SOVIET PRESS COVERAGE OF GREAT CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS DURING THREE PERIODS IN 1952 AND 1953

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00809A000700130279-7
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 26, 2011
• Sequence Number: 279
• Publication Date: September 14, 1953
• Content Type: REPORT

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/08: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700130279-7
MAR 1952 n-""
4 ~y1 ELtO(AY.1Z
CLASSIFICATION CONFIDENTIAL
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE
INFORMATION FROM
FOREIGN DOCUMENTS OR RADIO BROADCASTS
COUNTRY USSR
SUBJECT Economic - Construction projects
HOW
PUBLISHED Daily newspapers
WHERE
PUBLISHED USSR
DATE
PUBLISHED 1 Apr 1952 - 30 Jun 1953
LANGUAGE Ruseian
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unor o. m co,nrnoro ....cu.r rr ., ... ?,.o.~,....._... y._
CD NO.
DATE OF
INFORMATION 1952 - 1953
DATE DIST. /~Sep 1953
NO. OF PAGES 4
SUPPLEMENT TO
REPORT NO.
THIS IS UNEVALUATED INFORMATION
SOVIET PRESS COVERAGE OF GREAT CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS
DURING, TRREE PERIODS IN 1952 AND 1953
As one way of possibly establishing the present intentions of the Govern.
ment of the USSR with regard to the great construction projects, the space
devoted to articles concerning t`'em in four Soviet newspapers over three spe-
cific periods has been calculated and tabulated (see appended table) and the
ccntent of the articles analyzed for possible changes. The newspapers were
Pravda, Leninskove Zn va, PravUkrain , and Turkme .sk a ya Iskra. They were
examined for the second quarter 1.952, the second quarter 1953, and for the
period from 24 September to 24 October 1952.
These four newspapers were selected for the following reasons: Pravda is
the authoritative journal of the Communist Party, Pravda rainy reports on the
local aspects of the construction of the Kakhovka Rydroelectric Center, as well
as of the South Ukrainian and North Crimean Canals, Turkmenska_ ya_ Islcxa reports
on the construction of the Main Turkmen Canal as a local
Zna~yya vas chosen because it is published in Petrozavodsk,~raneareaLnotniimmedi-
ately affected by the great construction projects. In addition, Lenibkoa
Znamya has been :acted to report intelligence items on scattered areas in the
USSR which are not of immediate concern of ?etrozavodsk ana its environs.
Since the press for the third quarter 1953 is not yet fully available in
FDD, the second quarter 1953 and the comparable period of 1952 were chosen
for the survey. The peric from 24 September to 24 October 1952 was chosen
because the 19th Party Congress met during that time and its tasks were dis-
cussed for 2 weeks before and after the actual meeting of the congress.
An analysis of the contents of the articles published in all f)ur news-
papers during the three periods does not reveal any reversion or change in
the decision to build he construction projects. The only possible exception
is the Main Turkmen Canal, which is discussed below in connection with an anal-
ysis of the space allotted.
CLASSIFICATION CONFIDENTIAL
STATE AVY~-~j DISTR 1111 TI !4
ARMY AIR IJCI FBI ...
I i
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/08: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700130279-7
 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/08: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700130279-7
With seasonal variations, the articles discuss in the same tone during the
three periods planned and accomplished work, names of outstanding workers,
results of social;:st competition prior to national holidays and anniversaries,
aome shortcomings, equipment received at construction sites from certain plants,
reduction of costs, and the benefits the projects will bring when they are com-
pleted.
As the appended table shows, however, the amount of space a.lloted to the
projects, except Kuybyshev, was sharply reduced in the second quarter 1953,
as compared to the second quarter 1952. The reason Kuybyshev continues to
receive coverage is probably that it is closest to complrticn It is to be
finished in 1955.
The following reasons or combination of reasons are suggested to explain
the reduction of space devoted to the projects as a whole
I. In 1952, most of the work was of a preliminary nature, such as expe-
ditions
, surveys, exploratory work, etc , which the Soviet press usually reports
together with the historical background in great detail and with many repeti-
tions for propaganda purposes. In 1953, the press reports narrowed down to
actual construction work, of which there was not much to report.
