ H H N Na'N H H H H H NH N
Hr?'??H~HHH OCVC H ?' CO HC ?~
N C1t M H N u1 -tH Cpl H H u1HMC~
rah s >b b. D% Ira
,~-I1, N b
? +~ .54 QD o bs.51 +~ q .SI ?rC ? 4?O.Sf :0 b ? '/a
0. N ;I
36
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S E C R E T
~~C~pp2 m N ~N 41\ m cal m M\0 (\2 cat -t N'D CV (\t'~up1 u1 CV 0 -t a% C\
(V H O )t
r-?1
d 0co.tNNtoH\D\0 (\2Nc^NrnrHC' r( u\mm0'
C4 \0 (l I'?7~?~tM%C\44CCrr1CC %D ?N W~R* to mNCIgCm
0
HH~~q HCCHHHH HCC
c'1 a' N (n u,'.O C\l * C'~ to cat cal r~- N N cat c\ H u1 to O'
~000000$ 0000. 0?0 000000000 000
?t M
UI\ C" 1 1 ('1 M m ?~~ UCn ~D cal \O 7 U'\ .t V.t ?t ~l1 u\
?r~?1
O Ta
?r1 b ?rr11 t*s bs ?rbI ?~ .sd bs
?r ?r4 ,Si bs ?r+ ~. I b, ?+-i .s4 .s4 bs q bs bs ?rl b, bs
+~ a t ad ' q ?ri .Sd . 4 ?ri bs bs .~4 Ds q q v t ~, +1 rl ,.5r~~ .~d ?-l.?r+
A q r-1 1S4 Ra ..rr{{ a ,SQ ?rl bs ri q o .e-~ q p 13 ^
a a
f?i rl q ?z~ .5q bsq.54 p ~'? q b O q
IQ / H 46 i9, ?r g q a O q q JI 42
t a4 A ri O ?54 me,
-H I q, rd O N 0 .~ O q d bs bs ?1
U b,rd?A.r4 rl A A
37
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S E C R E T
'I
t- - 'tnl cN C:) %0 M
-t tnOto ''O Oto
t04 0 014 m UN r-,00 r- -t
Q
ri L~t!y MM 0`to4 IO4 R,
a
na~a
i
-4a' q~o
.~D+ ~ ?~I w p b~ ~ a bs r
~
.
PAd?I~IN
38
S E C R E T
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S E C R E T
all with more than 60 persons per square mile. The least populated
rayons are Ventsbilsskiy and Alsungskiy in the W, with less than"l5
persons per square mile. Other low density rayons are scattered
throughout the remaining areas of the repup1ic, generally in
regions of livestock-raising, grain or potato-growing, or'-fishing.
C. Age-Sex Structure
Since the-Latvian census '1n-1935, little significant
change has occurred in-the age-sex structure from the standpoint of
total population, i5 t'h only a--slight increase in-the proportion of
females to males. In the total population there are 119 females to
every '100 males, compared with the 'USSR average 6-f-113-females to
every 100 males (1958).
_TF
TABLE X
ESTIMATED AGE-SEX DISTRIBUTION: __1958
Po ulation (in Thousands)
-
Per Cent
Age Group
Male
Female-...
Total
' of 'Total
0-15
249
244
4' 3
24.2.
16-59
561
684
1245
61.o
60 plus
-182
302
14.8
Total
93Q1_/
1110/
2040
100.0
1 Males: 4~,...6..:per cent of total.
Females: 54.4 per cent of total.
40
The prime working ages-(1=59 years)-comprise-61 per cent
of-the total population, approximately 'the prewar percentage.
-'However, within "this category there are-"122 females to every .100
males in comparison with the prewar ratio"-6`f 1171100,' The pre-
"dominance 6f- females' "reflects the 'los'ses of war and deportations,
which chiefly affected males of this age class. Considering that
39
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the large military contingent T150,000) is almost exclusively non-
Latvian and that the majority of Soviet civilian in-migrants are
? males, -the disproportioft-between Latvian males and Latvian females
is much more striking. Excluding only the"Russian military from
the " 1:5=59 male age group, 'the ratio 'of females to males is 166:100.
The proportion'of-the'O=15 age group has remained rela-
tively stable since `1:939, in spite of the wartime and postwar birth
deficit among'-the native population "w"hich reflect the phenomena of
male war losses and families broken through deportations. Factors
balancing this 'deficit include a substantial -"decrease in postwar
infant mort"aZity-"through improved health "methods and facilities
and the relatively larger numbers of children among in-migrant
families from other areas of-"the"USSR. Proportionally and
numerically the segment of the population over 60 years of age
has registered a"slight increase, but the deficit of males is
even greater than prewar.
D. Labor Force
-Approximately:-54.2 per cent of'the -total republic popu-
lation is represented**iri'the civilia flaboz force. The inclusion
of the military brings the proportion in" the total. 'Tabor force to
VZ51:~ per cent. The distribution of the total labor force (see
-Table "X1) is fairly equal between urban and rural areas, with a
slight-bias "in-favor of the urban -labor force -MO-8 per cent of
the total). This near-balance reveals a marked shift from the
prewar situation when 70 per cent of the labor force was rural.
The proportion of agricultural workers in the total labor force
has-dropped from 67.2 per cent in_1939 to 113.7 per cent in 1958,
decreasing in total numbers by 31.6 per cent. The proportion of
workers engaged specifically in industry has risen from 11.6 per
too
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TABLE XI
ESTIMATED DISTRIBUTION OF LABOR FORCE: 1958
Total Labor Force
Urban Labor Force
Rural Labor Force
Nur'ber
Number
Number
Cateuorv
Thousands) Per Cent
(in Thousands)
Per Cent
(in Thou
ands)
Per Cent
M
Agriculture
548 43.7
5
0.8
543
89.7
(State Farms and Mrs)
(61) (4.9)
(Collective Farms)
(482) (38.4)
Workers and Employees:
Nonagricultural
503 40.1
-
478
73.5
25
4.1
(Industry)
(206)
(16.4)
v,
t4
0
Military
150 11.9
135
20.8
15
2.5
0
W
,Forced Labor
30 2.4
15
2.3
15
2.5.
H
H
Producers' Cooperatives
24 199
2.6
1.2
Total
1255-' 100.0
650w
100.0
605
100.0
,1 A 1957 Soviet source states that Latvia has more than 180,000 industrial workers, a figure which
probably excludes employees.
Y/ The labor force is 61.5 per cent of the total population.
3f The urban labor force is 51.8 per cent of total labor force.
The rural' labor force is 48.2 per cent of total labor force.
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S E C R E T
cent in 1939 to 18.6 per cent of the present civilian labor force,
with a numerical increase of 18.0 per cent. The number of workers
? engaged in the metalworking industry of Latvia comprises 26 per
cent of all industrial workers. More than 8000 persons work in
the republic's 8 textile enterprises. The greatest proportional
increase among the-labor force categories has probably occurred
among workers in'tasks associated with urbanization and indus-
trialization, such as administration, transportation, trade, and
?
Of "the' 1939 'labor force, -47:5 per cent were women. The
present"larger ratio of women to men in the prime working ages,
coupled with Soviet pressures for their active participation,
suggest the possibility that women may currently comprise about
half 'the total labor force. The proportion is undoubtedly even
higher among the agricultural workers, since in rural areas
there are-183-females to every 100 males. Women comprise approx-
imately'-76 per cent of all workers in the textile and light indus-
tries of the republic and approximately 80 per cent of the
teachers. Most of the workers in the fish-canning enterprises
along the coast are women.
E. Military and Forced Labor
~TPie`bulk of the estimatfed 150,000' military are con-
centrated in the 3 urban port areas and naval bases - Riga,
-Liyepaya, grid Ventspils (refer to Map V). That portion of the
military considered to be?nonurban includes primarily Air Force
personnel stationed at airfields immediately outside urban areas
or in other rural zones.
The estimai;ed'"30 ,O00 forced laborers, equally distrib-
utedTbetween the urban and rural labor force, are chiefly engaged
42
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S E C R E T
in construction (including road construction), in peat extraction,
in lumbering, and probably in-seasonal farm labor. The forced
labor contingent probably includes few Latvian political prisoners.,
since they were deported for the most part to distant areas of the
USSR, but instead Soviet deportees from other regions and Latvians
convicted of nonpolitical crimes and serving relatively short-term
sentences.
F. Ethnic Composition
Most far-reaching effects of the chaotic post-1939 events
in Latvia are revealed in the redistribution of ethnic groups in the
republic (see Table XII).
ETHNIC COMPOSITION: 1935, 1958
(in Thousands)
'Ethnic Group
Per Cent
of 'Total
2
T99 -i
Per Cent
of Totals
Per Cent Increase
or Decrease
1935-1958
Latvian
R
i
n
'11473
75.5
1290
63.2
-12
14
uss
a
O
206
10.6
695
34.1
.
237
1
ther
Iric7.
271
13.9
55
2.7
.
-79.7
Jews
93
4.8
Germans
62
'3.2
Poles
49
2.5
Lithuanians
23
1.2
Estonians
7
0.14
Other
"37
1.9
Total
1950
100.0
2040
100.0
4.6
Latvian Census.
Estimated.
The period, since 1935 has seen. a -mo
re than 3-fold increase
in 'the number of ethnic-Russians in residence in the country and a
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corresponding combined loss of 'about ?23 per cent among the native
Latvians aria other nationalities. The postwar proportion of
-Russians among the population (31i.1 per cent) reflects the extent
of in-migration in the wake of Soviet occupation and in the process
of Russlfication of the country. The decrease of 12.4 per cent
among ethnic Latvians in the republic does not reflect total losses
experienced by the prewar group, since the Russianized Latvian
returnees are presently included in this category.
Latvians irihabit,all areas of the republic, while Russians
are eoncepirated in the major cities, particularly Riga, Liyepayay
and Ventspils with their substantial military forces and important
industries. The population of Liyepaya has been reported as pre-
dominantly Russian. Among the "other" population groups, Belo-
russians are to be found in the eastern agricultural sections of
the republic.
G. Prospects
Continued moderate population increases in Latviyskaya
SSR seem generally indicated for the future. Medical advances
achieved during the war are contributing to a decreasing death
rate. In the postwar period, infant mortality has been radically
reduced, a factor which would help to compensate for any continua-
tion of the prewar low birth rate among Latvians. The comparatively
higher number of children among in-migrant families - in spite of
the fact that those coming into the Baltic area have tended'to have
fewer children'than average for their places of origin - would also
point to population increases. At this stage, it is too early to
determine whether or not the recent decentralization of adminis-
trative and industrial controls. will result in any tapering-off of
future inaigration or reduction of in-migrants already in residence.
s,=
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S E C R E T
Further in-migration of Soviet peoples, and even an
extension of the tendency of in-migrant families to produce more
children, would narrow the margin between Russians and Latvians
among the population. Also pertinent in this respect, given the
shortage of Latvian men, is the extent of intermarriage between
Soviet male in-migrants and Latvian women, at present reported to
be an infrequent phenomenon. Whether assimilation through such
mixed unions would be ethnically, more Russian or Latvian-oriented
could not be definitively forecast. However, the dominant posi-
tion of the male marriage partner in the Slavic and European cul-
ture would suggest a strengthening of the Russian element to the
disadvantage of the Latvian.
