CITY OF PYATIGORAK--SITE, STRUCTURE, FUNCTIONS, INSTALLATIONS, AND CHARACTER OF POPULATION

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00809A000600040066-5
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 5
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 20, 2011
• Sequence Number: 66
• Publication Date: May 15, 1953
• Content Type: REPORT

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CLASSIFICATr6N CONFIDENTIAL
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
INFORMATION REPORT
SUBJECT City of Pyatigorek--Site, Structure, Functions,
Installations, and Character of Population
PLACE
ACQUIRED
L1. 1 - .IIIe
?I II.1. 11? ..., ..1 .1.......1.. 11 ....'I...'1. 1...111.11.
NO. OF ENCLS.
(LISTED BELOW)
SUPPLEMENT TO
REPORT NO.
1. The city of Pyatig X'sk is located in the Northern Caucasus, 30 kilcasters
south of lnnerel'nyye Vody. It is situated among five mountains; l!t NOW*,
Mt 8eshtau (which has three peaks), and It Zhuchka. The River Podkmiok flows
thre:agh the city. It is a mountain stream that sometimes is 100 to 159 maters
in width and flows very rapidl,?. To the south of Pyatigorsk, aboat six
kilometers, there is a lake named "Tambukan". I don't remember its width or
depth, but many people came to this lake for treatment for rhe~aatism because
of the salt content of the water.
2. The city is located on the slope of Mt Mahuk and is bordered by a forest
containing various types of trees. To the s athvsst of the city are fielM
of brush and small trees. There is a lot of vegetationin the city, extending
into the valley beyond the city.
3. The old part of the city was built before the days of Pushkin, Ler'ontov, must
Leo Tolstoy, and was partially destroyed during World War II. !lome of the
buildings and the railroad stations were destroyed by the Soviets and a few
of the buildings in the center of town were destroyed by the retreating Gorman
army.
4.? many sanitariums and schools were being constructed
but these remai uncompleted olloadn~t Soviet retreat. I have no
information as to construction
5. The only industry was a small cast-iron smelting foundry There
were approximately 500 to 700 workers in this small two- . 1f+re
uw made cast-iron ingots in the shape of bricks, all of which were a out
by the six to ten trucks the plant had. I don't know the destination of tie
ingots. In 1942 there were plans to enlarge this factory. I don't brow tie
result of these plans. The only other industry was a small water-bottling
plant where mineiel water was bottled by 50 to 100 workers. Because of in-
adequate housing, abut 5000 people were homeless in the city.
CLASSIWICATION C0*=;T1AC
DISTR.8UTI0N
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Four kilometers nor t.h of the ?-i tv . e memori l ,, ..
`?. d:,S rtl.. ,..'. :; i.p "?.':i,;.., .,. "_',irievici
IPrimont,ov, the poet, on the spot where he had a d:iel uit_h I'artyncc.. '.this memorial
,
a small one, was encircled by a chair. and was en attraction for m.rny tourists, health
patients, and others? Special buses were allotted to bring peoplw to this memorial.
An additional place of interest was a small pit, more 11ks a well, which was formed
by an earlier earthquake. This pit, with a diameter _; to 30 meters, had water at.
the bottom which smelled of sulfur. It was located aboa': '0 kilometers from the
memorial. There were also grottoes, or caverns, where 1._r;nontnv !ised to spend evenings
writing poetry. The caverns were located on the slope of It Wrashuk and. were also a
tourist attraction.
7. A wide, straight street ran through the center of the o?ity_ other streets were
narrow, crooked, and muddy, The main street had lighte, bii all 3treeta were dark
at the edges of the city except. for the lights from kerosene lamps in homes. On
each street corner, the name of the rtreet was krii:t"n ciirt'r -r, -s hoard or a piece
of iron at cached to the corner of a house We had no ire -,: r. not>_
9. Most of the buildings in the city were ons and. teo-story high; except for the Stnte
Bank and. the NM which were five-stories high. Some of the hospll als and sanitarit;n::
on the outskirts of the city were four, five, and slit-stories bir3b. All of these
buildings were built of stone, or stone and brick. Ninety per cent of the roofs on
the homes were of a red painted iron and the other ten per cent had roofing made of
an oil-soaked pasteboard.
9. The name of the main street was "Sovetskaya" and it was about. four kilometers long.
A pedestrian lane called "Koahtanovaya Alleya" was in the middle of the street for
its entire length. Streetcars also were in the middle of the street. Automobiles
and carts travelled on both sides of the pedestrian lane. This main street was paved
with asphalt. All. others were of ordinary crushed stone and further out, towards the
outskirts, they wore dirt. The main street began et the Soviet. Prospect which was
at the railroad station, and it ended at the corner whet., tine State Bank and the NKVD
buildings stood. The majority of stores were located on this street.
10. As in all cities of the 3c?viet? anion, there ere larg4~nartiis; tc Lenin and to Stalin.
There was a large park, "Tsvetnik", where health pst.ietrt.r, end :itizens would listen
to open-air symphony concerts during evenings. tiiret- f.'tey r ,: Pa were also held
at this park said at Soviet Prospect,
11. Normal population of Pyatigorak was about 125 thous-And; tat during the summer,
the influx of tourists and health-resort patient:, thf n Pnbe r 3rnr !,-, ;v9r 250 t5') .sand.
