POLITICAL; ECONOMIC

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00809A000700210051-7
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 12
• Document Creation Date: December 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: January 9, 2002
• Sequence Number: 51
• Publication Date: March 3, 1953
• Content Type: REPORT

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CLASSIFICATION S-E-C-R-E-T
SECUB 1' wOSf 1A.!ION
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
INFORMATION FROM
FOREIGN DOCUMENTS OR RADIO BROADCASTS
COUNTRY USSR
SUBJECT Political; Economic
HOW
PUBLISHED Daily newspaler; weekly periodical
WHERE
PUBLISHED Parir
DATE
PUBLISHED 14 Jul - 21 Oct 1952
LANGUAGE
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REPORT NO.
CD NO.
DATE OF
DATE DIST. 5 (Pu4R 1953
SUPPLEMENT TO
REPORT NO.
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110 711. OF TNI U.S. COOK. Al 9111010. ITS TIA11N11110N OI IIVK.
LATIlU 01 ITS CONTINTI TO 04 IICIIIT IT AN UNAUTN011IID III/ON 10
/omment; Sumraxy: The follo::ing report contains information on:
1. The visit of a delegation .f French miners, .Tuly - Aug;uat 1952;
2. The visit of a French delegation organized by the Asaocia-
tion France-USSR, August - September 1952;
3. The visit of a delegation of Belgian miners, Spring of
1951. Furthermore, a delegation of French stude,lts it. mentioned
in the text.
It is to be noted that the data on the French delegations stems
exclusively from the French Communist daily newspaper 11IIumanil.e and
is reported here as it was published in that newspaper.
Numbers in parentheses refer to appended sources
Invited by the Central Council of the Soviet Coal Miners Union, a dele-
gation of French miners led by Victoria Duguet, secretary-general of the
Federation of Miners CGT, has arrived at Moscow.
The French miners, during their first day in the Soviet capital, visited
the city, viewed buildings under construction, and in particular the University,
admired the metro stations, and passed the evening at Gorki Park.
The French delegation aiil be received by the Donbass miners at the be-
ginning of the week. (1)
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A member of the delegation, interviewed by Radio-Moscow on his first im-
pressions of his visit in the Soviet capital, made the following statement: "We
have become acquainted with the city. We have visited the site of the new
university under 'construction, a magnificent work of Soviet architecture, as
well as new quarters under construction lining a newly constructed. street....
All the members of the delegation were strongly impressed by their visit to
the Moscow metro. We have seen almost all the stations which were built be-
fore the war, those which were finished during the war, and the stations which
were put in service this y(r....
Seeing how much strength and genius the Soviet put toward peaceful pur-
poses, we are again convinced they do not and cannot want war."
The French miners visited the Central Council of Soviet Trade-Unions on
11 July, where they became acquainted with the system of social insurance in the
USSR. (2)
Tula Coal Mines
The delegation of French miners visited Tula, center of the coal basin
situated to the south of Moscow. The delegates visited a mine shaft, the miners'
rest home, and the vacation colony for miners, children.
"What we saw in the mines permitted us to understand the excellent condi- _
tions in which our Soviet comrades work. The mines are provided with magnificent
ventilating systems and perfect technical equipment. We saw a combine in opera-
tion. This machine makes the miners' work one hundred times easier."
Another delegate, speaking of his visit to the vacation colony, said:
"We caw healthy and happy children there.....I would say that after all we
have seen in Russia, we can draw the following essential conclusion: a country
where people work with such enthusiasm for their children's happiness cannot
want war." (3)
Donets Basin
The delegation of French miners, after a trip to the Donets Basin, to
Zhdanov on the Sea of Azov, and to Sochi on the Black Sea, returned to Moscow.
When interviewed oy Radio Moscow, Victorin Duguet, the head of the delega-
tion and secretary-general of the Federation of Miners, stated:
"In visiting the mines of'the Donets Basin, we noticed the excellent working
conditions of our Soviet comrades; we saw the coal-mining combine in operation.