Excluding the possibility of a widespread revolt or a
return to oppressive Stalinist policies, deportations should play
no significant role in future population trends. No large-scale
removals have occurred since 1951. On the contrary, since the
1953 amnesty, .Ambers of the original deportees have been
returned to Latvia from the distant labor camps. Reportedly,
some pressure and possibly coercion is brought to bear on
unemployed persons, Komsomol members, and malcontents, such as
students and intellectuals involved in protests over the Polish
and Hungarian uprisings, to depart for the virgin land regions.
No information thus far available indicates any significant popu-
III. Psychological and Sociological Factors
A. Political and Social Tensions
0
The Latvians,,. along with their Estonian and Lithuanian
neighbors, have at least as much cause to resent the Soviet regime
as any other nationality group in the USSR. After a century of
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harsh domination by Tsarist Russia prior to World War I, the little
country successfully proved itself between 1920 and 19110 as an
? independent nation with a Western-oriented economy and culture.
Virtually all its achievements during this period were wiped out
by the forced annexation by the Soviet Union in 1940, occupation
by Germany from l941 to 191k, and immediate reoccupation by the
USSR. The hitherto thriving agrarian economy was wrecked,. and the
rapid industrialization pressed by the Soviets was directed chiefly
toward benefiting the Soviet Union.
The alien rule was ruthlessly enforced by strict security,
measures, implemented by nonnative military and police. Administra-
tive and economic reforms carried out by Russian and Russianized
Latvians imported for this purpose deprived the native population
of any control over their own government or economy. Mass deporta-
tions were carried out by the Soviets on 3 separate occasions - in
1941 during the first Soviet occupation, in 1945/1946 at the end
of the war upon reoccupation, and again during 1949 at the height
of the collectivization. Tens of thousands from among the "dan-
gerous elements" were thus removed from action, including the
major political figures and intellectuals, former prisoners of
war and returned evacuees who had been directly exposed to Western
influences, and the farmers (particularly the wealthy kulaks) who
most actively resisted collectivization.
The living standards of the Latvian people during the
period of Sovietization have been well below the prewar level and
continue so, in spite of some gains and token concessions in
recent years. Food, and particularly meat, is frequently unavail-
able at state stores and must be purchased at higher prices in
?
collective farm markets, if available even there. Shortages exist
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everywhere in products of light industry and articles of mass con-
sumption. Black market activity is said to be carried on at all
? levels - frequently with tacit agreement between management and
workers. Inequitable income levels between highly paid government.,
professional, and technical personnel, including a high proportion
of Russians, and the rank-and-file workers and collective farmers
are aggravated by the greater accessibility of foods and consumers'
goods to those who are better able to pay and for whom-specially-
stocked stores are provided.
In spite of-the unfavorable comparison between the
present and prewar situation with respect to food and consumers'
goods, living standards in Latvia, as reflected in retail trade
expenditures, rank high among-other areas-of the USSR. In Riga
particularly per capita expenditures for food and nonfood items
combined are second only to Moskva, are more than 2 and one-half
times the national average, and substantially exceed the USSR
urban average. For the Soviet in-migrants from other areas of
the: USSR, living standards are for the most part higher than
those they have previously experienced.
The disparity between prewar and postwar living condi-
tionp is greatest among the rural agricultural workers, who were
the fiost favored under the agrarian economy of the period of
independence. While wage levels in general are low in relation
to pirices, the collective farm workers are especially poorly paid.
Because many commodities are not available in rural stores, the
farmer must frequently go to the city to supply his needs, even
sometInes to secure agricultural products. Since part of his
? already low pay is in produce, he cannot compete monetarily with
his urban counterpart. The rural labor force is'comprised mainly
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S E C'R 'E T
of women, old men, and adolescents. The young men have avoided
farm labor "through mobilization and the opportunity to pick their
first jobs upon leaving the armed services. Many farm youths are
conscripted to labor reserve schools and do not return to the
collectives.--It is claimed that much of the seasonal road con-
struction and lumbering activities must be performed by the col-
lective farm labor force.
Housing is a major problem in Latvia, as'elsewhere in the
Soviet Union. Urban housing is in very short supply, with families
of 3 and 4 frequently crowded into one room. The shortage has
been brought about by the rapid postwar urbanization, with its
large number of in-migrants to the cities, and by the failure of
new construction to keep pace with increased housing requirements.
Inadequate maintenance and repair contribute to the poor condition
of existing dwellings. In rural areas, which have experienced a
population decrease, living space is probably somewhat more ade-
quate, although again poor maintenance and repair results in
deterioration of the prewar structures. Little progress has been
made toward establishing the collective farm villages envisioned
by the Soviets, and the farmers continue to live for the most part
in the old individual khutors (farmsteads). In many cases the
problem thus exists of long distances required for travel to and
from the collective farm. The slowness with which the building of
the villages proceeds is due in part to the difficulties and
expense of construction and possibly to some extent to inertia or
.41
passive resistance on the part of the peasants. Any adverse
reaction on the part of the population to the general housing
deficiencies is probably aggravated by the Soviet pract3,/ce of
providing preferential housing to high-ranking officials and
professional people.
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Working conditions for the bulk of the labor force appear
?
0
to be something less than ideal, even according to official sources.
Violations of work laws are frequent targets of criticism in the
Soviet Latvian press; people are fired without reason; pre- and
post-holiday leave granted by law is withheld; overtime work is
not justly compensated, with particular reference to store clerks
and restaurant personnel; under-age youths are allowed to work;
and many enterprises are without adequate safety measures. The
press also deplores the continual and substantial loss of man-
hours through a variety of causes. Loafing on the job is a major
complaint, the peat industry rating a specific mention. But
culpability is even more frequently created to the high rate of
labor turnover resulting for the most part from a lack of ade-
quate housing or the absence of normal production conditions,
such as nondelivery of required materials or the breakdown of
machinery. Illustrative, though not typical, of some of these
difficulties is an extremely exceptional incident which occurred
in the spring of 1955. A strike was called by the workers of
Riga Electrotechnical Plant, VEF (Target 0153-0200), producing
communications, electronic, and measuring equipment. A shortage
of raw materials had left the workers unemployed for a time.
The management offered them half pay for the period of idleness,
but they demanded full wages. When materials became available.,
the workers refused to return. The officials finally acceded to
their demands, and paid in full. The fact that a strike did
occur - when in theory and generally in practice strikes are not
allowed and would be met by force - may indicate some strength
and a will to cohesive action on the part of the workers. The
capitulation of management, on the other hand, could point either
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to weakness in the face of losses in a critical industry or to a
desire to conciliate the workers and lessen their dissatisfac-
tions. However, since this is an isolated case, generalizations
can really not be based upon it.
In the sphere of religion, early Roman Catholicism had
been supplanted by Lutheranism during the 16th century under
German Protestant influences of the Hanseatic period. Prior to
the first Soviet occupation, approximately 70 per cent of the
Latvian population belonged to the Evangelical Lutheran Church.
Approximately 25 per cent of the population maintained adherence
to the Roman Catholic Church, and a few other denominations
flourished under the policy of complete freedom of religion.
The Soviets have conducted in Latvia their customary campaign
to stamp out religion and have at least succeeded in neutraliz-
ing its influence on political affairs. Some reports indicate
that antireligious propaganda has met with some success among
the youth, although complaints do issue from the press on
occasion to the effect that even Komsomol members have been
known to participate in forbidden religious ceremonies. Gener-
ally speaking, aside from the constant atheistic indoctrination
efforts and restrictions on religious publications and training,
the Church is allowed to go its own way, as long as there is no-,;
interference with Soviet programs and policies.
Those who could be anticipated to have considerable
antipathy toward the regime include the individuals and fami-
lies who were most affected by deportations. Their number is
by no means known; yet, it has been said that hardly any family
has not been touched in one way or another, if only by personal
acquaintance with a deportee. Following Stalin's death numbers
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S E C R E T
of citizens who had been deported to labor camps in distant areas
of the USSR have been returned to Latvia. The general amnesty in
1955 released more Latvians by first reducing sentences and then
freeing all who had less than 5 remaining years to serve. Report-
edly, only a few Latvians remained voluntarily to work as freed
men in the areas of their servitude. There is no information as
to the situation experienced by the returnees. It is likely that
they are able to secure jobs, particularly in the areas of farm
labor shortage. It is also probable that they are subjected to
some forms of surveillance, if not some circumscription of move-
ment or of their citizen privileges.
Some nonacceptance of the regime is certainly to be found
among the intellectuals. Following the Poznan riots in Poland in
1955 and the Hungarian Revolution in 1956, students and intellec-
tuals in Riga demonstrated in the streets. Among their demands
was greater freedom of expression and of cultural exchange. These
incidents were firmly quelled and, according to available informa-
tion, without much violence. After the 1955 demonstrations, the
token regiments of Latvians among armed forces personnel sta-
tioned in the republic were dissolved and the members sent to
duty elsewhere in the USSR. Unconfirmed rumor after the Hun-
garian-sympathy "riots" held that there would be conscription
among participating groups for work in the virgin land areas.
The Latvian press frequently carries criticisms of literary works
said to contain "reactionary ideology and remnants of bourgeois
nationalism" and to present life negatively with emphasis on the
shortcomings rather than the achievements.
Active resistance on the part of the population cur-
rently appears to be at a minimum. Partisan activity continued
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for some years after the war until reduced living standards and
stern reprisals against those - particularly the farmers - who
helped the "forest brothers" rendered further aid unfeasible, if
not impossible. Reportedly some partisans are still in hiding
but are of necessity concerned chiefly with survival. Some anti-
Communist literature is said to appear occasionally in the cities.
During the post-Stalin period some easing of policies
and restrictions has occurred. After his death, a reorganization
of the Latvian Communist Party placed more Latvians on the Cen-
tral Committee, which had previously been predominantly Russian.
Russian-Latvians had also been well represented on the Committee
and probably continued to be prominent. Latvians also replaced
Russians among the top ministry personnel. At thai time only the
machine building and agricultural ministries remained under
Russians. The recent reorganization of industry and construction
possibly spells increased opportunity for Latvian advancement
adninistratively, economically, and prestigewise.