2. Since Stalin's death the press has devoted far more space to topics
of more immediate concern to the people, such as production of consumers' goods,
the opening of stores, etc., and to international news the. to the construction
of a communist society in the distant future. Since Soviet newspapers are
usually limited to i. pages it may have been decip-ied to sacrifice press coverage
of the great construction projects, except Kuybyshev, which is closest to com-
pletion.
3. The reduction In space may actually reflect an abandonment of the great
construction projects temporarily or permanently due to shortages of materials
and labor, E?.cept in the case of the Main Turkmen Canal, this seems unlikely
and the first two reasons appear to be more likely explanations It may be
added here that the order of priority for building the projects i.s as follows:
(1) the Kuybyshev and Kakhovka Hydroelectric ^_entcrs, (2) the Stalingrad Hydro-
electric Center and the South Ukrainian and North Crimean Canal;, and (3) the
Main Turkmen Canal.
The complete lack of coverage given co thn Main Turkmen Canal in 1953 plus
an article published in Pravda or. 11? June woul'i suggest rather strongly
that the work on the Main Turkmen '-:nal has slowed down or even been abandoned
at least temporarily. The Pravda article, which was written by S. Kalizhnyuk,
chief of the Main Turkmen Canal construction, elaborates .on the great diffi-
culties faced by the bu:filers of the canal
Kalizhnyuk pointed out that tens of millions of cubic meters of lumber,
over one million tons of steel, and over 2 million tons of cement will be
required to complete the project, which includes the creation of one of the
.largest cotton growing areas in the USSR and of industrial centers in the lower
Amu-Dar'ya area and in Western Turkmenia. lie stated that transportation of
these materials will require a tremendous number of railroad cars, and that the
manufacture and transportation of the materials will require a great outlay of
funds.
Kalizhnyuk declared that not less than 1.5 million cubic meters of con-
crete must be place each year in 1953 and 1954 He revealed that the total
output of all the cement plants in Central Asia cannot meet this demand, and
that, consequently, new cement plants are to be built in the region of the
planned canal. He stated, however, that this had not yet been done.
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/08: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700130279-7
 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/08: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700130279-7
Furthermore, Kalizhnyuk pointed out many other difficulties and problems
which must be solved quickly if the work is to be carried out. He menticned an
acute shortage of any kind of fuel (which among other things curtails the lo-
cal.manufacture of bricks), the absence of suitable raw materials for construc-
tion in the locality of the canal, and the necessity for working out substitutes,
for which scientific help was still being awaited.
The Main Turkmen Canal construction may have encountered additional diffi-
culties. There is a possillility that the amnesty given by the Malenkov govern-
ment robbed the Main Turkmen Canal construction of its slave labor. Furthermore,
the inferior living and working conditions at the construction sites, where in
some cases drinking water is brought in by plane, do not offer much attraction
for workers. Conceivably, workers might have left the construction after Sta-
lin's death if a relaxation of regulations occurred.
The prohibitive cost of the construction and other difficulties pointed
out by Kalizhnyuk, together with the possible labor troubles described above,
might have compelled the Soviet government to slow down the work or to stop it
completely, at least temporarily.
Newsnaoer Space Allotted to Construction Pro.iects
Turkmenskaya Iskra
Leninskoye Znamya
Pravda Ukrainy
Pravda
Total
Kuybyshev Hydroelectric
Center
Turkmenskaya Iskra
Leninskoye Znemya
Pravda Ukrainy
Pravda
Total
(in inches)
Second Quarter
Second Quarter
Party Conference
Periou,
19%2
1953 - 24 Seri - 24 Oct 1952 Total
4
3
0
7
39
13
3
55
285
84
14
383
42
80
5
127
370
180
22
572
54
32
0
86
33
105
29
167
28
12
4
44
57
73
15
145
172
222
48
442
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/08: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700130279-7
 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/08: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700130279-7
Second Quarter
1
2
Party Conference
Second Quarter Period,
_
95
1953 24 Se
- 24 O
t
1
p
c
952 Total
Pravda Ukrainy
0
13
PraN?a
7
107
Total
11
293
Main Turkmen Canal
Turlonenskaya Iskra
821
0
131
952
Leninskoye Znamya
149
0
15
164
Pravda Ukrr my
30
0
0
30
Pravda
85
0
39
124
Total
South Ukrainian c,id North
Ctlmean Canal3
Turkmenskaya Iskra
121
121
Leninskoye Znamya
7
7
Pravda Ukrainy
225
270
Pravda
45
45
Total
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/08: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700130279-7