It is a truly remarkable invention. In the USSR, the machine is placed at the
service of man; every effort is made here to facilitate the hard work of the
miner.
We also visited the rest centers of Zhdanov and Sochi and saw the sanitoria
where Soviet workers rest. We talked frequently with the guasts and we can
stz.te that they were happy about their vacations.
For 20 days we have studied the life of the Soviet people, and. each day
we find new proof of their aspiration.- toward peace and a happy and prosperous
life." (4)
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Interviews Given by Delegates to the Moscow Correspondent of I'Humanite, Jean Coin
The following is an interview given by Pierre Nury, shop steward at the Moutiers
iron mine fcT 17 years, elected municipal councilor on the Socialist Party tic-
ket and now performing the duties of deputy mayor of Moutiers (N,eurthe-et-Moselle):
Coin: 'What did you think of the Soviet Union before your trip?"
Nury: "When I was chosen to come to Russia, I wra pleased and proud of
having been selected to make this study trip. But S. must be sincere with myself.
When I left France, I had certain doubts about what was going on in the Soviet
Union, notably on the subject of armament and about the life of -the workers;
and when I crossed the line of demarkation in Austria to enter the Soviet oc-
cupied zone, I admit, I was no more enthusiastic than before and I felt uncom-
fortable. I think that if I had dared, I would have turned back, but I held
firm and do not regret it, because I found on the other side of what some call
"the iron curtain" a cordiality and friendliness which exist nowhere else."
C.: 'What impressed you most in Russia?"
N. "In our capitalistic country, the bourgeois press tells us emphatically
every day of the aggressive and expansionist aims of the USSR with respect to
other countries. But during a month's trip in Russia, from Minsk to Moscow,
from Tula to the Donets Basin, passing through Khar'.cov and Stalino, from the
Caucasus to the Black Sea, I have seen only construction of every ld.nd going
on. Dwellings for workers are being built as quickly as possible to replace
shanties which are the last traces of the woeful Czarist regime. I saw dozens
of sanatoria and rest homes under contruction. .. .1 saw the repair of old and
the construction of new highways; I saw several camps of young pioneers and
the Stalino Maternity Hospital; I also saw metallurgical and tool plants where
production has nothing to do with war material. I also saw the local workers,
clubs.. .and, their libraries which absolutely contain no warlike literature.
How can anyone conceive that a country such as Russia, which is building all
that I have- just mentioned, could want war? How and where would it obtain
the money necessary to launch a new world conflict? Our leaders must be crazy
or criminal to make such stupid remarks. From what I have seen, I am convinced
that everything they say about the socialist country is false." (55
Pierre Morelle was picked by the miners of Denai_n to visit the Soviet
Union. After his trip in Russia, he gave the interviewer the following state-
ments for l'Humanite:
"In my visits and contacts in mines, movies, and rest homes, I have noticed
one thing wh!rh struck me immediately: the joy of life of the Soviet miners.
Also, it is not astonishing that such a people ardently desire peace. The
So??iet workers lack nothing to keep them happy.
A young bachelor from Gorlovka told us that a third of his salary was
enough for his food, and that he spent the other two thirds for clothes and
amusements.
No cares for the future, since medical care and education are entirely free...
Our delegationwas very surprised by the quantitative and qualitative composition
of the miners' meals: meat and fish three times a day.
