SURVEY OF SOVIET HIGHER EDUCATION IN THE FIELD OF CHEMISTRY.

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00809A000600030593-1
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 2, 2011
• Sequence Number: 593
• Publication Date: March 13, 1953
• Content Type: REPORT

Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/09/14 :CIA-RDP80-00809A000600030593-1
C! ASSIFtsATi(7i
CENTP.~iL INTELLI
^sa /14IAaI ~C~ACT
Ili~6i`~SIOIPSI I4.+Ie r-a~s vat a
COUNTP,Y L~5SR (hatv3r:)
SUBJECT Survey a~P Soviet Hig`cer Education in the Field
of Chemistry.
PLACE
:ACQUIRED
DATE
ACQUIRED
DATE DISTR. /~7 MA
NO. OF ENCLS.
(LISTED BELUWI
SUPPLEMENT TO
REPORT tJO.
DA'1~ OF'
THIS IS UNEVALUATED INFORMATION
2. As eari~ sa 1941, sad although s high ecnool education as rreL7. as a stiff antsan.e
examination for admiasian into the School 02 mediei:m (~-nd chamietzy) orer~ ::+-
quired at the TJaiverslty of Latvia, the head of thn Adtaissi~rar Staff T-a~7 s f~c-
ulty ua:nbor its name only, xhi].e a Cvamlunist ratty mcwbc~ xaa t,,~ isnx'.~zih*:ri.y
in such matters. Any applicant xith a family baalcground bordering an the :Yergy
a1 industry, stns disqualified: These included children of prioste, factory oxa-
ere and Lndoxaers~ Nevertheless, those coming from high schools, xho rare quali-
fied for admission, xere requires to pass 0xsms in chemistry, fhysice, ens foreiQa
' las~yvage (French, (}erman or Sn$liah), the Latvian language and Lutin. Language
exacts consisted of en oral trans.ation fry tho cla.;eice, reading of a.a articl?,
sad a xrittea tranelatioa.
3. Qualified stv~eata xere chosen Pram the ranks of the Komaomol.e, fa::aries and
collectives b~ the Communist pe-rty is theft respective arena, based primarily on
the apglicaat's political conformity. Prospective students xere eax~arked Yor
specific fields of study by the Communist party bef(u~e being admitted to a school
of higher learning; upon graduation, it xss required that the candidate return
Yor employment to that area from xhich he or she originated.
4. The textbook situation in the University of Latvia, and in the Chemistry Depart-
ment eapecislly, ea.s extremely bad, dun to lack o2 paper primarily. she majority
of a?1 Soviet textbooks xere traaslationg of foreign xorke, xithout permission
I of the author; sauce these hooka, spleQt~ ih_e.Ministrq :~f Education; piled
up in the over-xorked Office of ^_'ranslet~on, ~'i't ~~s~=oftec five +.e six years before
? ,-
- CI.ASS~FICA?iOPi coNt~DS~rinr.
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/09/14 :CIA-RDP80-00809A000600030593-1
 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/09/14 :CIA-RDP80-00809A000600030593-1
a volume was circulat?d i*cto educational fields, hence liz.le ma~?~riai wa. cur-
rent. In far i;, and esp~.?cially in the field of physi.es and c,zemi s-cry-, So-:~iet
textbooks were frequently based on works dating to the Czc~-ist era, which, ~oy
Western educational standards, were still considered good, except thst rrarcduc-
tian of graphics material was usually poor and other_ cemlletely illegibl_. ldr
color reproduction was knowr_, and charts and graphs were uauslly blurre~ .~eond
reco{,-rii.ior..
5. Chemistry classes, as well as other scientific student bcdies, were .limited to
40 members. Classes star:;ed at 000 or Oy00, six days a weeY_; and roc. tur'~il
1500, with one-half hour oft for lunch. each class las:.e:] 1+5 ::~iuutas. Fives
years' undergraduate work was required for a deSree i.n ~izemis try, wiie~?aupon t?he
student was graduated as "Ca_ndida~;e", after pB:is9.nd ~: State examir_ation. Ea11ow-
ing an additional one to '.ixa?ee years' course of research, :%ce s tii, instead
of ono 'to one-hundred or the alphabetical system. ,1 si.uden:?s pcli~~i:cai s~andin~~
invariably helpe3 improve his grading, and often a student c:~u1d ask far a re-
examination based on e political~.ifferenee he or she ctil.t;i'rt ^_lair beta=an the in-
dividual and the professor involved.
9. Since the Soviet .Yield of science stressed self-sufficiency within the USSR, all
Communist party member.profesaors required that a student's thesis be bawd on
-home problems (within his field) in order to develop national rr'sc?::roes and
capabilities. None of these .were published privstel;l, and oz].,y tk:osa which had
Lo ;t'_li:si:y :;esrits