SOVIET MINISTRY OF FORESTRY REPORTS SOME FIGURES OF POSTWAR FIVE-YEAR PLAN IN FORESTRY

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00809A000600400476-9
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 6
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 25, 2011
• Sequence Number: 476
• Publication Date: July 27, 1951
• Content Type: REPORT

Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/08/25: CIA-RDP80-00809A000600400476-9
INFORMATION FROM
FOREIGN DOCUMENTS OR RADIO BROADCASTS CD NO.
CLASSIFICATION CONFIDENTIAL .; FIDE
HOW
PUBLISHED Monthly periodical
WHERE
PUBLISHED Mnarov
DATE
PUBLISHED
LANGUAGE
THIS DOCUMENT CONTAINS INFORMATION AFFICTINS THE NATIONAL DEFONII
OF THE UNITED STATE! WITHIN THE MOANING OF ISPIONASI ACT SO
S. S. C., ! 1 AND !S. AS AMENDED. ITS TRANSMISSION ON TNt REVELATION
OF ITS CONTENTS IN ANY MANNER TO AS UNAUTIIOIIZ%D PRISON IS PRO?
NISITSD ST LAW. REPRODUCTION OF THIS FORM IS PNOHIIIT!D.
SOURCE Lesnoye Khozyaystvo, No 1, 1951.
DATE OF
INFORMATION 1951
DATE DIST. .17 Jul 1951
NO. OF PAGES 6
SUPPLEMENT TO
REPORT NO.
THIS IS UNEVALUATED INFORMATION
SOVIET MINISTRY OF FORESTRY REPORTS SOME FIGURES
ON POSTWAR FIVE-YEAR PLAN IN FORESTRY
V. Ya. Koldanov
Dep Minister of Forestry USSR
The founding of the Ministry of Forer'r;, which was organized on 4 April
1947, initiated a new stage in the development of Soviet i.,restry.
Article 33 of the law concerning the 1946-1950 Five-Year Plan set forth
the following tasks to be accomplished in the forestry field; for the purpose,
of restoring and developing the forestry of the country, as well as reforesting
the areas denuded under the German occupation, surveying and inventory of forests
and forest organization are to be carried out'on an area totaling 123 million
hectares; collection of seeds and establishment of tree nurseries are to be ex-
panded on a,kroad scale; measures are to be taken to preserve and improve the
condition of steppe regior forest massifs, which have significant agricultural
and water-conservation importance.
While the tasks set forth in Article 33 were assigned to the former Main Ad-
ministration of Forest Conservation, attached to the Council of Ministers USSR,
and fia -,,thee forest reserve custodians which were later incorporated into the
Ministry QZ Forestry USSR, there was no Five-Year Plan as such for forestry.
During the''~ntire five-year period, forestry goals were set each year by the an-
nual national economic plan; therefore, the forestry Five-Year Plan may be con-
as being the sum of the annual national economic plans for the five-year
sidered
period.
The following table shows the main forestry goals as planned and met during
the period of the 1946-1950 Five-Year Plan.
_ 1 _ cO~FIDE~~,
ARMY x AIR I 1 FBI
CLASSIFICATION CONFIDENTIAL
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/08/25: CIA-RDP80-00809A000600400476-9 ^L
 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/08/25: CIA-RDP80-00809A000600400476-9
-.1
COOFIaENTI F,::
CONFIDENTIAL
Total Vol of Work, 1946-1950
Planned
Performed*
Percent of Plan
Forest organization (ha).
Aerial photographing and
55,521,000
56,384,000
101
surveying (ha)
Maintenance felling, for
timber
179,319,000
189,943,300
106
Area (ha)
8,609,800
9,882,300
115
Quantity (cu m)
92,578,300
100,460,500
108
Sowing and planting (ha)
1,752,800
1,892,400
108
Tree nurseries established (ha)
30,922
32,801
106
Forest plantings maintained (he)
9,696,400
9,765,800
101
Natural restoration (ha)
1,006,800
1,010,900
100
Soil preparation of land used
for forest plantings, plan-
tations, and nurseries (ha)
2,393,900
2,520,900
105
Establishment of plantations (ha)
16,677
17,542
105
Collection of tree seeds (ton)
91,187
95,476
105
Including
Acorns (ton) 77,582 80,561 104
Larch (larix) seeds (ton) 70 42 60
Forest Organization
When the Ministry of Forestry was formed, it faced the problem of organising
the terr.tory set aside as USSR state forest reserves. Forest inventories had
to be taken, and timber reserves estimated.