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The Soviet miner can advance from laborer to engineer. All educational
facilities are at his disposal. The Soviet Union has nothing to fear in
raising their standard of living. On the contrary, it is pushing this develop-
ment ... The Soviet miner is not exhausted when be comes out of the mine. Ma-
chines have replaced men and pick hammers. There is no need for him to sup- -
plement his salary by cultivating a bit of land ...The Soviet miner has rest
homes such as the one at Sochi in which our delegation stayed for a week. This
was an unforgettable experience for us. All the means for relaxation and -c,:-
cation are put at the disposal of the miner and his family..."(6)
The following is An interview given by Jean Stella, :resident of the Re-
gional Federation of the Iron Miners of the East and former member of the
Socialist Party:
"To be completely sincere, I must indicate that my conception of true
democracy, already sufficiently well established at the time of my depar-
ture for Russia, was more than amply confirmed by what I was able to see and
hear during the course of our trip in the USSR.
For example, every worker is eligible for nomination for all labor-union
positions. The decisive vote for filling labor-union positions takes place in
the plenary assemblies where everyone may discuss the nominations.
A Soviet miner told me: I work in complete liberty and as hard as I can
so that my output will increase my wages and at the same time serve the common
cause.
We Soviet workers are entirely free to choose our labor leaders, just as
we are free to choose our rpoliticai7 deputies. Each worker has a chance to
try for the most responsible positions, becaus in our libraries and recreation
centers we can always further rn? edutee+. .
But we Soviet workers also have the right at any moment to demand the
dismissal of any elected official who during his term might fail in his task.
Moreover, when the director or engineer of a mine makes a mistake affecting the
safety or health of one or several workers, the labor union, on request by the
workers, can penalize this same director or engineer. Serious cases can lead
to dismissal without precluding any penalities which may be imposed by competent
courts.
There, comrades, miners, and workers of France, is true democracy which
hardly resembles the fake capitalistic democracy by which thousands upon thou-
sands of workers have been punished because they dared to show their dissatis-
faction, whether against certain management methods, or against certain re-
actionary government methods.
When we told in the USSR that our comrade Ricq had been suspended as
shop steward and dismiss:.1 from his job for having spoken before tha wo.-kers
of his mine in favor of peace, the Soviet workers were flabbergasted and could
not believe such a monstrosity. That is well understandable, because the Soviet
Constitution, which guarantees the right Io .rork to every citizen, is fully
respected." (7)
The following is an interview given by Etienne Ricq:
Etienne Ricq has 28 years of service at Pit 14 of Oiguies (Pas-de-Calais).
Because he spoke in favor of peace, he was sentenced to a fine of 2,000 francs
and re.ieved of his duties as shop steward and master miner. He is now unem-
ployed. At the end of the trip he gave the interviewer the following statement:
It is with great joy that I became a member Sf the 11.-man French del.er;ation
which visited the Soviet Union. The working conditions of the Soviet miners in-
terested me particulai.iy.
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I visited three mineu: a lignite mine, a flat seam mine, and an inclined
seam mine.
All the faces are equipped with combines Burnished with safety devices
and with pulverizers to lay the dust. The props follow the machine rlosely,
while in France the miners are constantly obliged to report lack of material
to the mine administration.
The main tunnels where the trains run are 2.5 meters high and 3.7 meters
wide. The trains run in complete safety; no collision in ;ossible because a
dispatcher directs them. A special train, equipped with fire-fighting equipment
and carbonic acid, is always ready for action. .,,In all the shafts above and
below ground there is an infirmary and a registered nurse to help the injured.
Accidents are very rare: statistics show that only 2 percent of the workers are
injured, minor accidents included. I noticed that all the mines were very
well ventilated and that each shaft had ventilators and reserve motors.
.."(8)
The following is an interview given 'by Marcel Outin, mine engineer, who
was discharged for having taken part in the strike at Firminy in 1948:
"I was parti,;slarly impressed by the extent of modernization and mechani-
zation in the Soviet mines. Whether in the mines of Tula or in the Donbass, the
fatigue element in mintng operations is enormously reduced by the use of
modern machines. I saw the coal-cutting machines working on the face of a
coal seam c r 2 meters thick; I saw combines breaking down, crushing, and
loading the coal onto scraper conveyors. Without much trouble, the miners who
run these machines reach an output far beyond the quota set by the management
and the union. Consequently their base salaries are increased notably.