Until 1956, it was virtually impossible for workers to
change jobs, except with permission of the employing enterprise,
which recorded the employee's release in the individual workbooks
required for each worker. In April of that year, the workbooks
were abolished, and the workers have since been free to seek
employment of their choice.
In the Stalin era, travel by Latvians out of the repub-
lic was forbidden, except into the USSR proper. Foreigners were
entirely excluded from entry into the country. In 1955 a few
Latvian women who had been married to foreigners were allowed to
leave Latvia. In 1955 and 1956 some crewmen of Swedish merchant
and naval vessels were allowed to enter Riga, providing the first
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postwar eyewitness reports from foreign and "neutral" observers in
Latvia. They stated that no restrictions were placed on their
activities within the city. The most detailed account of their
experiences and observations was obtained from crewmen of Swedish
warships visiting Riga in the fall of 1996. Their impressions are
probably the strongest indictment available of the conditions under
which the Latvians live and are most revelatory of the populationes
reactions to their situation. The general conclusion of the
Swedish sailors was that the people were desperately unhappy over
their spiritual and material deprivations, wished to be free of
Russian domination, and greatly feared the police. The visitors
found drab buildings, drably dressed people, and crowded substand-
ard housing. Drunkenness was widespread among the men, some of
whom claimed that alcoholic beverages, sold around the clock.,
were made easily available as a means of drowning their dissatis-
factions. Wages were very low in relation to prices. The cost
of bread, butter, and milk was 3 or 4 times higher than in Sweden,
and a worker had to pay a monthts wages for a suit of poor
quality and fit. The sailors saw people who had talked with them
being interrogated by the police. Large crowds of tearful Riga
citizens came to the docks to see the Swedes off, reportedly
begging them to tell the free world of their unfortunate circum-
stances. The sailors were shocked to see the rough treatment
accorded these people by Soviet military police, who rounded
them up, pushed them into trucks, and drove them away.
Since August 1957, Riga has once again been declared an
open city with freedom of ingress to all foreigners. Although a
few travelers have reportedly entered the city, information on
? their experiences has not been received.
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0
S E C R E T
It is difficult to assess the degree of antagonism felt
by the Latvians toward the Russians in their homeland and to the
Soviet administration. Given the harsh conditions of the involun-
tary subjection of Latvia to its large neighbor, as well as the
favored administrative and economic position of the Russians, it
is almost certain that Latvians harbor a strong resentment of the
regime and its ethnic representatives. However, the strength of
the Soviet system of controls and the annihilation of virtually
all resistance efforts - actual or potential - of groups or indi
viduals has forced at least outward compliance on the part of the
native population. Continuance of the de-Stalinization policies
of permitting greater intellectual freedom, of placing Latvians in
administrative and economic positions with greater responsibility
and higher status, and of decreasing the role played by threats
and terrorism may well contribute toward a lessening of inter-
ethnic tensions. However, with the Latvian penchant for freedom,
self-government, and self-respect, the future course of the
people and the country, given opportunity for freedom of choice
or action, might well work-to the advantage of the West.
B. Civil Defense
The Latvian Republic falls within the area of the
peripheral radar network of the Soviet Union proper. Riga,
Ventspils, Krustpils, and Liyepaya are areas of Soviet radar
coverage.
The organizational structure of Soviet civil defense
is presumed to be based on the pattern followed during World War
IT. The central body of the system is a staff corps of special-
ized personnel in4n organization called Local Anti-Air Defense
(MPVO). It is administered from Moskva by the USSR Chief
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S E C R E T
Directorate of Local Anti-Air Defense (GUMPVO), under the USSR
Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD). At the USSR level, GUMPVO
supervises civil defense plans and assists the USSR Council of
Ministers in developing civil defense policy. It cooperates
closely with the office of the Anti-Air Defense of the country
(PVO Strany), which coordinates and monitors civil defense
policy and is subordinate to the USSR Ministry of Defense.
The Latviyskaya SSR Directorate of Local Anti-Air
Defense (UMPVO) is dually subordinate to the USSR GUMPVO and to
the Latviyskaya SSR Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD). Under
the Latvian Directorate are its comparable units (MPVO) at the
city and rayon levels. The chairman of a city or rayon Executive
Committee is also the chief of the city or rayon MPVO unit.
MPVO inspectors are assigned to important industrial
plants and transportation installations, presumably including the
more important industrial enterprises of Latvia. These inspec-
tors also play a role in the approval of new construction and in
town planning.
The civil defense responsibilities of a chief of MPVO
and his staff at the city and rayon levels are as follows: for-
mulating plans; training staffs and units; organizing and mobiliz-
ing crews and detachments for local air defense; organizing train-
ing programs for specialized personnel and the general popula-
tion; preparing and coordinating a financial and materials pro-
curement plan; and supervising all these activities through
timely controls. In the event of an air raid, the chief of MPVO
and his staff direct the forces and facilities of the city and
the rayon.in combating the effects of the attack.
In exercising these responsibilities, the city and rayon
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MPVO organizes and controls civil defense aspects of the following
services: 1) fire defense; 2) emergency engineering; 3) medical;
4) sanitary processing of personnel and decontamination of cloth-
ing; 5) decontamination of areas and structures; 6) maintenance of
order and security; 7) warning and communications; 8) shelter and
cover; 9) blackout; 10) veterinary; 11) evacuation; 12) transport;
and others. In noncrisis situations, some of these functions are
within the purview of the MVD, particularly fire defense and
maintenance of order and security. In the event of emergency, the
MPVO probably assumes the major responsibility.
The most prevalent civil defense units are the so-called
"groups of self-defense," composed of men aged 16 to 60 and women
aged 18 to 50. According to current plans, at least one of these
self-defense groups is being set up in every state farm, MTS,
machine-tractor shop, collective farm, apartment dwelling, and
industrial enterprise in the republic. An MPVO staff which
broadcasts on the plant radio has been identified in Riga
Electrotechnical Plant, VEF (Target 0153-0200), which employs
over 3000. It is also reported that the plant facilities for
broadcasting, under the auspices of DOSAAF (the Latviyskaya SSR
Society for Cooperation with the Army, Air Force, and Navy, which
has local civil defense responsibilities), are used to dissemi-
nate information on defense themes to the shops, laboratories,
designing bureaus, dining rooms and clubs - in short, to all
corners of the large enterprise.
The organizational structure of self-defense groups is
as follows: each group is headed by an MPVO chief, who is usually
a leading figure of the enterprise (collective farm chairman,
superintendent of an apartment building, director of a plant).
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S E C R E T
The self-defense group is divided into 7 teams, each headed by a
commander. The teams are respectively responsible for preserva-
tion of order and supervision; antifire defense; antichemical
defense; emergency aid; medical aid; and shelter facilities 1/
Each team has 2 individuals in reserve. On collective and state
farms chiefly concerned with livestock raising an additional
unit, called a veterinary team, is formed. Each self-defense
group, in addition, has a deputy chief in charge of political
work and individuals in charge of property and communications.
The functions of self-defense groups embody such duties
as obligatory participation in drills, the rendering of aid to
MPVO chiefs, the preservation and maintenance of all property
which self-defense groups consider must be saved from damage by
air attack, and assistance to fire-prevention organs in carrying
out antifire measures in dwellings, industrial enterprises, and
public places, as well as in sown areas and other farming land.
The commanders of teams are trained by workers of PVC
schools, DOSAAF committees, medical personnel, workers of fire
defense (MVD), the militia and specialists. Drills are carried
out, but how extensively is not known; it seems likely that if
they were held on a large or regular scale more would be heard
about them. A system of signals alerting the populace of
impending air attack, the attack, and the all-clear has report-
edly been established, and instructions on"behavior during,
before, and after an air attack-have been released in DOSAAF
publications.
While civil defense plans are extensive and elaborate
Rural areas do not have a shelter team.
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in the Latvian SSR (as well as the USSR as a whole), the degree of
the implementation of plans is unknown. The fact that plans and
organization are extant, however, is illustrative of the thinking
of the Soviet leaders.
DOSAAF, subordinate to the USSR Ministry of Defense., and
the Red Cross Society are also responsible for aspects of local
civil defense training, including measures against nuclear and
bacteriological weapons. DOSAAF is probably the chief agency
charged with the dissemination of civil defense information to the
population at large. Its other civil defense duties include mili-
tary instruction to Soviet women, promotion of appropriate "sports"
activities, such as small-arms marksmanship and military drills for
children and youths.
Administrative coordination of civil defense in the
republic is the responsibility of the Latvian Council of Ministers
and the city and rayon MPVO organizations under the Executive Com-
mittee chairmen. First aid training is conducted by the Red Cross
Society, which also trains emergency medical personnel.
In the event of any mass evacuation, it is probable that
the bulk of population movement would be out of the urban areas
and inland from the vulnerable coastal areas into the rural agri-
cultural zones. Considering escape. patterns of Latvians from
previous invasions and occupations, it could be anticipated that
-some-would endeavor to reach Sweden in small boats. This route
would be made most hazardous by the close Soviet controls over
both routes and vessels in these patrolled waters. Some attempts
might be made to reach the West either by water or by land through
Litovskaya SSR and Poland. Some, in an effort to escape conflict.,
would cross the eastern borders into Belorusskaya SSR or the RSFSR.
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Escape by sea would be virtually impossible during the
period when the coastline and harbors are frozen, particularly
during the month of. February. Cross-country movement, either by
vehicle or on foot, would be greatly hampered by the numerous
marshes and swamps, particularly E of Riga and in the NE portion
near the coast, and by the presence of many lakes and rivers. In
most of the republic the ground is wet for 6 to 9 weeks in spring
and in the central-southern part, W of Riga, for 3 to 6 weeks.
Land movement would be somewhat facilitated during the frozen
season, except at times of heavy snowfall. Snow cover, generally
appearing first around the middle of November, reaches a depth of
4 to 12 inches during the period of deepest snow.
Evacuees would have little opportunity to escape by
rail or motor. Trains and vehicles would certainly be comman-
deered solely for the movement of troops and military supplies.
The advantage of traveling on foot along rail lines and improved
highways (refer to Map IV) would be counteracted by their vulner-
ability to attack. Facilities at the republic's military airfields
might be utilized for the evacuation of some top level adminis-
trative, military, and technical personnel.
Ground water is available at all seasons throughout the
republic in small to moderate quantities. In large areas around
Riga, extending. SE and along the N and W coast, quantities are
moderate to large. Food supplies to support an influx of refu-
gees would probably be most available in the central and N part
of the republic, particularly around Riga and Yelgava. However,
these industrial areas would be among the most important targets.
The SE section of the republic, while affording possibly the
greatest security from attack, might experience difficulties in
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supplying food to large numbers of evacuees for any length of time.
