SOVIET CIVIL DEFENSE AND AIR-RAID SHELTER CONSTRUCTION

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP70T00666R000100070020-6
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 5
• Document Creation Date: December 12, 2016
• Document Release Date: January 22, 2001
• Sequence Number: 20
• Publication Date: March 18, 1958
• Content Type: REPORT

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NSA Declassification/Release Instructions on File
THIS DOCUMENT CONTAINS CODE WORD MATERIAL
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SOFT CIVIL DENSE
AIR-RAID SHELTER: CONSTRUCTION
1. CIA report, Soviet Civil Defense and Air-Raid Shelter Construction
distributed to the National Security Council 14 March in response to NSC
act
tons of this report were
concurred in by the intelligence community.
It. Since my briefing on 15 January, the intelligence community has
d in an extensive collection effort on this subject, and valuable
additional information has been received from NSA, and from various
sources of State, the Military Services, and CIA.
A. New Evidence
1. Good evidence that Soviets have been and are continuing to
shelter doors in the Moscow Subway
Unconfirmed reports that Soviets also plan to use Baku Subway as a
helter
. A number of reports identified exceptionally heavy basements
everal Soviet Government buildings and rail,
cases, these were specifically identified as
aU Oft CUR
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ttons. In some
raid shelters
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4. Shelters were reported in several industrial enterprises
. Several sources reported on basement shelter cons,
in progress in late 1956 and early 1957 during which certain shelters were
refurbished and steps were taken to
ventilating equipment
Basement shelters were also reported in new apartment
buildings in Baku and Odessa
6. Sources have reported: civil defense training in several
Soviet factories and a number of city-wide blackout drills
7. The Soviets officially announced recently that 85. 5 percent
of the population had completed a civil defense "anti-atomic" training
course and that two more advanced courses are scheduled for the entire
population. to be completed In 1958 and 1960.
S. In re-interrogating several members of the U. S. Housing
Delegation, it was learned that apartment basements seen on the
conducted tours could not be identified as basement shelters. On two
occasions, however, when members of the delegation departed from the
conducted tour basement shelters were observed.
B. Difficulty Observation
In zny January briefing on this subject, I stressed the difficult
of collecting hard facts on this subject. Soviet civil defense activities are
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and even trained observers have difficult
Identifying shelters. This, in part, accounts for a large number of
negative reports from the field on these activities.
III. Conclusions. Weighing all the available evidence, the conclusions of
the intelligence community are substantially the same as those expressed
in my January briefing.
A. No firm estimate on number of persons afforded shelter
protection--believe a minimum of 10 to 15 millions of the urban population
of 74 million are afforded at least partial protection--could run higher.
3. Clear that Soviet civilians have much more shelter available
than U. S. civilians*.
C. Shelters which might survive nuclear attack and remain air-
tight and equipped with adequate filtered ventilation would substantially
reduce casualties from fall-out.
D. The Soviet shelter program is a sustained effort and will probably
be continued in the future--there is no evidence that its completion is
geared to any future target date for the initiation of hostilities.
IV. My last briefing on this subject and the recent CIA report reviewed
some of the evidence supporting these conclusions. Official Soviet
intelligence community nor is this conclusion
in
sped by
U.S
was included as a conclusion in our briefing
CIA. report. . to the NSC.
It
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publications and communications intelligence attest to the existence o
the Soviet program, including the program for shelter construction.
There is concrete evidence from hundreds of eyewitness reports. P
defectors, as well as from members of the U. g. Housing Delegation
who have observed civil defense shelters.
V. The uncertainty surrounding many aspects of the Soviet shelter and
civil defense programs is well recognized and the intelligence effort
on this subject will continue to have high priority.
rch 1958
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