After the formation of the Ministry of Forestry, considerable changes were
made in the state forest reserve. These changes reflected the requirements of
the government with respect to setting aside and protecting forest massifs which
are of particularly great state importance. Classification of forested areas
according to groups of forests is still proceeding at present.
In January 1:1:3, forests of the first group comprised 20,500,000 hectares;
of the second group, 80,900,000 hectares; and of the third group, 913,600,000 hec-
tares. On 1 January 1950, forests of the first group comprised 27,200,200 hectares;
of the second group, 85,400,000 hectares; and of the third group,,900 million hec-
tares. In 1950, another 3,700,000 hectares were added to forests of the first
group.
In 1948, the width of the forbidden zones along the banks of the Volga and
its right tributaries was restored to that set by the 2 July 1936 decree of the
Central Executive Committee USSR and the Council of People's Commissars USSR.
In 1949, a forbidden zone, 6 kilometers wide, was restored along the right bank
of the Ob' River and a protected zone of the same width was restored in the area
.-2-
CONFIDENTIAL
OOFIOEOTI~~
SLMILsanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/08/25: CIA-RDP80-00809A000600400476-9
 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/08/25: CIA-RDP80-00809A000600400476-9
1
of the upper and piddle Ob' forest massifs in Novosibirsk Oblast and Altay Kray.
In 1950, a forbidden zone 3 kilometers wide was restored along the Sorot' and
Lists. rivers in Pskov Oblast.
As of I January 1950, the state forest reserve of the USSR was conserva-
tively estimated, to be as follows,
Hectares
Percent
Total Area
1,063,000,uJ0
Wr
Including kolkhoz forests
41,200,000
--
Area covered with forests
628,300,000
62
Area not covered with forests
114,300,000
11
Unforested area
270,000,000
27
Coniitous forests predominate, occupying 492,000,000 hectares, or 78 per-
cent, of the area.
According to age groups, the state forest fund is distributed approximately
as follows (in percent)
Mature and overmature trees
55
Trees approaching maturity
16
Middle-aged trees
15
Young trees
14
Total resources of all forest amount to 5e., iillion cubic meters. Forests
in which coniferous species predominate account for 85 percent of this figure.
About 52.5 billion cubic meters, or 89.5 percent of total resources, are
concentrated in forests of the third group; about 2.9 billion cubic meters, or
5 percent of total resources, in forests of the second group; and 3.3 billion
cubic meters, or 5.5 percent of total resources, in forests of the first group.
About 8Q0 forest managements had been organized by the end of 1950; their
number will d.ncrease to 1,200 by the end of 1951.
From 1951 on, all forest organization work will be carried out only by the
All-Union "Lesproyekt" organizatior with its 10 trusts, 44 expeditions, and
seven offices. "Lesproyekt" has become a large organization, numbering more than
3,000 engineering-technical workers; they not only do high-quality work in the
forest, but also assemble high-quality forest organization plans.
Forest Planting
The decree issued on 20 October 1948 by the Council of Ministers USSR and
TsK VKP(b) concerning the planting of shelter-belt forests in the steppe regions
of the BW?opean USSR charged. the Ministry of Forestry USSR with the following
tasks: creation of eight state shelter belts in the period 1950-1965; afforest-
ation_ of ravines, gullies, and of sands and land on the territory of the state
forest fund; growing of tree sets in state tree nurseries; collection of seeds;
organization of 300 shelter-belt stations and of stele forest managements.
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/08/25: CIA-RDP80-00809A000600400476-9
 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/08/25: CIA-RDP80-00809A000600400476-9
1
In 1949 and 1950, 2O2&helt.er-belt stations, 164 nurseries, and 55 steppe
fort msr,e anents -?o.-, c,rrtr cted or were under construction in the steppe
regions.