Such a method of extraction allows the m hers to give more attention to
matters of safety, I also observed the dispatcher directing trains in the sup-
ply galleries and noted the importance of the telephone system at the bottom
of th? mine.
We cannot help but compare these mines with our French mines where only
slight and usually ill-advised modernization has been carried out. More and
more miners are becoming technicians, and it is the modernization process which
gives common laborers the opportunity of becoming engineers.
I may add that the Soviet miners participate actively by suggestions and
constructive criticism in the modernization of mines. At the Kirov plant where
combines are made, suggestions by miners were taken into consideration. Further-
tore, it is remarkable that only Soviet machines are used."(9)
Faccer is From a Series of Articles by Jean Coin on the Coal Field From Moscow
to the Donbass
fear. Coin, Moscow correspondent of l'Humanite, accompanied the delegation
of French mirers and published a series of five articles in that newspaper-7
Moscow Coal Region
In the morning, we arrives in the Moscow coal region. Behind a is Tula.
The descent. The rapid flight of the cable. Maria Bobrinova, a young
30-year old geometric engineer, accompanies us. At the landing, a young girl
controls the ascent; another is in charge of the automatic machine which empties
trucks and charges the skip; a third runs the rail-car.. .Finally, the heart
of the mine and the room where the combine works. The Donbass condnine does
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the undercutting, the cutting, and the loading of the coal. It saws the coal
with its incisors, grinds it with its molars, while the steel tongue loads the
80 taus and more, depending on the opening in the conveyor chute.
"An intelligent machine," remarked Ivan Merkin, manager of the Donbass
combine. He told me that the output of the Moscow basin is ?3 times larger than
before the war. A single mine produces as much coal as the entire basin in
1913.(10)
Donbass. The Stalino region whose output was 45 percent of the Donbass,
production (154 shafts; 239 extracting machines; 189 ventilators; 266 machine
sheds; 241 administrative buildings; 1,900 cutting machines; 800 electromotors;
760 pumps; 8,617 private homes; 330,000 square meters of community buildings)
had been completely destroyed by -tae Germans. It took only 5 years for the
Soviets to restore this region, not only to rebuild the former Donbass, but to
put it on an entirely new basis and to make of it with its new installations,
its gardens, its inhabitants, the most modern and mechanize3 basin in the world.
I went below ground in several mines. I tra-reled it the basin. I went
from Stalin to the shores )f the Sea of Azov, to Mariupol whose ngw name is
Zhdanov.
Donbass now produces more coal than before the war. A third of its length
has metal pit props; 97 percent of the cutting is done with combines; the
trucking and loading of the cars and the skips are completely mechanized. (11)
Nikitovka and Chtstyakov Mines. At the Nikitovka mine at Gorlovka, the
electric trains loaded with miners roll toward the cutting face. At the Chiaty-
akov mine, Vasiliy Kuchier, with his two aides, established the new record for
the Donbass combine in cutting in July 18,355 tons on a 250-meter face. . .The
combines dig the coal. Three men guide and supervise the enormous gnawing; it
advances 24 meters per day.
I went down into a room rising 140 meters with an almost vertical inclina-
tion of 70 percent. I watched the combine as it worked on a 70-centimeter seam.
It worked 140 meters in a single day. The machine and its operator are pro-
tected by a steel roof on which the prop setters work.
At Nikitovka, two surprises, inconceivable in capitalistic mines, awaited
me: in one gallery an electric engine and its safety train, carrying 10,000
liters of carbonic acid, nozzle- and gas masks, is always ready. The train
has not been needed in 4 years. Soviet scholars affirm that 95 percent of the
accidents are prevented, but in case of failure, the quarters are evacuated.