12. The predominant population was Russian -? atCit 130 ps,r est. The remainder consisted
of Katakhe, Armenians, Greeks, Jews, Kabard n a, and Che:hen-lug,iehes. There was some
enmity among these nationality groups but I , w no o,;e?n quarreling or fighting, because
this was punishable by law.
13. Evan before 1937 there were many DP's such an Greeks, k'er ten end Oermaoe. liovrevar,
after 1938, because these DP=s were deported. to : ,t~erIan labor 4mpr, there aeaue!+
to be noticeable foreign groups entering this cit.y. A1eo after 1143R. elI atrcr
foreigners had severe restrictions Imposed upon them. They could not Je'.,i military
forces. They had no right to vote. They could attend none of tint higher schools of
learning. It was also difficult for them to obtain a choic" ,f York seat they were
and tr con-'ant inspection and sunervisign ,r the F-KVD an!l the militia.
14. About 80 to 85 per ccnt of the population use ' Orthodox faith; the r?Amainder belonged
to the Gregorian (Arms?nian) faith, and the Kabardiani and Chechen-ingueben Were
kiohammedane.
15. The railroad station is located in the southeastern part. of the city. it is a small
one-story building with an attached shed::ifhtch se-, vee so a f_-.eight station. The
passenger station had five railroad lines and four high platforms because the trains
were electrical. Thic station was only a iocel termini s1--:;inn. The mmir rail >~
terminal for all railroads was in Mineral'irjye Vad,:. The 311-xt'gf:.rs', bt5t,2on ueL.,,-i
the road to Kislovodsk to the south and to Minersi'nyye Vody t:! the curth. The
road track was double. Two or three expreos trains fx Kha ,row anc .:oe-rv arr,.-J'n daily, bringing health patients. There were also a fei- fre'3ht t;?eir,
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_6. The city had n- port because the river was very shallow.
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17. An airfield about four kilometers southwest of Pyatigorsk served the city. It
ws_s on the left side of the railroad tern towards Kiylovodak. There
were no paved runways.- I the field was a solid green
base. There were two hAagars r airplane repe.r and a pilots' school. Trainees
used 15 biplanes which were called the "Y-20.
18. There were three meats of conveyance in the city: streetcars, buses, and cabs
(wagonets). The streetcar system had five lines which went in various directions.
These lines were designated by the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. Streetcars were
painted in two colors, the upper-half a bright yellow and the lower part black.
They were ciuch smaller than those in the US. During the summer, streetcars had
trailers which were painted a bright red and had no doors or vtndovs. Streetcars
were manned by a conductor who collected fares of 2'.'0 kopecks to all directions. During
World War II, oldiers in uniform rode free of charge. Buses were assigned
only to transport those who cami for health treatments. Local residents were not
allowed to use them. There were also special buses which took passengers to
memorials on Mt Meshuk. Th1 re was a cab station at the railroad depot where one
could hire a cab to go anywhere he wanted. These cabs, painted black with no other
Ibut tips played an important part in obtaining a ca .
19. Pyatigorsk is the neat of the northern Caucasus Kray (it was earlier called the
Stavropol'ekiy Kray),
20. The city Soviet was located on Soviet Prospect between Bazarnaya and Kalinipshnya
Ste. The Military Office (mobilization point) was located on the corner of.:----
Sovetskaya and Budenovskaya Ste. The Index Department was located in the 'city
Soviet. The Finance Department was located in the State
the Social Welfare Department were somewhere in this area -
e NKVD was located on the Soviet Prospect. five-story
large building wee painted gray and was built of cement. The Militia was also
housed in this building.
21. There was one large prison, which wan located In the ;r-stern part of the city.
This was
l
b
i
a
arge
u
lding six floors high constructed ?~f _tone, brick, and rood
and surrounded by high walls,, All cateaorien .* rr?soners were in this building.
o u nge were converted into osDpu for politico:: prisoners
during World War IT, Such prisoners were used for d.iggiug trenches.
22. Besides city police, there were also civil police s.,ia militia. Civil police
kept order during air raids (they were called P V Kh 0 ?- the Anti-All-Chemical
Defense Organization). The militia maintained crier and re,cculated trafrie
throughout the city One militiaman stood on each :order ?f the main &-rest and
directed traffic. Single militiamen also patrolled the. pork ' . railroad station.
public square, art1 >ide streets in the center of town.. rn the o:aakirts cf town
one frequently saw two militiamen.
23. City police wore white uniforms luring summer and brae during winte'. !11It:nn'r,
wore regular aur.,mer and winter uD iformey civil police were identified by are
bands, side arms, and hGlmeta.
2%1 There were no restrictions during the night in peaze tme. But wulkirs the street,
after midnight war forbidden after the war began. Cont-o_ of docurents was
abolished during reece time but all papers were che;ked often (four times a werk)
during the war. One was stopped and had his papers -pecked at the railroad atatin:..
at, the movie houses, at the theater, and often on the streets. The Yssnl ercuec
wacu that the police were looking for deee-tore fro, :,,ili'..ary ee:vice.