In 1949 and 1950, the steppe forest managements and shelter-belt stations
planted a total of 560,180 he :.ares, or 111 percent, of plan, distributed as
follows (in hectares):
Voronezh Oblast
28,940
Bashkir ASSR
21,320
? ,, O
Oblast
1A znn
Kurslk. (Mast
25,59`'
~_
v
15
390
Orel Oblast
14,410
Tatar ASSR
,
Tambov Oblast
19?50
Penza Okl.ast
13,070
Rjnn O,bl st
13,770
Krasnodar Kray
4,290
Tula Oblast
6,600
Rostov Oblast
28,360
Mordov A3SR
12,700
Stavropol' Kray
15,300
Astrakhan' Oblast
11,190
Groznyy Oblast
3,750
Kuybyshev Oblast
16,740
Crimea Oblast
5,200
Saratov Oblast
19,420
Ukrainian SSR
218,650
C.hkalov Oblast
10,740
Kazakh SIR
2,040
Stalingrad Oblast
34,860
Total.
5 0,1 0
In 1948, 5,600 tons of tree and bush seeds were collected, and in 1949
eight times that amount wer. gathered. Special attention was paid to the col-
lection of oak, larch, maple, ash, and Siberian acacia seeds.
Forest Fire Contro.L
Measures taken during the last few years have considerably reduced forest
fires. If the area. destror?d by forest fires in. 1947 is*taken as 100 percent,
the areas so destroyed in .948, 1! and 1950 equal 39, 61, and. 50 percent,
respectively..
Since forest fires are related to a considerable degree ,.o meteorological
factors, Professor V. G. Nesterov has calculated the mathematical interrelation-
ship between meteorological. factors and forest fires. He has worked out a scale
for determining the degree of fire danger as related to the weather. This scale
permits forestry workers to plan their fire-control work more rationally and to
mobilize the fire-fighting apparatus and other fire-extinguishing means of the
timber managements at the proper time.
On the basis of Nesterov's scale, the Central Forecasting Institute has de-
veloped a method of compiling short-range and long-range (monthly) forecasts of
fire danger due to weather. These forecasts are sent to all oblast, kray, and
republic forestry administrations and to the forestry ministries of the union
republics.
Forestry aviation plays an important role in combating forest fires. In
some areas of the northern European USSR and also in Siberia and the Fat East,
forestry aviation is the sole means of detecting forest fires quickly and pre-
Forestry aviation carries out patrol service but is also effective in ex-
tinguishing fires. Parachutists, who have received special training, jump
directly into the fire zone or near the closest populated point. In the former
case, they extinguish the fire with their own forces; in the second case, they
organize the forces of the local population and supervise the extinguishing work.
In recent times, liquid chemical solutions (calcium chloride, magnesium
chloride, ammonium phosphate, ammonium sulfate, and others) have been widely
used for extinguishing fires or creating firebreaks. For the purpose of wide ap-
plication of chemical fire-fighting methods, organization of 400 forest-fire
cisely.
CONFIDENT"AI
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/08/25: CIA-RDP80-00809A000600400476-9
 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/08/25: CIA-RDP80-00809A000600400476-9
-1
rh mica). stations will soon be completed. Each station will be staffed by 6-8
men and. equipped with spray rump-o- and the necessary chemicals.
Radiotelephone communications play an important role in combating forest
fires. During the period 1947-1950, 5,000 kilometers of telephone wire were
strung, 2,400 telephones installed, and 527 radio stations placed in use. Of
the radio stations, 300 were set up at shelter-belt stations, in production cen-
ters, and in tractor brigades. In 1951, it is planned to string another 3,000
kilometers of telephone wire and to set up 200 more radio stations, including 100
at shelter-belt stations, in production sections, and in tractor brigades. .
Forest Protection
To carry out its forest-protection mission, the Ministry of Forestry USSR
laid down strict rules for forest sanitation in all USSR forests; inspection
operations were broadened, a service for detecting the presence of forest pests
and diseases was organized, and preventive and remedial measures for combating
pests and diseases were applied.
Pest and disease control was very vigorously pursued in steppe forest cul-
ture. During the 4-year period 1947-1950, forest-pathological surveys were made
of areas totaling more than 10 million hectares; aerial surveys checking infested
areas were made of areas totalling more than 26 million hectares; preventive and
remedial measures for combating pests and diseases were applied to areas exceed-
ing 1,300,000 hectares.