In another gallery, there is an infirmary. There have been no fatal accidents
and only two permanent disabilities since the reopening of the mine in 1944.(12)
Kochegar. A Soviet miner says that the Kochegar mine is no longer as it
was in his childhood and in the early days of socialism, because it is now com-?
pl:tely mechanized. For the first 6 montho of t.hn the
t.aa Lnot apecified7
cut 9,000 tons over and above its quota. The miners are the best-paid workers
in the USSR. i miner stated: In our team not specified/ each worker receives
from 80.to 90 rubles as base salary, but the bonuses amount to 4,000 to 7,000
rubles each moth, without counting the seniority bonus. This more tnan doubles
our salary for December and makes it two and a half times higher than before
the war. We receive our work clothes free, as we.Ll as rubber boots, tools and
fuel (774 kilograms per month in the winter and 450 kilograms per month in
the summer).
A total of 33,000 Donbass miners have built their own homes since the end
of the war, and 1,387 have their own automobiles.
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Kochegar has 87 engineers and 'echnicians, as well as 200 specialists
and foremen. The number of workers is growing smaller while the number of
specialists and engineers taken from among the workers is increasing.(13)
DELEGATION ORGANIZED BY ASSOCIATION ,'1NCE-USSR
In the morning of 11 August 19;2, a large delegation organized by the
Association France-USSR, left fir the Soviet Union on invitation of the Soviet
Society for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries.
Composition of Delegation
Henri Denis, professor at the law faculty of the University of Reines,
director of the Catholic newspaper Ouest-Matin;
Louis Heron de Villefosse, writer, former chief of staff of Free French
Naval Forces [another source describes him as a "member" of the Free French
Naval Forces, now residing at rue de Clicby, Longjumeau (Seine-et-Oise) (1417;
Janine Bouissounouse, writer;
Jacques Madaule, writer, mayor of Issy-les-Moulineaux;
Celestin Ferre, mayor of Pavillon-sous-Bois , socialist;
Francois De Geoffre, journalist, former pilot of the Normandie -Niemen
regiment.
Maurice Brun, lawyer, MRP- municipal councilor at Montlucon;
Jean Tricart ,lso spelled Tricard7, professor at the University of
Strasbourg;
Gabriel Citerne, joiner, former deputy, judge at the High Court of Justice;
Raymond Gaudin, professor at Nantes, municipal councilor at Le Montagne
(Loire-Inferieure);
Georges Sautier [also spelled Sauthier7, professor at the Technical
College of Pau, former president of the Ligue des Droits de 1~He;
Roger Chevallier [also spelled Chavclier/: schoolteacher at Dijon;
Jean Fromy, employee at the Electricite de France, member of the Force
Ouvriere trade-union;
Emile Tersen, university prc'e wor;
Henri Pouget, secretary of Mouvene.r.t Universitaire des 150 (University
Movement of the 150);
Renee Bourdon. (7)
fOn 10 September 1952, the same source (1'Hucanite) reported the following:
"A French delegation.. returned yesterday from a visit in the Soviet Union. Led
by Henri Denis-the delegation was composed of the following....." The listing
of names then given was compared with the one given at the time of departure,
(containing 16 names) end it vas found that the following names do not appear
on the latter list: Emile Tersen, Een i Pouget, and Renee Bourdon. (1517
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Belorussia
With the France-USSR delegation, Jacques Madaule, mayor of Iacy-les-
Moulineaux, arrived in Moscow after a trip to Belorussia. According to Radio
Moscow he said., "I was so impressed by Minsk, with its newly constructed build-
ings, its thoroughfares, and its new squares ... all this in a cii; which was
almost entirely destroyed during the war. At the time of our stay in Belorussia,
we also visited the Academy of Sciences of the Republic. Its members are under-
taking the great task of draining swamps and preparing forest belts. . .We know
that true science must better man's life. This theme is carried out by all the
Soviet scholars." (16)
Borets Kolkhoz
The delegation visited the Dorets kolkhoz near Moscow on 1 September.