Agricultural production in this area is devoted mainly to flax-
raising. However, there is some livestock raising and dairying.
Most of the republic territory is generally unsuited for
construction of underground installations, owing to low elevations
and hard rock base, with cover of-poorly consolidated or unconsoli-
dated materials. Excavation with hand tools is possible, but shaft
or long drift entries are required. Periodic flooding constitutes
a considerable danger.
The current situation with regard to food reserves in the
republic is not known. At the end of 1955, total food products in
reserve would have sufficed for 2)4 days of normal trade turnover.
The largest inventories consisted of salt, vegetables, tea, canned
vegetables and berries, and canned fish. Meat and sausage prod-
ucts, milk and dairy products, eggs, and sugar were available in
quantities to last 2 weeks or less. Food reserves are probably
larger in the countryside, to a great extent because of ineffi-
ciencies in rural-urban transport and to underdevelopment of the
rural trade network.
At the end of 1956, when some possibility of war in the
wake of the Hungarian Revolution was feared, the Latvian press
charged that the people were hoarding soap, matches, and salt.
C. Medical Facilities
Soviet data indicate that medical facilities in the
Latvian Republic (see Table X111) have increased substantially since
it was incorporated into the Soviet Union. During the years 19)0-
1956, the number of hospital beds has almost doubled; in the rural
areas the increment of beds was approximately 7-fold. The number
of doctors has more than trebled, while other facilities, as a
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TABLE XIII
REPORTED MEDICAL FAC]LITIESi 1955-1956
0
Total Nuiber
Type
1955
19.56
Beds in Hospitals
18,200
19,400
Total thcluding Beds in T#ural Rayons
1,700
na
Hospitals in Rural Rayons
131
na
Number of;places in Children's Nurseries
4,370
na
X-ray Machines
354
na
Physical-therapeutic Rooms
159
na
Doctors
3,187
4,308
Dentists
na
230
Drug Stores and Dispensaries
656
na
rule, evidenced an even. more rapid rate of growth. Distribution of
hospital beds, however, was unevenly divided between the urban and
rural population. The urban areas, accounting for over 50 per cent
of the republic's population, had access to approximately 91 per
cent of the total hospital bed accommodations in the year 1955.
Latvia was reported as having in early 1956 approxi-
mately 9.3 hospital beds per 1000 population, the highest propor-
tion among the Union Republics. The republic has L308 doctors, or
2.1 doctors per 1000 total population. This incidence is among the
highest in the USSR (average 1.6 doctors per 1000 total population)
and reportedly surpasses the ratio in such countries as France and
Holland (respectively, one doctor per 1000 and one doctor per 1160
total population). Approximately 10,000 individuals worked as
secondary medical personnel in 1956. The incidence of 10 hospital
beds per 1000 total population exceeds the ratios in Litovskaya and
Estonskaya SSR's (6 and 9 beds per 1000 total population, respec-
tively).
0
Dental care is one of the most inadequate of medical
services in Latvia. The shortage of dentists permits sufficient
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care neither for adults nor for children. On the average, one
dentist serves approximately 8870 individuals.
By 1955, Latvia had the following medical facilities:
at least 193 hospitals (including 93 in villages) and 2l. dispensa-
ries, 19 independent polyclinics, 120 mobile clinics, 34 medical
health points, 362 medical-assistant midwife points, 88 women's
and children's consultation centers, 13 milk kitchens, and 5
children's hospitals. Plans in 1955 envisioned the opening of 34
additional hospitals, 14 antituberculosis dispensaries and roams,
and 5 oncological dispensaries and points. Primary and secondary
medical personnel are trained at the Latvian Medical Institute in
Riga, at a medical assistant-midwife school, a dental school, and
7 schools of nursing.
The Latvian Republic is famous for its health resorts
and rest homes. Of the 58 sanitaria in Latvia (which have a total
of more than 9000 beds) and the 42 rest homes, 65 are located in
the city of Riga and Rizhskiy Rayon. Plumbing, sewage disposal.,
and other facilities at these installations are frequently inade-
quate or lacking. Nevertheless, it was reported that, during the
1950 to 1955 Five-Year Plan, approximately 425,000 persons from
all parts of the Soviet Union visited the health resorts of
Latviyskaya SSR.
Available information indicates that in Latvia the
death rate among children since 1945 and deaths resulting from
tuberculosis since 1941 have been substantially reduced. Despite
the advances in the safeguarding of health in the republic,
inadequacies in both medical personnel and physical plant exist.
Graduates of the secondary medical schools of Riga, doctors'
assistants, and midwives are insufficiently trained in their
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S E C R E T
specialized fields. It is also reported that 85 to 90 per cent of
the hospital expansion in the republic during 1950 to 1955 was
carried out by assimilating physical plants vacated by district
executive committees or by "packing" existing hospital space. This
has resulted in an inequitable distribution of hospitals. Only 3i
per cent of the rayon hospitals are in structures specifically
designed for the puxpose. The shortage of medical institutions is
notable in Riga. Soviet sources note that long queues are
observed at the city's hospitals and polyclinics, while the
projected completion of a new hospital (200-bed accommodations)
has been postponed from 1958 to 1960 because of the lack of appro-
priations.
The situation in the building of children's institu-
tions also manifested a number of shortcomings. A resolution of
the USSR Council of Ministers establishes that in any enterprise
where over 500 women are employed, children's institutions must be
set up. Yet, the enterprises of the Latviyskaya SSR Ministry of
Light Industry employing over 33,000 women (February 1957) have
accommodations for only 875 children. The enterprises of the
Ministries of Meat and Dairy Products Industry, of Trade, of the
Fish Industry, and of Urban and Rural Construction, engaging in
all about 32,000 women workers, have no children's institutions
It is likely that gradual progress will continue to be
made in the provision of increased medical and health services.
However,,the rate of growth will be affected by the priorities
allocated under the new Seven-Year Plan (ending in 1965), which
lays stress on heavy industry and housing construction. Higher
income groups in the republic probably have access to superior
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medical facilities, but it is presumed that, in general, republic
medical services and facilities are about average, or slightly
. better, than for the USSR as a whole.
D. Educational and Cultural Facilities
The administration of the school network in the Latviy-
skaya SSR is the responsibility of a number of All-Union, union-
republic, and republic agencies. In theory, the Soviet educational
system is decentralized; in practice, however, the system is highly
centralized.
Moskva maintains control over the Latvian educational
system in the following' manner: The Central Committee of the Com-
munist Party of the Soviet Union itself, or jointly with the USSR
Council of Ministers, issues through its education sectors, policy
directives bearing on educational matters. These directives are
then enacted into legislation or are issued in the form of regu-
lations which are binding throughout the Soviet Union. The RSFSR
Ministry of Education, largely through its Sector on Instruction
and Methodology, is the first education ministry to work out a
set of ordinances in meticulous detail. The Latviyskaya S3R"'-"'
Ministry of Education, as well as those of the other 114 union-
republics, follow the pattern established by the RSFSR ministry.,
with minor modifications to suit local conditions.
USSR control over Latvian higher education is realized
by the USSR Ministry of Higher Education at the All-Union level.
Although this agency was transformed into a union-republic body
in the spring of 1955, no such ministry had been established as
of 1 July 1957 in the Latvian government. Available evidence
indicates that over-all control of Latvian universities and
colleges by the central ministry will continue. Certain other
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ministries participate in educational training activities. The
training of medical doctors is the responsibility of the Latviy-
skaya SSR Ministry of Public Health, while the training of ele-
mentary and secondary school teachers in pedagogical institutes
and teachers' institutes is administered by the Latviyskaya SSR
Ministry of Education.
Preschool facilities (most nursery schools and all
creches), general elementary schools, and schools for rural and
working youth are under the immediate supervision of the education
departments of the rayon and city executive committees. These
departments are responsible to the Republic Ministry of Education.
Most preschool institutions are operated by local economic enter-
prises, producers' cooperative enterprises, trade unions, and
collective farms, which employ working mothers. In addition, the
union-republic Ministry of Public Health supervises all activities
in creches, as well as physical education and medical care in
nursery schools.
The Latviyskaya SSR Ministry of Education issues regu-
lations in regard to methods of instruction, curricula, and the
use of textbooks in the general school system. It supervises the
allocation of funds, capital repair, and the construction of new
facilities and handles appointments to teaching staffs and super-
vises teacher training. Through a network of school inspectors,
the ministry verifies the quality of instruction and adherence to
rules and regulations in the various schools.
The USSR Chief Directorate of Labor Reserves, under the
USSR Council of Ministers, administers vocational training facili-
ties for the labor reserves schools (FZO) in Latvia. This body
finances the training program, determines the program and length
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of training, and supervises the conscription of students for the
trade schools preparing workers for industry, transport, and agri-
culture.
The republic's secondary technical schools are financed
and operated by various ministries. Following the reorganization
of the administration of industry and construction (effective 1
July 1957), technical schools in these fields were transferred to
the oontrol of the newly established Latvian Regional Economic
Council. However, it is presumed that, as previously, a division
of the USSR Ministry of Higher Education supervises their curricula
and training programs and determines the use of textbooks and the
methods of instruction. This agency also establishes enrollment
quotas, new facilities and coordinates the placement of graduates.
Since the establishment in the USSR of the boarding
schools to educate the "Soviet elite..," 13 have been put into
operation in Latvia. It is not known what agency administers
these schools. By 1960 the Latvian leaders envision the setting
up of 35 such schools, accommodating 9000 students.
The secondary educational institutions in Latvia, as in
Lithuania, Estonia, and Georgia, embrace an 11-year period of
instruction. In November 1957, a Soviet source asserted that this
pattern would be established for the entire Soviet Union.
In the 1957/1958 school year, there were 1507 general
educational schools (primary, 7-year and 11-year), among which 257
were secondary schools. The enrollment numbered 261,000, or 75
students per 10,000 population. This ratio surpassed that of
France and Switzerland (36 and 12 students per 10,000 population,
respectively). The total of 261,000 students is somewhat lower
(see Table xIV) than the number of general education enrollees
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GENERAL EDUCATIONAL-FACILITIES
Number of Primary, 7-year, and Secondary. Schools of the Ministries of Education and
Communications, and other Ministries
(Selected Years)
Schools
All Teachers,
Students
School
Year
Total
Schools
Primary
Second-
7-Yr. ary
Others
Including
Part-Time
Total
Enrollees
Primary
7-Yr.