Aviation was widely employed in combating pests and diseases with chemicals;
275,000 hectares were treated during the 4-year period. In 1948-1950, planes
were used to apply chemicals to 20,000 hectares of cedar forests in the mountain-
ous areas of Irkutsk Oblast; these forests were infested with the Siberian silk-
worm. In 1950, this method gave excellent results in Izyum Forest Management,
Kharkov Oblast, where chemicals were applied to more than 20,000 hectares to
combat pine cutworm moths (P'octuidae).
Chemicals used were DDT and hexachloride (geksakhloran); these are very ef-
fective against insect pests. Dust application of these chemicals was so effec-
tive that the survival rate of afforestation plantings was high in 1950. At present,
effective means are being sought for combating insects which attack acorns and
other tree and bush seeds.
Forests of Special Importance
Forests of special importance are green zones, resort forests, and valuable
forest massifs. Green zones around 725 large cities and industrial centers and
900 other populated points total 8,621,000 hectares. Resort forests total
1,306,000 hectares.
Forests designated as valuable forests by the decree of 20 October 1948 are
mainly those in the steppe and forest-steppe areas of the European USSR --
Buzuluk Pine Forest, Shipov Forest, Chernyy (Black) Forest, and pine forests
along the Severnyy (Northern) Donets River (along the route of the Belgorod-Don
State Shelter Belt) -- but also include pine forests in West Siberia and Kazakh-
stan, the nut and fruit forests of southern Kirgizia, and others. They cover
4,386,000 hectares.
All valuable forests have been in the process of being organized since 1949;
this work will be completed in 1952. Special attention is being paid to care of
young trees and to replacement of low-quality trees with highly productive and
valuable trees. Livestock grazing has been forbidden in some areas. Forest res-
toration. has been speeded up. Protection of forests from harmful insects and
diseases has been improved. Specialists in the valuable forests are gradually
being replaced with persons who have higher training in forestry and have ade-
quate qualifications.
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/08/25: CIA-RDP80-00809A000600400476-9
 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/08/25: CIA-RDP80-00809A000600400476-9
`I
C01FIDENIp,,I
Five-Year Plans have been worked out and approved for the valuable forests
of Voronezh Oblast (Shipov Forest, Borisoglebsk Massif, Khrenovo Pine Forest,
and other.s). Forestry rules have been introduced in Buzuluk Pine Forest. Plans
for measures to be undertaken in 1951-1955 have also been worked out for the
other valuable forests and green zones around oblast and republic centers.
instructions for organizing kolkhoz forests were worked out and approved in
1948. The kolkho, forest organization plan is being carried out by 32 economic
calculation bureaus created in oblast and republic centers'. Kolkhozes which
ha;: c forceto (+here 15n non such ko khnzea) have been attached to forest.
managements and forestries; the latter exercise systematic control over the for-
ests and extend technical aid to the kolkbozes.
A complete survey of kolkhoz forests is being made and measures for im-
proving them and controlling exploitation are being worked out for each kolkhoz.
The Ministry of Forestry USSR and central and local forestry organs have
been charged with systematic and planned control of kolkhoz forests and of the
parks of cities and industrial centers. This control has not been exercised
wisely in all cases. There have been frequent cases of serious infraction of
basic forestry rules in kolkhoz forests, leading in a number of places to dis-
organized administration of kolkhoz forest resources.
Forestry Workers
The creation of cadres of permanent forestry workers was a basic task. In
1949, 17,000 workers were recruited. By December 1950, 4,500 permanent workers
had been assigned to shelter-belt stations. In 1949 and 1950, the ministry re-
ceived 1,822 young graduates of trade schools; these had been trained as machi-
nists, carpenters, blacksmiths, lathe workers, electricians, and as other spe-
cialists.
The number of permanent workers at forestry enterprises was 46.6 percent
greater in 1950 than in 1948.
Together with a numerical increase in permanent and seasonal workers, the
number of skilled worker increased. The following table shows the number of
workers trained and the increase in skilled workers.
1947
1948
1949
1950 (10 mo)
Skilled workers (tractor operators,
members of tractor brigades, drivers,
members of forest cultivation
brigades)
7,064
11,949
20,046
16,992
Increase in total number of skilled
workers
16,474
25,816
29,800
30,052
In 1948, living space of forestry enterprises amounted to ahc1 2 million
square meters; by the end of 1950, it had increased to 2.5 million square meters.
50X1-HUM
C FIBENT I I.
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/08/25: CIA-RDP80-00809A000600400476-9