Taking leave of the workers, Prof Henri Denis said: "We have Been that
the kolkhoz assures the peasants of a comfortable life. When we return to
France, we shall tell the truth a?'out what we have seen. I think that what we
have to say will be a contribution to the struggle for peace. "(17)
,Hoscow Press Conference
The delegation, after a 3-week trip which took it from Moscow to Minsk,
to Stalingrad, and to the Lenin (Volga-Don) Canal, has returned to Moscow.
During the course of a press conference held yesterday, Henri Denis re-
leased a statement approved, by all the delegates which said,
"We have noted the enthusiastic participation of the entire population
in the huge tasks which are being accomplished today in Russia. We can affirm
how certain it appears to us that the people of the Soviet Union want peace and
bow unt%inkable it seems that their leaders could plan aggression against other
peoples." (18)
The delegation was invited to visit Stalingrad, and at the end of this
visit the delegates discussed their impressions on Radio-Moscow. Jacques
Madaule made the following statement: "....The first lesson of Stalingrad is
that of victorious resistance to aggression. The second lesson is that of re-
construction in peace for peace. Indeed, the men of Stalingrad who fought and
won when they were attacked are now engaged in another battle--the battle for
the transformation of nature.
It is not without good reason that the Volga-Don Canal, for example, is
so near Stalingrad; it is not without good reason that we saw at the gates ')f
Stalingrad forest belts which with the water they hold will tend to transform
not only the soil but the climate. "(J.9)
Second Trip to Belorussia
On the return of the delegation from another trip to Minsk, Roger
Chevallier told in a short speech over Radio Moscow about his impressions on
child care in the Soviet Union:
"What wonderful youth, raised in the love of life and of peace, in the
love of men of every country, reaching out toward the great and the beautiful
in man," he exclaimed after having seen the pioneer camp of the Kalinin factory
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set up 30 kilometers from the city. And he added: "At Minsk we visited the
orphanage for victims of the war and resistance. Naturally, the children live
under the best conditions of health and comfort... 11(19)
Statements and Press Conferences After Return to Paris
Returning to Paris on 9 September 1952 from their trip to Moscow, Minsk,
Stalingrad, and to the Volga-Don Canal, the members of the delegation stressed
the tremendous effort made by the entir' Soviet nation in reconstruction and
new construction.
Their statement 1of 10 September 19527follows:
"We want to affirm still more strongly how certain it appears to us that
the people of the Soviet Union want peace and how unthinkable it seems to us
that their leaders plan any aggression against other people.. .We visited the
Volga-Dcn Canal which irrigates a wide expense of territory, permitting the
feeding of tens of millions of people. The fact that the USSR is engaged in
such great undertakings assures us that the Soviets are working only for the
betterment of living conditions. If the Soviet union challenges the western
world, it is not a military but a peaceful challenge."
At a press conference held last night j September? in Paris, Messrs
Jacques Madaule, Celestin Ferre, Francois de Geoffre, Gabriel Citerne, Georges
Gautier, and Jean Fromy gave additional evidence of peaceabl' development in
Russia.
In conclusion and in denunciation of the wild slanderous campaign against
Russia which is being carried on by the French radi,t, the delegates asked the
reporters and others present at the press conference tc conduct a campaign to
obtain permission for the delegates to broadcast the trut:: about what they saw
in the Soviet Union.(15)
"A real song of work and peace," Celestin Ferre said the night before
last j Se-,tea)'.-r7, speaking of the Soviet people. "A real delight. People
work without difficulty because they benefit from an intensive mechanization
in all the tasks they face."
However, Celestin Ferre, socialist mayor of Pavillon-sous -Bois, did not
hide the apprehension he felt before the trip, his fears of what he would find
there. He told the reporters and guests at the press conference held the very
morning of the delegation's return from Russia: "I expected to see morose faces,
troubled people brooding about their misfortunes. Everywhere I saw only happy
faces, and that is easily explai