CONDITION OF LATVIAN WOMEN: WORK REQUIREMENTS, CHILD CARE, CLOTHING, ATTITUDES/ APPEARANCE AND TASTES OF SOVIET WOMEN IN LEIPAJA.

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00809A000500040188-7
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 5
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: November 18, 2010
• Sequence Number: 188
• Publication Date: May 13, 1953
• Content Type: REPORT

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Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/11/18: CIA-RDP80-00809A000500040188-7
~I'',' III I
U.S. Offic
COUNTRY USSR (LmtYiaa SSE)
CENTRAL INTELL GENCE AGENCY
INFORMATION REPORT
SUBJECT Conditidn''o? Latvian Women? worn _Requi-_erents, Child I
Care, Clothing, #ttittides/ App"'a-..ar_re and Tastes of Soy le
Women is Liena.la.
??a i ?.e ?... oa .t ..t.:r . ..L. t c
IrHI'S is UNEVALUATED INF(IRMATIDN
IJ
L
DATE DISTR./,May 1453
NO'.'',OF PAGES 5
NOI. OF ENCLS.
SUPP. TO
REPORT NO.
Work Requirement'
2. The situation of vomrn in present day ' tv?a is very hard: they- must not orrly do all
thejhousework bu ',also have paying jobs in order to help support their families. More
over. there is a rule that all women vhc{ do nt have small chiadrenjunder 10 years of
age have to vork This rule does nut r
G 'e o apply to all Soviet women, y E, the
wives of the Sov et o'+_icere r arinued in `
epaja, but it is enforced strictly with
rebxrd t-' Latvians;.', Even if a voter, hs. 'Mal children, an investigation by the house
management detaos?mines whether the hurexd earns enough to support the! family; if not,1
the wife has to go tc work. A friend of nineJv`;o is a dressmsyce~r used to work at home
in order to stay with her chiicren The hous m-neganent decid~~d that the husband's
salary vas too smell to support -;he f m?1y a::1 the wotrs-u was told to join a drees-
tnakln artel in tt+o days 0r e t ~r NO eo. j F c thres.t vas madIel I but the woman vent.
r1CT'1' ~, :Y'oted of specu~r;a;t.iau,' III
"Wo n da the s e Jcb!~ sL 'ren: Chary +re ch::ulfeurrr, .rnt.spor-r
combine drivers III
J'l Ir. the YK, tcri;.?~ .,
5_'C1'i:S7Y I!+~C'Kh:A?I,`:N
e rakes shoes for private -liens. -he necessary leather he steals from his azte1
cr buys on the black: rket.
Interest in faati_oae pereiate. in Riga tic:- is s Fashion Centre where good artists
rev nice sadela. B ?there is n, material c ;aL.e, then up. Somehow one maaag~pa to
now about foreign 1r hioas. A fashion paper finds ltsvay to Latvia via East rmany;
on memorize the di ease* vorn by the stars in foreign film. The Soviet-made clothes
the shops are !for work only as they .'e norrible. For Sundays only horse cads;
clothes are worn. Sh a are not bought from the etoree, they are too horrible. One
rders them from a pr vwte show-raker every fourth or fifth year at a price of 400-450
tiles. During the da such a ahceniker worts in an arrrel. , at nigtrttime in his home
e.rybr~:y heals thing in L-t?r_a teiay and the aov.ets are the b ldest
1.evec :c i; not _,ten fro= th.?n thst one can buy thing;. Everybody knevs who
F_L's what Punlshar ti; f r theft are heavy. In the Liepaja sugar factory peo 1e have
r Calved five to ?.e:?r_?, years c-. forced labe-,:r for stekIng 200 ,>r of eugar. t^~ee
n ever 60, from iy a +ive vllIw. vha s,Eerhe_ nod io_d about ito fish on thel
black =ark.-t, get sev-nyeare each But nothing helps , one cannot 1've vithod
ea12n..;
A..titudc
1C. "The life o: ft vaman nLatvla i, all work and very little sleep. Play does not
e ter at ?11 except far toe young unmarried ones The day is spent in the follOring
manner: rising atlfive or six at the latest, cooling breakfast, perfunctory house
.caning. of ' to th. Job at 8, quaueing for food or other goods from 4 to 7, cooking
d Auer an,. doing house~wcrs until 1i-12 .f something special is sold, such Ias
f .our. one has to :tap queueing in the middle of the night. The daily budget is
2 ),rubles for a single person erd atlraat ,C or 6c rubles for a family of four.
11. ' tvian parents are having, pc-w- _'if:icui_tiee with their children because of the latter's
C niet indoctrinate on, Many :..'ctvidn children are now In the Pioneer and KosIsomol
o ganizatinns in ord r to finish a ceconlary school and get decent work it isabao-
Jvd ely ceeentie ',fora child to be a ion.omnl rv-cber the young people join bu:firith-
conviction. 'he viets are perfe t_y vel" w%re of th - ..tti .ude and do nc~t
y such attentit.a to he, Yombnmo; he P'.oneer organization in
hope of getting h d of the y'outg :hil re., 'no he.ve rover v---n free Latvia.l All
neers are takun to empr, every surssrr for three or Four wee.ca. G,'od food is pro-
ed, and real exfor are made to -NLke the c~.mpe attractive. It l4 :rainly through
ee can^ps thathe ildr~.n err lured to loin the Pioneers. The application islmitted to thechildr n, the, cor._ent of the parents ie net asked. Parents do ':not
re forbid their chi ren to jcin as thi_. night come out and be dangerous. What they
t 1',to do in ter them about frrr Latvia snd hint that the Soviets are not so good.
12. ;o cases are known if children having betrayed their
p rents. The parents r,,~ :arerul, of ro?.L (5'. In th iouzmal PIONEER the children
a a ca11~d upon t% rep aU abcrt-.t home life. tut uhcnever anything forbidden goes' on
t are (e iisteningl o VOA) th- .mein. children (under 10) do not understand aAdI the
o- der crier ( over x0) a -e clever enough to know what .ray be told at school amid v
ar not The Latvian) hildrtn are quite fierce nationalists and have tough fights With
i
it
or
y
viet? children. With t any eXni.ace.t_ons from their parents they see. the infer
the Soviets tolthe. ova people, Theis are Ft1ll plenty of children who of their
n accord laugh at th
mol are not so stroll
one'n living. How
(join tho Komsomol.
r'1oneters ant call them red sheep', Feelings about the! !Kom-
Evervbody knows that membership is necessary for the sake
er, the c runtiy youth, who g only to elementary school, l refuse
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Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/11/18: CIA-RDP80-00809A000500040188-7
 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/11/18: CIA-RDP80-00809A000500040188-7
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SECURITY I::FCRNATION
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