Second-
ary
Others
1945/46
1,448
476
870
96
6
$,873
220,903
28,015
150,311
42,101
476
-1951/52
1,556
527
855
164
10
15,119
283,621
27,573
176,648
78,287
1,113
1953/4
-1,552
515
-$23
203
11
16,156
278,160
20,285
148,717
107,914
1,244
1954/55
1,549
510
806
222
11
16,724
277,707
18,069
136,039
122,234
1,365
1955/56
1,526
522
752
240
12
17,322
273,115
16,997
122,308
132,197
1,613
1957/58
1,507
na
na
257
na
na
261,000
na
na
na
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(273,115) in 1955, and considerably lower than the 278,160 and
283,621 students in the years 1953 and 1951, respectively. This
trend in numerical diminution has been evident since the 1951/1952
school year, and is chiefly attributable to the casualties and
consequent lower birth rate of World War II. Another probable
contributory factor, although mitigated somewhat by the
in-migration of other ethnic groups into the republic, is the mass
deportations of unreliable elements of the republic's population
during the 19115-1949 period.
Since the Latviyskaya SSR was first annexed to the
Soviet Union (19110), the number of general educational schools
has declined from a high of 1586 in the 19110/19111 school year to
1507 in .the 1957/1958 period.. The decrease was caused chiefly by
war destruction which resulted in the loss of 138 schools by the
end of the war. Repair and new construction activity has not yet
brought the number of schools up to the prewar figure in Latvia.
Many schools, especially in Riga, must conduct 2, and sometimes 3,
shifts daily.
While there was a quantitative reduction in both schools
and students since the 1952/1.953 school year, the number of teach-
ers, 80 per cent of whom are women, has gradually increased. How-
ever, it was reported that 39 per cent of all teachers lacked
vocational or academic training in 1956.
Of the 1198 general educational schools reporting data
in the 1955/1956 school year on the language of instruction, 319
employed the Russian language,_while 33 per cent of the students
in all of the approximately 1500 schools studied the Russian
language - one of the instruments for assimilating the.Latvians
into Soviet society.
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Present plans envision that by 1960 the republic will
have 296 secondary schools, 286 of which will belong to the net-
work of the republic's Ministry of Education. Only 80 per cent
of those completing the seventh grade will be accepted into the
next class. The remaining 20 per cent will be accepted into
special secondary institutions or attend evening schools for work-
ing youth.
In addition to the generatL educational schools mentioned
above, the Ministries of Education and Communications had sub-
ordinate to them 66 adult schools and schools for urban and rural
working youth, with a total enrollment of 11,300 in the 19551956
school year.
The Latvian school network also embraces 10 higher edu-
cational institutions (7 of which are in Riga, including the
Latvian Academy of Sciences), with approximately 16,000 enrollees,
65 technikums and special secondary schools (25,108 students),
and 218 kindergartens (11,670 participants). An additional unkr wn
number of students attends the republic's schools for members of
the armed forces, the MVD, merchant marine, and labor reserves.
While Soviet educational practices in Latvia can-point
to quantitative and qualitative successes, the fact remains that
the Latvian, as well as the entire Soviet, primary and secondary
school network has failed to achieve the desideratum of the Soviet
leaders, the creation of the new Soviet man. Numerous Soviet
gr-ess reports explicitly state that "the existing system of'school
and--family `education does not completely satisfy the new needs and
requirements of society in connection with the...future advancement
toward Communism. it has shortcomings which restrict the solving
of the tasks of Communist education."
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The difficulties in Latvian (and Soviet) education were
patently manifested . following,. the Hungarian Revolution. Reports
emanating from refugee sources state that the students of Riga's
higher educational institutions (and other Soviet universities and
colleges) verbally evidenced their displeasure with the Soviet sys-
tem. Soviet sources'state their dissatisfaction with Latvian edu-
cation by pointing out that approximately 20 per cent of the fresh-
men' at the Latvian State University and a higher percentage at
Riga's Medical and Pedagogical Institutes fail their courses on
the history of the USSR and/or on Dialectical and Historical
Materialism. The blame for these situations is apportioned
between the influence of family life and the deficient educa-
tional practices in primary and secondary schools.
To overcome these shortcomings, a new type of school
has been set up. Khrushchev, the first Soviet citizen of note
to broach the problem of adding a new type of institution to the
existing educational system, stated at the XX Party Congress that
bourgeois societies had trained an elite in special schools. He
then proposed establishing schools - internat (boarding schools)
to train a Soviet elite. Subsequent expatiations on the subject
state that boarding schools are destined to become either the
basic form or one of the forms of primary, middle, and secondary
education.
According to the Soviets, several advantages will
accrue from-these additions to,the school network: (1) more
mothers will be able to participate in production and in cul-
tural life, for.children between the ages of 3 to?l7,will remain
in the boarding schools 24 hours per day and 365 days per year;
(2) the influence of some parents who still harbor remnants of
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"bourgeois ideas" will be,reduced.
t.
Lack of physical plant for educational purposes in Latvia
is another problem facing the leaders of Latvia. In the capital of
the republic, for instance, the number of students increased by
27,700 since 1940.? Yet, during this period only 8 schools, accom-
modating 6000 students, have been built. Of the 95 schools in
Riga, 90 operate in 2 shifts, while the remainder are forced to
operate on a 3-month study program. This situation is likely,to
worsen in Riga in the immediate future. School construction during
the new Seven-Year Plan envisions 7 new plants with accommodations
for 6400 students, while the growth of the school population is
estimated at 8000.
From the foregoing material the following conclusions
seem warranted relative to the status of education. While the
Soviet Latvian republic can point to a number of quantitative and
qualitative successes in the field of education, it has failed to
inculcate in the student the prerequisites of:.the figty !'Soviet-man"
(Soviet patriotism, proletarian internationalism, and a socialist
regard for labor, discipline). In some cases the Latvian family
circle is still influential enough to counter Communist instruc-
tion to the young. The lack of.physical plant and the shortage
of trained teachers probably affect adversely the spread of Commu-
nist ideology..
The Latvian Republic in.1955 published 84 newspapers
(121 million copies annually) and 41 magazines (,2.,033,,000 copies
annually). In addition, "wall" newspapers were published in
various plants and' institutions. ? The. total number of public
libraries-was reported in January 1956 to be 2893, containing a
total of 7,029,000 books. The libraries of the rural areas
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possessed about` half the total book holdings, and almost 80 per cent
of the libraries.
As of 1 January 1956, there were 1290 club-type institu-
tions in the Latviyskaya SSR. Of these, 7116 were operated by the
Ministry of Culture, 311 were under the auspices of collective
farms, 172 were subordinate to trade unions, and the remaining 61
were operated by various agencies and organizations. Over 90 per
cent of the total of these institutions were located in rural areas.
The 21 museums in the republic were visited by 71.19,000
individuals through 1955, or an annual average of 35,700 individuals
per museum. This incidence was considerably higher than the annual
average of those visiting museums in Lithuania and Estonia (10,800
and 111,600, respectively), but lower than the USSR and RSFSR aver-
ages (113,100 and 52,100; respectively).
Eleven theatres, 9 of which gave performances in the
Latvian language, were extant in 1955. Four hundred and sixty-one
motion-pictvzve installations, of which 291 were mobile, also
provided entertainment and culture. The urban and rural distri-
bution of motion-picture installations was 162 and 299, respec-
tively, while the mobile units in rural areas numbered 289. Only
16 of the 162 motion-picture installations in urban areas were
mobile.,-By 1956, the total number of motion-picture installations
had increased to 5118. Since 19119, the Riga film studio has not
produced an "artistic" film, according to official complaint. The
studio was criticized for duplicating films and producing only
short-films and newsreels. The 1955 plan envisioned the produc-
tion of one artistic film. No information exists to show whether
this ambition was achieved.
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IV. Socio-Economic_Factors
A. Housing
The housing situation in the Latviyskaya SSR, while not
good, is probably better than in some other areas of the USSR.
Quantitatively and qualitatively, dwellings in the period of
Latvian independence (1920-1940) followed closely the pattern of
the Scandinavian and West European countries. The small popula-
tion increment, estimated at about 46;000, between the years
1939-1940 and 1958, has:also probably contributed to the compara-
tively more plentiful housing in the republic. However, while the
housing situation may evoke the admiration of in-migrants, present
accommodations represent for the native population a deterioration
from the standards of the years of independence.
Construction of dwellings in the republic, as in the rest
of tie USSR, is one of the government's chief problems. One of
the main reasons for lack of housing is priority in allocating
funds; during the 11 postwar years, 1916-1957, 8.734 billion
rubles have been invested in capital construction. Only 854 mil-
lion rubles of this sum, or about 9.7 per cent, has been allotted
to building dwellings. Shortcomings in housing construction and
the conjequent housing shortage are also attributed to lack of
utilizing. the means of mechanization. In 1951, it was reported
that only 49 per cent of the concrete work was accomplished by
mechanization. In 1955, the percentage had increased only
slightly (55 per cent). Plastering, painting, and concrete work
was mostly done Manually. To these shortcomings-must be added
the delay of construction planning organizations in submitting
designs, the shortage of labor, the ministries' failures to-
utilize the funds appropriated for housing construction, and the
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inability of the-building materials industry to meet the plans.
Housing deficiencies are particularly'notable in the areas
of greatest population increase, the urban areas. In Riga, for
example, war damage partially destroyed agreat" amount of housing;,
while some houses were completely wiped out. Postwar construction
reportedly provided 2.5 million square feet of new living space.
Riga's total living space in 1956 was reported to be 73.2 million
square feet, of which the indicated postwar construction represented
only 3.4 per cent. However, the postwar population of Riga by 1956
had registered a I6 per cent increase over 1939. The proportion of
0
postwar construction cannot even be considered a net gain, since
war-damaged housing had to be replaced.
However, in spite of unfavorable comparisons with the pre-
war-level, other statistics indicate a relatively fortunate housing
situation for Riga as compared with other Soviet cities. While
the city ranked 17th in population size in 1956, it was fourth in
amount of total living space. The republic capital's per capita
living space of 129.1 square feet in 1956 was over 2.5 times that
of the average for USSR urban areas.. It is the highest ratio
?
given for the 32 large USSR cities on which data are available
and-compares most favorably with the Soviet desideratum of 96.8
square feet per person.?The per capita figures are somewhat dis-
torted in Western terms by the fact that the Soviets appear to
equate "living space" with "floor space," which includes closets,
hallways, and other essentially nonliving areas.;,
Housing in rural areas of the Latviyskaya SSR is presumed
to be at least quantitatively better than in the urban areas. Con-
tributing to this situation has been the phenomenon of urbaniza-
tion, which resulted in an estimated 48.3 per cent increment of
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the total urban population between the years 1939-1940 and 1958,
and a concurrent decrease of about 24.2 per cent in the rural
population. On the other hand, there has been little progress
toward construction of the planned collective farm villages, and
the individual farmstead (khutor) continues to exist in the
Latvian rural areas. The buildings of the farmstead, prior to
the Soviet era, were made of wood, straw, and wood chips. Follow-
ing the absorption of Latvia, such farm buildings as have been
constructed were made of wood, tile, slate, and iron.
