MILITARY, ECONOMIC, AND POLITICAL INFORMATION FROM SLIVEN

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00810A001600640003-1
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 12
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: November 4, 2009
• Sequence Number: 3
• Publication Date: June 30, 1953
• Content Type: REPORT

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CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
This Document cont$lns information alrectis; the Na
tionel Defense of the United atu" e, wtthhq the en . :
ins of Title 18, Sections 703 and 7M, of the V.8, Code, as
INFORMATION REPORT amended. Its transmission or revelation of its contents
to or receipt by an unauthorlpd person 1s prohibited
by law. The reproduction of this forth Is prohibited.
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SECURITY INFORMATION
COUNTRY Bulgaria
SUBJECT Military, Econinnic, and Political DATE DISTR. 30 June 1953
Information from Sliven
NO. OF PAGES 12
REQUIREMENT NO. RD
THE SOURCE EVALUATIONS IN THIS REPORT ARE DEFINITIVE.
THE APPRAISAL OF CONTENT IS TENTATIVE.
(FOR KEY SEE REVERSE)
1. A sketch of the city of Sliven is enclosed herewith as an appendix,, pages 7, 8, 9s
10, 11, and 12.
Military Information
2. The command of a large unit, either an Army, a corpse 25X1
or a division, and which bears the designation "3" or "111.0 is located'at Sliven*
the unit is analagous to the commands at Sofia' and'P1ovdiv
which are identified by the numbers "1" and "2f1"or -"I" and' "II" 'respectively, and 25X1
that it was transferred to Sliven from Shumen in 1951. This large unit oocupiee 25X1
the same building as a divisional command and a sign on the door 'reads "Division
Command."
e popu a ono iven is creas y t e continuous influx
of the 'families of of'f`Oetse The command building. faces Sveti Dimitur square;a44sits
front courtyard forms an angle with Deboya Street, as follows 25X1
A. Building,
80x'I0nt.
b. Btildifig,
ItOx20m,
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STATE E X EARMY EV X NAVY X AIR
X FBI JAEC
~\ qv "X", Ft. .J ......_rr.. ?et J
en By
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An unidentified Trudovak unit occupies the old barracks- which were occupied by
the 3-Trudovak Division prior to World War II. The barracks consist of two 1-
story buildings, dimensions unknown,'one of which is an L-shaped construction.
Themes, is enclosed by a metal fence. The Trudovaks of this unit are engaged in
various work projects in the area aiid were constructing a railroad branch south
of Sliven'as of March 1953. This unit also takes part in the parades at Sliven.
Be The military ?hospital of Sliven is a new construction, built after World War II,
and is located in an isolated zone in front of the barracks of the former 11 Infantry
Regiment. It consists of a single 2-story balding-approximately 100 by 45 meters
in size. Its director is an unidentified lieutenant colonel(doctor)o
A training and instruction camp for armored units, established in 1915-1946 and
commonly known as "Lager" (camp), is located approximately rik kilometers southeast
of Slivers and about 500 meters north of the railroad which leads to Zimnitsa. The
field is in the middle of a wooded zone known as Debela Koriya. The camp
several permanent installations used as troop lodginks-and vehicle sheds.
10. A summer camp for infantry troops, in existence prior to World War II and commonly
known as "Lager", is located approximately six kilometers- south-southwest`of Sliven,
approximtely two kilometers east of the rail l' to Tvurditsa.It_.is located in
a wooded zone in the vicinity offtchitsa.
the camp is used for training and instructing zn an-:ry . ro nns
L
who are recs. a for ,emporary reserve service for a period of instruction. 25X1
11. Sliven has no fir.'rg range.
12. A military airport is located in the southeast periphery of Sliven, between
Karnobat Boulevard and the rail line to Z tsa. It has a'
and is not equipped with a runwa
a small number of sin le-en ne planes
are used for pilot trainin
Air Force officers are seen only rarely the c ye 25X1
Economic Information
13. In serving the town of Sliven, the Zimnitsa-Vetren rail line has to make a turn
of approximately 1000. In order to eliminate the loss::of time and traffic bottle-
necks, a new railroad trunk is being constructed about two kilometers south of Sliven
to connect directly with the Zimnitsa and Vetren lines. This trunk will be approxi-
mately five or six kilometers long and will cross; the Asenovitsa and Novo Selo
Rivers. It will have its own railroad station. As of March 1953, the entire line
had been laid and the bridge over the Asenovitsa River was under construction. The
work is being carried out by the Trudovak units. stationed in Sliven.
14. The ICS (Mashino Traktorrio Stantsiya; Machine Tractor Station) which serves the
Sliven area is located in the southwest periphery of the city, in the vicinity of
the Elprom Factory. It is a workshop which maintains and makes light repairs on
machinery. The station is equipped with eight or 10 tractors and various agri-
cultural tools and machinery.
15. The Pobeda (Victory) Iron Works is an old factory formerly belonging to a certain
Sahakiom. After the war the plant was enlarged and the machinery was modernized.
