SOVIET GROUPS ENGAGED IN TELEVISION DEVELOPMENT

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00810A000900740003-8
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: October 15, 2009
• Sequence Number: 3
• Publication Date: April 29, 1953
• Content Type: REPORT

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CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
INFORMATION REPORT
This Document contains information affecting the Na-
tional Defense of the United States, within the mean-
ing of Title 18, Sections 793 and 794, of the U.S. Oode, as
amended. Its transmission or revelation of Its contents
to or receipt by an unauthorized person is prohibited
by law. The reproduction of this form is prohibited.
SECRET
SECURITY INFORMATION
COUNTRY USSR (Yloscow 0bb1 ast, Leningrad Oblast) REPORT
SUBJECT Soviet Groups Engaged in
Television Deve1opmezitt
DATE DISTR.
NO. OF PAGES
REQUIREMENT
REFERENCES
THE SOURCE EVALUATIONS IN THIS REPORT ARE DEFINITIVE.
THE APPRAISAL OF CONTENT IS TENTATIVE.
(FOR KEY SEE REVERSE)
29 April 1953
Relation Between N11 - SKI '13.2 rea TXI t $C
Russian words meaning "Scientific 'R :sea?ch Institutea? a In regard to NII 380
and NII 380 in Leningrade when the German group first arrived, Nil stands for the
the relations and activities of Institute 1608 and SKB 833 25X1
(the Special Construction Bureau), and NII 380, The former two were in Fryazino,
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the Russian wor. ,s for "All -Union" in front of the three words above. The 25X1
Ax
(Note: Washington Distribution Indicated by 'XI; Field Distribution By
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Institute eras never referred to as the All-Union Scientific
Research Institute for Television Development
'
with plans and materials so that the latter could begin parallel
development work on television projects. It was found,however,
that,at the time this help was being given to Nil 380 by *KB 833,
the former was not yet at a technological and organizational
and 19) and SKB 833 in Fryazino began to supply the Institute
back to Leningrad. At first this equipment was placed in a
building on Leenoy Prospect (the'street address is between 11
Soviets began to gradually transfer the Institute's equipment
location behind the Urals and,when hostilities ceased, the
During the war NII 380 had been moved from Leningrad to some
television developments.
period, the facilities of this Institute and the Special
Construction Bureau were located in the
same .buildings but were quite separate. SKB 833 worked on
high vacuum types), iconosoopee,and magnetrons. During this
in the production and development of vacuum tubes (including
it is
a general Soviet policy that,no title applied to a:facility
shall reveal the scope of its work program.
Institute id in Pryazino, was engaged
level to enable it to make full use of this support. Accord-
ingly, SKB 833 was first made a branch of NII,380 around the.
end of 1947 and it was moved to Leningrad in April of 1948.
About the time that SKB 633 was declared a branch of, NII 380
the yearly budget for the SKB was 1,500,000 rubles.
5?
It W ,s actually a rather small operation.
At tie beginning; of 1949 a new building,. was assigned to PII 380.
This,,,, was or. Fontanka Streets number 6. By that time the so
Galld "Secret Department" was occupying the third and fourth
floors in the "Lesnoy" Branch while the administrative offices.
were on the first floor and the civilian television work was
`being done on the second. When the .'ontanka building was
obtained,the civil departments began to move there. Rooms that
became free in "Lesnoy" were then taken over by the "Secret
Department". This move was gradual because much repair work
had to be donee=at Pontanka. the "Secret Depart-
-meat" will eventually completely occupy the "Lesnoy" Branch
while civilian television developments will be' exclusively
performed in Fcntanka.
at "Leenoy" were the heart of the entire Institute. They were
closely guarded and no German was ever admitted to them. If
any problems came up in the work done in that area, the Soviet
engineers came .to? the Germans. Actuall it a eared 25X1
such contacts were few; the oviets were given
explicit instructions not to contact the Germans except in
the case of extreme emergency or only on complex problems.
25X1
25X1
25X1
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the third and fourth floor operations 25X1
this "Secret Department" was
much coordination between this department.and'i,the services -
Nav and Air force officers going into
this area, in order to familiarize themselves with
the military equipments being worked on there; MCIrSETW seemed
not responsible to any other Institute. There was,of course,
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to have complete control of the "Secret Department".
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During the last few months of operation at Tannwald, after the
end of the war, a large number of "Tonne" sets were removed by
to Soviets and sent to the.UBSR. the majority
of these sets must have gone tO? 111 380 in LeningradIbeoause,
work on the "Tonne" tem
*as being done,
it ip well establish "d. that only Soviet components will be
employed in further devi+],opment of the "Tonne" and ".Seedorf"`
oquipm?nt. These wi'].l not ,give, any advanced capabilities to'
the Soviets cannot develop a system using the "Tonne" equipment
as a basis which will have an.a4vanoed oapability.
much the sar' as that contemplated in Germany.
the equipmenlt, and the use of such equipment will-be jr etty
One of tha factors which will certainly limit the Soviets in
their 'ability to develop new systems, will be the quality of
their engineering p?rsonn?l. According to USSR standards
e so ent sts at 111 380 were oapable.bUt
the aermana would have rated them "mo.`d4le class"N
] dnstion oanabilitiiI pt all 112
10. NII 380 could not be used under any,oiroumstanoes for serial
production of equipment, items since all fsoi Ziti'ss are far tae
small. It w66strictly a development organisation. For instance,
the monthly quota for the production of 'ioonosoopel was 30
and to gei'thiemany good tubes, the Institute had to built
eight to ted times that mazy. Once a set of sweep generators
was., Qrdere4 from 111 380 by an unknown facility. A production
run of 100 was ylinned and they were built over a one-and-one-
half to two-leer period. For 'raoh of these sweep generators
the Institute received 40,000 rubles.
Thither Comments on D?yloym.nt Conferences)
tile At. regular intervals, about 30 Soviet exerts
got together at
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different places in the Soviet Union to discuss the development
of television equipment. On several occasions the group met
in Leningrad. Germans were'allowed to go to these meetings
on only one occasion; this was to a meeting held in Moscow in
1947-
12. These meetings were held for the purpose of coordinating de-
velopment-effort and to not the direction in which further
development should go. the group was. empowered 25X1
toy and did, go into all new developments in the field.)
this group had no influence onsor connection with, 25X1
production activities except perhaps to wood out obsolete
products.
Mcsaow?Leninarad OeaYiai Qabi?
14. Regarding-the Moscow-Leningrad coaxial cable, the
seotioa from Moscow to Malimin was finished in early 19922bi?
cause in May of that year Soviet engineers in Charge of testing
the line and making measurements of its electrical character-
tattoo The
entire Project was also supposed to be completed by the. end
....
of 19520,
19. The line consisted of two coaxial tubes only and had no tole-
phone pairs.
he cable is planned for television transmission
only, although it could naturally be used for other types of
transmissions. All of the terminal equipment for the Moscow-
Kalinin section of this 'line is in place,
Amo g the
equipment removed from Germany by the Soviets was a great
deaf of underground coaxial cable which could very easily have
served as a model for the manufacture of'this Soviet cable.
SRCR'ST
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