In the Latvian Republic, as is generally true in the
entire USSR, preferential housing. is reserved for Party and gov-
ernment officials and higher professional categories. The other
population groups in the republic probably receive housing
according to the socialist principle, "to each according to his
ability." Class distinction and the preferential treatment of
one class over another is probably a contributory factor to the
tensions in the area.
In order to overcome the housing shortage in the USSR
"within 10 to 12 years," the USSR Party Central Committee and
Council of Ministers, in August 1957, adopted a resolution. The
USSR target of about 2.206,billion square feet for state dwell-
ing construction to. be built during the 1956-1960 period was
scrapped, and-the new figure - about 2.315 billion square feet -
was assigned. Latvia's share in the, new goal is reported to be
21.5 million square feet, of which the state will construct
13.988 million square feet. The remainder will be built under
"individual" auspices with state credit. In order to implement
the plan, the Latvian Economic-Council, in October, authorised
the construction of 3 new brick plants, each with an annual
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capacity of 12'million bricks, 2'plants~-for'lime production,' a plant
for prefabricated reinforced concrete parts, an enterprise for the
production of gaseous concrete, and a "number of other enterprises."
It is difficult to say whether the'increased dwelling con-
struction will alleviate the housing shortage in the urban areas
of the republic, for the distribution of housing construction has
not been reported. It appears that the shortage of living space
will continue at least for several more years.
B. Food Supplies
In comparison=with the years of independence, when Latvia
was an exporter of dairy and meat products, with no internal
shortages, food supplies in Soviet Latvia have declined. Rapid
urbanization, the liquidation of the prosperous farmers (not com-
pleted until 1949), pre- and post-war deportations, and passive
peasant resistance have been contributing factors in the rela-
tively lower food supplies in Soviet Latvia.
Nevertheless, on the basis of Soviet statistics, it
appears that in comparison with other Soviet citizens the inhabit-
ants of the republic .are better off than average in food consump-
tion. Per capita spending on food products in the state and
cooperative network, including public catering, is higher than the
USSR average. Among the union republics the Latvian Republic was
surpassed only by the Estonskaya SSR in per capita expenditures
on food products. In per capita spending for both food and con-
sumerst goods, Riga, harboring about 29 per cent of the republicts
population, is second only to Moskva among the'USSR's major
cities in respect to per capita food expenditures.
Even though the Latviyskaya SSR must import grains to
meet consumer needs, bread'and bakery products, flour and cereals
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are reported to be the most readily available and inexpensive food
products and constitute, as elsewhere in the USSR, the major part
of the diet. Soviet statistics indicate for Latvia that more
money was spent in 1955 on bread and bakery products than on any
other food commodity, about 6.5 per cent of all food expenditures.
The proportion of proteins in the Latvian diet, as indicated by
per capita expenditures for meat and sausage products (4.3 per
cent) and fish and herring (1.8 per cent), is.ccnparatively higher
than in most areas of the USSR. Percentual expenditures on meat
and sausage products in Latvia in 1955 were surpassed only-in
Estonskaya SSR (5.4 per cent), the RSFSR (5.0 per cent), and the
Azerbaydzhanskaya SSR (4.9 per cent). The annual consumption of
fish is considerably higher than the USSR average, while the per
capita expenditures for milk and dairy products (1.4 per cent)
are the highest in the USSR.
Fresh vegetables and fruit are said to be available for
the most part only in the fall; they include carrots, rutabagas,
cabbage, cucumbers, onions, and apples. Cit -jets fruits must be
imported-and are quite rare. Sugar beet cultivation is presumed
to provide an adequate sugar supply and to contribute to the high
consumption of confectionery products.
Emphasis on heavy industry development has contributed
to the slow development of food-processing industries and the
slow growth of food products storage facilities. The shortage of
.such facilities results in considerable spoilage of perishable
goods, particularly fresh fish.
Total food products in 'reserve at the end of 1955 would
have sufficed for ?only 24 days df normal trade turnover. Of
specific items, the largest inventories consisted of salt,
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vegetables,- tea, canned vegetables and berries, and canned fish.
Supplies for 2 weeks or less were on hand for meat',and sausage
products, milk and dairy products, eggs, and sugar.
The food situation in the,republic would probably impress
in-migrants with the available quantity. Conversely, for long-
term residents of the areas, the food supply represents a deteri-
oration in comparison with that of free Latvia. With the con-
tinued emphasis on heavy industry, improvements of food supplies
in the republic, even. with Khrushchev's back-to-the-land program,
will probably be slow.
C. Transportation and Telecommunications
1. General
The geographical position of Latviyskaya SSR has
influenced the pattern of its transportation net. The dense net-
work of railways was originally established to transport outgoing
and incoming shipments of goods between the interior of Russia and
the European ports. And once again Latvia's virtually ice-free
ports are becoming important transshipment points handling an
increasingly significant proportion of USSR import and export
trade. Inter-republic?traffic, particularly in lumber and agri-
cultural products, is also handled via coastal shipping. It has
been reported that at any point in Latvia one would be no further
than 15 miles from a railroad or bus station., Rail freight and
passenger service over lines of the Latvian Railroad System is
reportedly among the best in. the USSR.
2. Rail
All facets of.rail transport are controlled and
coordinated by regional agencies of the central government. From
about 1952 to 1956, the Latvian Railroad System formed part of
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the Baltic Railroad System; with headquarters in Riga. With the
administrative dissolution of the Baltic network, the Latvian
system was once again set up under the Directorate, Latvian Rail-
road System, in Riga. Railroad-Division Headquarters are located
in Daugavpils, Liyepaya, Rezekne, and Yelgava.
The Directorate of the railroad system directs all
rail traffic and operates all rail facilities throughout the
Latviyskaya SSR. The system extends from Riga to Abrene, Pskov-
skaya Oblast (185 miles), to Zilupe (174 miles), to Aynazhi (125
miles), Valga, Estonskaya SSR (105 miles), to Kazbary (103 miles),
to Renge (71L miles), to Skuodas, Litovskaya SSR (135 miles), and'
to Turmantas, Litovskaya SSR (150 miles).
The most significant railroad junctions (refer to Map
IV) are Riga, Daugavpils, Rezekne, and Yelgava. The major rail
lines are those extending from these junctions across the republic
borders into the RSFSR and Belorusskaya SSR. The only double-
tracked line is that from Riga to Daugavpils-Smolensk Moskva. A
direct route leads from Daugavpils via Pskov (Pskovskaya Oblast)
to Leningrad. Connections to Leningrad can also be made from
Riga via 2 lines out of Valga, Estonskaya SSR - one through Pskov
and one through Tartu and Narva (both in Estonskaya SSR). Fairly
direct rail routes lead from Riga to?the other Baltic capitals,
Tallin'(Estonskaya SSR), Vilnyus (Litovskaya SSR), and Kaliningrad
(Kaliningradskaya Oblast, RSFSR).
The.length of railroad lines.in the republic is about
2000 miles, of which about 1500 miles (75 per cent) is Russian
broad gauge. The average density of rail lines in the republic
is approxim.tely 30 miles per 620 square miles. Latvia's rail-
roads account for 90 per cent of the total,freight moved in the
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republic. Of this total 37 per cent of all freight aent,fran Latvia
(mobile power plants, electrical equipment,, telephone stations,
explosive-proof telephone apparatus, hydrometerological instruments,
radio receivers, electric trains) is directed to the NW and center
of the RSFSR; petroleum and raw materials for Latvian machine
building plants from the-latter regions comprise 21 per cent of the
republicts incoming freight. The Ukraine receives 25 per cent of
Latviats outgoing freight (technical equipment) and directs 33 per
cent of the incoming freight (coal, other industrial raw materials)
to Latvia. The Belorussian, Lithuanian, and Estonian Republics
receive 26 per cent of the freight (durable commodities) and direct
29 per cent of the incoming freight (machines, metal products,
flax, food, and light industry products) to Latvia.
The narrow-gauge lines are primarily used for short
hauls of mineral construction materials, lumber, peat, and sugar
beets to industrial enterprises or main lines. These lines are
widely used to haul beets to the sugar plant in Krustpils from
Yekabpilsskiy Rayon (the areas formerly comprising abolished
Aknistskiy and Neretskiy Rayons). Transfer of freight from
narrow to broad gauge takes place at such transshipment stations
as Valmiyera, Gulbene, and Stende. The safeguarding of security
at all rail installations is the responsibility of security
troops of the MVD.
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Important rail administrative'headquarters and rail
facilities in Latviyekaya SSR are listed.ebelow.by urban area:
FIGURE IV
RAIL FACILITIES IN LATVIYSKAYA SSR: 1957
Urban Area Tempe of'Facility
Riga
Directorate', Latvian RR System; terminus of
RR lines; 9 RR yards; engine depot; 2 car
repair shops; electric enginehouse; 2 steam
enginehouses.
Liyepaya Division Hq., Latvian RR System; RR junc-
tion; 2 RR yards; engine depot; car repair
shop (major RR locomotive and car repair);
steam enginehouse.
Daugavpile Division Hq., Latvian RR System; major RR
junction; 3 RR yards; engine depot; steam
enginehouse; car repair shop.
Yelgava
Rezekne
Gulbens
Division Hq., Latvian RR System; RR junc-
tion; engine depot.
Division Hq., Latvian RR System; RR junc-
tion; engine depot; steam.enginehouse.
RR junction; car repair shop.
Talsy-Stende RR station; steam enginehouse.
3. Water
All maritime shipping is controlled by the All-Union
Ministry of Maritime Fleet, and import-export exchanges with
foreign countries are controlled by the All-Union Ministry of
Foreign Trade. River traffic within the Latviyskaya SSR is
directed by"the'Republic Council of Ministers through its Direc-
torate of River Fleet.
At the and of 1956, the major Latvian ports of Riga,
Liyepaya, and Ventspils accounted for 29.4 per cent of the daily
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discharge capacity of Soviet Baltic maritime ports. .
TABLE RV
PORT FACILITIES IN LATVIYSKAYA:SSR:: 1957
Installation
Target
Number
Per .Cent of
Daily Capacityl/ Soviet Baltic
(Long Tons) ''Port Capacity
Riga Port Facilities
0153-0024
15,000
9.0
Riga Port Facilities,
"Milgravis"?
0153-0379`
5,000
3.0
Riga Subtotal
20,000
12.0
Liyepaya Port Facilities
0152-0059
18,000
10.8
Ventspils Port Facilities
0152-0160
1100
6.6
?
Y
Total
49,000
29.4
I/ Based on 20-hour day.''