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25. All provisions, including new=papers, 'Wert, rationed uc? cni; in rsk'
L)-,At thro?ighout the whole Soviet Union. It was necessary for one to get up
at four or five A ri in order to obtain goods. One had to strnd in line at the
doors of various stores.
26. The hlack market was in the homes. Chief goods used in black marketeerin were
broad, shoes, clothing material, -'!gar, ,;igarettes, coffee, and butter
what prices were, but black marketeering was conducted on r, large scale.
The usual black marketeers were managers of stores and warehouses. Punishment
for black marketeering was severe (five to ten years in Siberian labor camps).
27. The only local enterprises not under governments! supervision were small working
groups (artels) -- all shoe cobblers and house slipper manufacturers for example.
All other enterprises were government controlled and admitta,ce to work in them
was free. That is, each worker was able to search for his choice of work freely
(with exception of those who were restricted as f retgners - paragraph 13).
28. Communist Party membership approached approximately 90 per ceat by 1942. Of this
group, about 10 per cent was active and devoted to Cousn nism; the others were
members of the Party for personal protection,
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usTpro agn sold
at special newstands on streets, It containe-t ntin4o
p opaganda agada against
ce italist nati n3, Offices of this paper were located or, the main street, but
the exact address or the name of the last editor..
30. There was one local radio station in a building on the corner of Dsershinskiy
Street and Soviet Prospect. This station operated on long nave frequency daily
from four pm to six pm. Programs consisted of news items and lectures on
political themes. The station also relayed Moscow broadcasts. After six is
daily, the station broadcasted music by request. Abort ten per tent of the
population had receivers; the remainder of the population listened to loud
speakers situated throughout the city. These speakers 'oere connected directly
to the radio station. During peace time the sale of receivers was unrestricted;
but there -ere few of them and they were expensive (from 40C to 600 rubles).
Anyone who could buy a receiver had to register his receiver w!th the militia.
All receiva.3 were confiscated during the war.. Severe punishment was inflicted
upon anyone who failed to surrender this receiver. It was very difficult to
listen to foreign stations, Even if one had. t receiver. :rans:.tisslon was mvtf.ed
and distorted by various sounds.
and
party leaders. It Was well constructed of stone endthree-stories?high.
During the 8csiet Army retreat this hotel was only partially destroyed.
32. The city bad about nine hospitals during peace time; but during the war all of
the sanitariums were also converted into hospitals. Pyati.gorek was considered
a medical city during the war. 7h.s was partially true during normal time because
it was here that patients came for treatments for stomach ailments, rheumatism,
heart disease, and tuberculosis. Sanitary conditioue in. Pyatigorsk, therefore,
were on a high level. Special treatments were very erpenRj a and there were but few
hospitals in which one could be treated free of charge. q%.?. vre special
polyclinics and ambulatoriums in which physicians had an nr?n+t.nity to accept
private patients.
33. There were no epidemics in Pyatigorsk after 1941. The city buried its dead in
a cemetery located on the slope of Mt llashuk.
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34. The chief educational institution were Pedagogical Institute and Medical
Technical Institute. These were located Clone t
n the retain
street
itegulations
for at see schools eti ul
35 years of age, a citizen of the USSR, not related to sepoli.tical prisoner
and able to pay relatively high tuition. '
35 There was a wmathar sin station (probably V er Forecasting Bureau).
36. There were five 6wvie theaters in ti.. ,4+..
37. The city bad one large theater located behind the park. Operas, operettas,
and draws were presented in this theater weekly.
38. The city had a large sports stadium called ""ynamo". It was located s`ot far
from the railroad station. All sports rare played.hers, the most popular of
which was football (soccer). There was a large hippodrome ten kilometers south
of Pystigorsk. des v+h-?ch attracted large crowds were held hare; most
spectators were from out of town. There were two sports clubst "Dynamo" and
"8partak". They Yore busy with soccer, racing, jumping, swimming, horisaatal
bars, and other gymnastics.
39. The city bad cavalry, tank, and parachute units. The cavalry unit ram located
in a camp on the slops of lit Hashuk. This amp had may barracks which were
in good condition and a large drill field. The tank school was located three
kilometers from the city, across the Podkumok River. This school had a few
training tanks and several prime-movers. During the war, parachute and
marttiae infantry units trained in this city; they were quartered in various
school buildings.
40. There were three groups which prepared the population for civil defense In
case of military threats.
(a) P V IQi 0 (Anti,Air-Chemical Defense). iveryone, without exception,
had to complete cor.rsee conducted by this group. Classes were hold
in clubrooms and schools.
(b) The 0 8 0 (Preparation for Sanitation Organization). This course was
also obligatory.
(c) The 080VIAMM (Defense against Chemical Warfare). Thin was also an
obligatory course for everyone and, upon passing examinations, a
badge was issued which was worn an the chest. This badge bad to
be displayed on various holidays -- First-of-May parade for example.
Approximately 85 per cent of the population had documents which gave
them the right to rear such a bad ge.
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