About 80 per cent of the cargo passing through the
Latvian ports consists of foreign trade shipments. Raw cotton from
the Uzbekskaya and Tadzhik,kaya SSR' s is shipped to Antwerp, Le
Havre, Dunkirk, and other European ports. Anthracite, coke, iron
ore, and pig iron from the Ukrainskaya'SSR is exported to France,
Belgium, Denmark, Finland, and other countries. Among other export
items destined for the Soviet satellites and western countries are
various types of instruments. Among the important imports passing
through the Latvian ports are machinery, machine tools, and coal
from East Germany, coal from Poland (Silesia), and herring and
dairy products from Scandinavia.
Coastal shipping comprises about 20 per cent of the
total commodity exchange through Latvian ports with other Soviet
ports - Leningrad, Tallin, Pyarnu, Klaypeda, and Kaliningrad.
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C0
Cargoes comprise chiefly metal,' construction materials,.super-
phosphate'fertilizers, lumber, shale, and agricultural products.
The ports of Riga, Liyepaya, and Ventspils are open
virtually all year round. Riga harbor, frozen from 4 to 10 weeks
of the year, isikept open by icebreakers, which are also used to
clear drift ice from the ports of Ventspils and Liyepaya. From
January to April, the Latvian ports take over some of the shipping
load-from Leningrad, Tallin, and Arkhangelsk, which have a shorter
navigational season.
It is reported that Riga port (including Milgravis)
has a water surface area of about l! square miles, surpassing that
of Hamburg port in West Germany. The republic capital's piers and
moorings are reported to have a length of 20 miles. The port of
Ventspils supplements the port of Riga by assuming for a period
of ...3 months a great part of the shipping arriving in Latvian
ports. The water surface area of Ventspils port is over one
square mile, and is accessible to large ocean-going vessels.
Liyepaya port, with a water surface area of over 3.1 square miles,
is the deepest of the Soviet Baltic ports. A breakwater and a
semicircle of piers provide protection for the main port.
The further development of Latvia's ports depends on
a number of factors, chief among them an increase in,the volume
of Soviet foreign trade and the subsequent expansion of port
facilities, such as warehouses, elevators, and. cold storage
installations. It is also likely that an expansion of foreign
trade would necessitate an increase in the number of railroads
or highways servicing the ports.
The utilization of-Latvia's rivers for transport.
is seasonal, the-average??length of~the annual navigation season
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being about 21i0 days., The, best period for navigation is from April
to-June, when.the.waters reach their high mark; in the, summer
months the waters are too low for extensive. transportation. During
4 months of winter, Latvia's rivers are unnavigable, although ice-
breakers are used on-the Zapadnaya. Dvina. -
The total length of the republics rivers is about
1045 miles, of which only 315 miles,,or less than 10 per cent, is
navigable. The Zapadnaya Dvina (Daugava) River is the most impor-
tant commercial waterway in the republic, especially in the move-
ment of timber and lumber. It carries 30 per cent of the lumber
floated in the republic.
The lower reach of the Dvina, which extends from the
Gulf of Riga to the Baltic Sea, is 10 miles in length and has a
limiting depth of about 25 feet in the dredged channel. This
section is navigable for seagoing vessels up to 18,000 gross tons.
The frozen period is usually between the middle of December and
the first week of April, but use is made of icebreakers, so that
the port of Riga is never entirely closed to navigation.
The middle reach of the Zapadnaya Dvina, between
Riga and Daugavpils, is about 150 miles in length and probably
has a limiting depth not exceeding about 4.5 feet, considering
the 4?5-foot draft-limitation of the lock at the Kegums dam.
-Damming. of the river at Kegums has increased the depth upstream
for about 25 miles. Narigation on the reach.consista chiefly?of
tugs with-tows of-2 or 3 barges.
From Daugavpils to= Vitebsk, Belorusskaya SSR, the
reach is about 220 miles. with a limiting depth of about 3.1
feet. Traffic, on this reach consists of tugs and barge,..trains.
The Liyelupe River is,navigable fora distance of about 62 miles
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from its mouth. ?It,can accommodate river vessels and barges and
annually carries over 50 million bricks to Riga and Yelgava.
The chief commercial importance of the Gauya, Abava,
and Ayviyekste.Rivers is the floating of timber. The Venta River
is navigable for a short distance below its confluence with the
Abava River (about 54 miles during the high-water season and about
20 miles during the low-water season). The freight shipped on the
Venta consists almost entirely of lumber.
4. Hi g
The Latvian Republic is reported to have approximately
10
22,500 miles of roads. Of this total about 1250 miles are hard
surfaced, while 21,250'miles have a gravel cover. The major high-
ways are the Riga-Pskov,.Riga-Daugavpils, Riga-Tallin, Riga-
Bauska, Riga-Yelgava-Shyaulyay, Yelgava-Liyepaya, and the Yelgava-
Ventspils. The road Leningrad-Daugavpils-Kaunas crosses the
eastern rayons of the republic. A highway of crushed rock and
gravel connects Riga with Kaliningrad.
The overwhelming majority of roads with a hard sur-
face were built during the reign of the Russian monarchs and
during the period of free Latvia. The main roads in the republic
are reported to be in comparatively good condition and passable
throughout the year. Conversely, many roads are not passable
during thaws and winter, especially in Abrenskiy, Balvskiy,
Vilyanskiy; Zilupskiy, and Ogrskiy Rayons. Automotive transport
is concerned chiefly with hauling such commodities as lumber,
sugar beets and other agricultural products from rural areas to
railroad and river transshipment points.
The people of Latvia are reported to have about
4000 motorcycles-and 200,000 bicycles. In Riga, there are over.
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3000 light automobiles of the 7500 in the republic, and over 300
taxis.
5. Air
All civil air freight, passenger, and mail service to
and from the republic is coordinated by the Latviyskaya SSR Chief
Directorate of Civil Air Fleet, located at Riga. This agency
handles traffic over 7 inter-republic airlines and !t lines of
local importance. Riga is a stop on international flights to the
West. Riga is directly connected by air with Moskva, RSFSR;
Tallin, Estonskaya SSR; Minsk, Belorusskaya SSR; and Kiev, Odessa,
and.Stalino, Ukrainskaya SSR. Commercial air flights are carried
on between Riga and Novosibirsk, RSFSR. Four local airlines
carry mail from Riga to Liyepaya, Daugavpils, Rezekne, and Vilyaka.
The Latvian Civil Air Fleet Directorate also under-
takes and carries out such assignments as the chemical dusting of
fields. In 1951, the civil air fleet provided service for over
12,300 passengers into and out of Latvia, while air ambulances
carried out 769-emergency assignments.
The Chief Directorate of the Civil Air Fleet shares
with the Soviet Air Force responsibility for operating the joint
civil/military airfields at Ventspils, South(Class 5; Target
0152-8611), Riga/Spilve (Class 2; Target 0153-8096), Riga/-
Skirotava (Class 3; Target 0153-8095) and Jelgava (Yelgava)
(Class 5; Target 0153-8029).
6. Telecommunications
Operation of civilian telecommunications networks
in the republic is directed by the'USSR Ministry of Communications
in Moskva through the Latviyskaya SSR Ministry of Communications.
The security of telecommunications facilities is the responsibility
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of security troops of the MDD.
The main telecommunications centers of the republic
are Riga, Liyepaya, and Daugavpils. Riga Communications Center
(Target 0153-0527) includes a main telegraph office., automatic
control telephone office, and a repeater station. Riga Radio and
Communications Center (Target 0153-0528) has facilities for point-,
to-point communications. The telecommunications center of
Liyepaya has the following facilitiesa a submarine cable terminal.,
central telephone office, main telegraph office, and a repeater
station.. There is also one cable telegraph circuit each to
Bornholm Island and Roding', Denmark, and one to Helsinki, Finland.
The communications installations at the Daugavpils center include
an automatic telephone exchange, a repeater station, and one
terminal for the only known interurban cable in Latvia.
Marine radio stations are located in Riga and
Liyepaya, the latter city being the site of Liyepaja (Liyepaya)
Naval Radio Station (Target 0152-0560).
Radio stations are located at Madona, Daugavpils9
and possibly at Kemeri and Krustpils. Telephone and telegraph
centers are located in Kuldiga and Yelgava. The latter also
has a repeater station.
Riga is one of the USSR's 22 television centers,
and it was envisioned that, during the Sixth Five-Year Plan.,
now abandoned, special channels for the exchange of television
programs between the television centers of Moskva and Leningrad
and Riga would be seb up. In-1956 there were 189500 television
sets in Latvia, of which 900 were in-rural areas. It is not
known what provisions will be made under the new Seven-Year
plan.
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,In 1956, it was reported?,that there were 206,100 radio
''receivers (48,500 of these in rural areas), and 150,000 radio
relay points in~I atvia. In 1956, the Soviet press stated that 339
or approximately 60 per cent, of,Latvia's then-existent rayon
centers had semiautomatic telephone communicati on with the repub-
?lie capital. -Semiautomatic telephone service from Riga to Moskva
and Leningrad has also been introduced. Technological advances
are said to have cut the average time necessary for establishing a
connection between Riga?and a rayon center from 121 to 68 seconds.
D. Utilities
Repeated assertions in the Soviet Latvian press indicate
that the lack of elementary utilities, particularly in housing
projects, is a contributory factor in urban labor turnover in the
republic. In a plant in Liyepaya, for instance, about 20 per
cent of the workers left the enterprise during the first quarter
of 1957, a lack of utilities being given as one reason for the
turnover. A shortage of electric power, especially in Riga and
Daugavpils, exists and causes intermittent interruptions of
supply to both industrial and domestic consumers.
Some rural areas experience a total lack of electricity.
In the western and southeastern parts of the. republic, "many"
collective farms and villages have not yet been electrified.
Proposals to supply electricity to eastern rayons of the republic
envisions an increase in the capacity of the Daugavpils Thermal
Power Plant, Municipal (Target 0168-0277) and the construction of
the Daugavpils-Rezekne high voltage transmission-line.
Water supply in rural areas is probably-,abundant, for
the republic abounds in lakes and rivers. In the larger cities
and in: Boldemya,' Vetsmilgravis, and Yauntsiyems, however,
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problems-of-supply and pollution-continue-to-plague the city
leaders.- In-Riga, for example, the plumbing system was laid
approximately 60 years ago, and,'during the postwar period only,,
the population has more than doubled. As a result, workers'
sections of-the city and the important resorts in Rizhskiy
Rayon, where'a great number of sanitaria; houses of rest, and
pioneer camps are located, have no plumbing systems. In parts
of Riga where plumbing -is available, the upper stories of apart-
ments obtain water only intermittently. One of the reasons for
the short supply of water in Riga is attributable to the indusm
trial enterprises of the city, which use about 30 per cent of
the total supply. It has been reported that a number of enter-
prises in Riga 'have paid enough in fines for violation of water-
supplyregulations to have organized their own water systems.
Moreover, industrial wastes have "considerably polluted" the
waters in the region of Riga. Municipal waterworks are located
only in Riga, Daugavpils, Yelgava, Tsesis, and Palmiyera.
_ Public bath houses and laundries are also in short
supply in the cities of the republic. In Riga., which has
almost 600,000 people, public bath facilities can accommodate
only 3725, while laundry service is supplied by 5 enterprises.
In Ogre (9000 people), bath house facilities accommodate 25 to
30 individuals.
The situation in regard to household gas supply closely
parallels the water supply pattern in the urban areas. Apart-
ment dwellers in cities are reported to lose several hours each
day because of interruptions in supply,during morning and
evening hours. By 1960, plans envision connecting Riga to a
shale gas pipeline-from Akhtme, Estonskaya SSR, which will
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completely satisfy the cityts household gas-needs. In the mean-
time,:tanks of liquid gas are supplementing?.the municipal gaa
supplies., A municipal gasworks is also located in Liyepaya.
Peat and wood are the leading fuels used for domestic
heating-in the republic. It has been said that "the main task
of the peat industry is to provide fuel for the Latvian capital."
The republic supplies only about 55 per cent of its peat require-
ments, and it has been proposed that the republic develop its
peat industry to meet its own demands. Central heating may be
available, in the vicinity of thermal power plants. However9'Riga
Thermal Power Plant, Municipal (Target 01530059), because of
lack of pipes,' has been forced to discharge great quantities of
hot water into the Zapadnaya Dvina.
The sewage disposal system in the large urban areas,9
especially Riga, is inadequate. In the republic's capital the
sewerage was laid 60 years ago and is badly in need of expansion
and reconstruction. Industrial enterprises often dump untreated
sewage into the nearby Zapadnaya Dvina. In the suburban areas
of Riga, no sewage systems exist. The sanitaria9 rest homes.,
and houses of culture found near Riga also lack sewage disposal
systems. Municipal sewage systems are found only in Riga,
Daugavpils, Yelgava, Tsesis, Valmiyera9 Liyepaya9 and Kemeri.
In the rural areas sewage is probably dumped untreated into the
numerous lakes and rivers in the immediate vicinity.
Intercity bus transportation appears to be adequate.
At the end of 1955.. Latvia had 217 bus lines., covering 9612
miles. During the year; buses afforded transportation to 15
million passengers. Inteacity bus lines operate in Yelgava,9
Ventspils, Liyepaya, Yekabpils9-Tsesis9 Madone., Krustpils9
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Valiniyera, and Daugavpils. According to Soviet sources, all rayon
centers are linked by bus lines. Proposed (1955) bus lines were
to connect Riga'and Sigulda, Sigulda and Ligatne, and Riga and
Inter-republic bus lines operate from Riga?to Tallin
(Estonskaya SSR), Riga-Vilnyus (Litovskaya SSR), Riga-Chernyakhovsk-
(Kaliningradskaya Oblast) Kaliningrad (Kaliningradskaya Oblast) and
Riga-Pskov (Pskovskaya Oblast).
Some shortcomings have been evidenced in transportation
afforded by Riga's trolley lines. Many commuters must walk more
than a mile to board a trolley. To remedy this situation, an
extension of the bus lines has been proposed. This would.neces-
sitate extensive road repair and it is not known whether it has
been undertaken.
E. Economic Characteristics
1. General
The continentality of the climate increases toward
the E of the republic. The western part of Latvia is warmer in
summer, while eastern Latvia is warmer in winter. The shoreline
of-Latvia is low and poorly indented. Therefore, all ports are
situated at the mouths of rivers or on canals (e.g., Liyepaya).
Riga harbor, frozen from 4 to 10 weeks of the year,9 is kept open
by:icebreakers. The ports of Ventspils and Liyepaya are also
kept clear of drift ice by the use of icebreakers. Latvia has
almost 3000 lakes and over 500 rivers, 45 of which flow into the
Baltic Sea. Mixed forests, covering aver A quarter-of the
republic's area, are predominantly-pine, chiefly spruce,'with
birch, aspen, alder, and oak'. Sandy and sandy-clayey soils
cover another quarter of the territory,. while natural meadows
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and pastures occupy about 20 per cent.
Like the other Baltic republics, Latvia has few natural
resources. Peat and mineral construction materials are found
chiefly in the western sections, lime in the valley of the Zapadnaya
Dvina. Other resources include dolomites and gypsum (particularly
near Riga), sands and various clays for ceramics, sand for glass
manufacture, and marl, a fertilizer for soils deficient in lime.
Timber is found throughout the republic and amber-along the coast.
Industry is based chiefly on the processing of raw
materials which must be to a large extent imported. Owing to the
relatively low fertility of the soils, except for the Riga-Yelgava
area, agricultural activity is most adapted to livestock raising
and dairy farming, which are carried on throughout the republic.
Latvia is divided into 3 major economic regions based
on the interdependency of economic relations between industry,
agriculture, and transport within the respective areas. They are
the Central and Northern Region, Western Latvia, and Eastern
Latvia (refer to Map VE). The Central and Northern Economic
Region is further divided into subregions, entitled the Riga
Suburban Zone, the Yelgava Group, the Krustpils-Yekabpils Group,
the Gulbene Group, and the Valmiyera Group.
The Economic Region of Central and Northern Latvia,
comprising 53 per cent of. the republic's territory, is by far the
most, important, with the bulk of republic industry, the most
intensive agriculture, the densest network of communications,
and the largest power stations. The city of Riga alone - where
the overwhelming portion of the metalworking, chemical, and
light industries of the republic are concentrated - accounts for
over 65 per cent of total republic industrial production.. The
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majority of agricultural enterprises - state farms and collective
farms - are also located in this region. In Western Latvia,
historically connected with the ports of Liyepaya and Ventspils,
fishing and fish-processing are the leading branches of activity.
Eastern Latvia is principally a flax-growing area.
FIGURE V
CHIEF CHARACTERISTICS OF ECONOMIC REGIONS AND SUBREGIONS
Central and Northern Latvian Economic Region
Total areas 13, ?.60 square miles
Per cent of republic totals 53.1
Population: 1 262s000
Per cent of republic totals 61.8
Riga Suburban Zone
Total area: 2,800 square miles
Per cent of republic total: 11.0
Population: 7-46 000
Per cent of republic total: 36.6
Resources: Peat, dolomites, gypsum, timber.
Chief Industries: (Mostly in Riga) metalworking, machine and
instrument building, light industry,
woodworking, food processing, building
materials; peat extraction.
Agriculture: Production of milk, meat, vegetables,
potatoes - chiefly for Riga and the
sanataria (Kemeri, Baldone, Sigulda,
Ogre); also poultry raising and fruit
growing.
Major Rivers: Zapadnaya Dvina, Gauya, Liyelupe.
Yelgava Group of Rayons
Total area: 2,010 square miles
Per cent of republic total: .8.0
Population: 151,000
Per cent of republic totals 7.l4,
Resources: Some building materials.
Chief 'Industries: Sugar, brick (50 per cent of republic
brick production), flax spinning.
Yelgava"is fourth industrial city or
republic, largest flax spinning center
of Soviet Baltic.
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CHIEF CHARACTERISTICS 0 ECONOMIC REGIONS AND SUBREGIONS
Continued)
Agriculture: Grain (granary of.Latviyskaya SSR), sugar
beets (about one-third of republic produc-
tion), milk, pig raising (most significant
in republic). Chiefly pig and milk cattle
raising-on state farms.
Krustpils-Yekabpils Group of Rayons
Total area: 2,320 square miles
Per cent of republic total: 9.2 .
Population: -979000
Per cent of republic total: 4.7
Resources: Building materials, timber.
Chief Industries: Building materials, lumber, food processing.
Agriculture: Milk livestock raising, sugar beets, sheep
raising.
Gulbene Group of Rayons
Total area: 3,020 square miles
Per cent of republic total: '11.9
Population: 225,000
Per cent of republic total: 5.6
Resources: Dolomite., clay, gravel, lime (marl?),
timber.
Chief Industries: Woodworking, food processing (one-third of
all-butter manufacturing enterprises of
region).
Agriculture: Milk livestock raising, fodder and forage
crops., flax growing.
Valmiyera Group of Rayons
Major River: Gauya..
Total area: 3,280 square miles
Per cent of republic total: 12.9
Population: 153,000
Per cent of republic total: 7,5
Resources: Peat, timber, fish.
Chief. Industries: Peat extraction; food processing (livestock
products), lumber, building material.
Agriculture: Livestock raising, flax growing, fishing.
Western Latvian Economic Region
Total area: 5,980, square miles
Per cent of republic total: 2306
Poopulation:n 318,000
Per cent of republic total: 15.6
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FIGURE V
CHIEF CHARACTERISTICS OF ECONOMIC REGICKS AND SUBREGIONS
(Continued)
Resources: Peat, timber, clay, building and glass sands,
limes (marl?)9 dolomites, gypsum, stone,
gravel, amber, etc.
Chief Industries: Metalworking., metallurgical (steel plant in
Liyepaya, second industrial city of republic),
woodworking (important), building materials,
food processing (fish, potatoes, vegetable,
fruit, alcoholic beverages). Liyepaya
second industrial city of republic.
Agriculture: (About 18 per cent of territory of region used
for agricultural purposes.) Fodder crops,
sugar beets (29 per cent of total republic
area, --sown to sugar beet), winter wheat
(25.6 per cent of total republic area sown
to winter wheat); potatoes. Fishing, milk
livestock raising, pig raising, fish raising
in ponds.
Eastern Latvian Economic'Region
Total area: 5,910 square miles
Per cent of republic total: 23.3
Population: 16o,000
Per cent of republic total: 22.5
Resources: Peat (22 per cent of republic supply), lake
fish, timber.
Chief Industries: Metalworking and machine building (in
Daiugavpils, third industrial city of repub-
lic); peat extraction, brick.
Agriculture: Flax growing (82.5 per cent of total republic
area sown to flax), lake fishing.
Table XVI[?(see next page) is a statistical summary of
the relative significance of each economic region in various aspects
of the republic economy.
About 65 per cent of Latvian products shipped out of
the republic go to the Northwest and Center of the RSFSR (37 per
cent) and the Ukrainskaya SSR (25 per cent). These 2 areas in turn
supply 21 and 33 per cent, respectively, of goods received by
Latvia. Belorusskaya, Litovskaya, and Estonskaya SSR9s together
receive 26 per cent of Latvian shipments and deliver, 29 per cent
of goods received by Latvia. Commodity exchange with the Urals
'95
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