It is located on the industrial quarter of Sliver,$ southeast of the railroad
station. The factory consists of one shed about 60 by 20 meters in size which is
used as a laboratory, and one small 'ch houses the directorate and the
offices; The plant employs approximately 250
workers in two s s per ay. r or to or War II, production consisted of spare
parts for industrial machinery, but at present it consists of machine parts and
other unknown industrial machinery.
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16. The city of Sliven is an important textile center. approxi-25X1
mately 5,000 workers are employed in the various textile factories in the city. The
four factories described in paragraphs 11-2Q are enclosed by a wall and have guards.
17. The DIP (Durzhavno Industrialno Predpriatie; State Industrial Enterprise),, a wool
textile factory, is the former property of Stefanov (fnu). It is located approxi-
mately five kilometers northwest of the city,,on Asenovitsa Street which leads to
the Byala area. The plant employs approximately 600 workers in two 8-hour shifts
per day and produces woolen yarn and finished woolen articles.
18. A textile factory formerly known as the Kalov Factory is'located approximately 300
meters north of the preceding factory. It-,employs 300-1OO workers in two 8-hour
shifts per day and produces woolen yarn and finished woolen cloth.
19. The Georgi Dimitrov Textile Combine, formerly the property of Mikhailov Andrenov, is
located approximately 400 meters north of the preceding textile factory. It oecu-
pies an area approximately 400 by 120 meters in size, employs approximately 800
workers in two or three 8-hour shifts per day depending upon the exigencies of
work, and produces woolen yarn and finished woolen cloth. It is equipped with 120-
150 looms, most of which are modern.
20. An abandoned textile factory, completely destroyed by fire in 1916-1947, is
located north of the preceding factory.
21. The Merino Textile Factory, the property of Isidoro Alkalay before nationalizations
is located in the industrial quarter of Sliven. It formerly was a cotton mill and
has been transformed to produce cotton thread and cloth. The plant consists of
two sheds, the larger of which is approximately 100 by 60 meters in sizee it can
ploys approximately 300 workers in two 8-hour shifts per day and produces cotton
thread and finished cotton cloth.
22. The IX September Textile Factory, formerly the Nedev Saraivanov Factory, is located
in the industrial quarter of Sliven to the. southeast of the railroad station. It
employs approximately 600 workers in two 8-hour shifts per day and produces finished
cloth of wool and cotton.
23. The cotton mill formerly known as the Tenio Petkov Mill is located in the in-
dustrial quarter of Sliven. It is a small establishment, consists of a shed
approximately 70 by 30 meters in size, and employs 100-150 workers in two shifts
per day.
2.1. The woolen mill formerly known as the Khristo Raykov Mill is located approximately
three kilometers north cf Sliven outside of Novo Selo suburb. It'employs about
200 workers in two 8-hour shifts per day and produces woolen yarn. The plant con-
siats of two sheds, each approximately 80 by 30 meters in size.
25. The cotton mill formerly the property of Tenio Petkov'(s'ee'paragra'ph 23 above) is
located north of the preceding factory. It employs 100-120 workers in two 8-hour
shifts per day and produces cotton thread. The plant consists of two sheds, each
approxirra tely 60 by 30 meters in size.
26. The DIP 8 March, which produces men's and women's hosiery, is'located in the western
periphery of Sliven. It was orgataized. in' 19L2Le19LI.3-' Ond:-,fncludes as-'meiribers all ' the .
small business concerns and private plants in the city and employs approximately 400
workers in two shifts per day. It has a single 1-story building approximately 100 by
11.0 meters in size.
27. The DIP Vasil Kolarov, formerly the Belfa Factory, 'is located in the western
periphery of Sliven in the vicinity of the DIP 8 March. It'eanploys approximately
1400 workers in two 8-hour shifts per day and produces window glass, bottles,
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glasses, and other household articles of glass. Until 1950 it also produced glass
parts for electric light bulbs, but this was discontinued when-the Elprom Factory
began opeeatiens. The factory consists of two 1-story buildings each approximately
80 by 25 meters in size and one masonry shed about 60 by 15 meters in size.
28. The Zavod Elprom (State-organization concerned with the production aind sale of'
electric items in Bulgaria) in Sliven produces electric. light bulbs. It is a new
building which was completed in 1950 and it is the only 25X1
plant of its type in Bulgaria. The factory is located in the southwest periphery
of the city, on the west side of the road to Binkos, Work Is n two 8-hour
shifts per day The factory 25X1
went into oper an produces complete electric light bulbs for various
voltages, which bear the, trade mark "Elprom." The factory "consists' off' al-stony
building approximately 180 by 25 meters in size which houses the principal factory
department and two 1-story buildings about 4o by 15 meters' in size which house the
various assembly departments. The plant occupies a large area approximately 100
meters square. The major part of the plant area, however, is used for fruit and
vegetable gardens.
29. The Kozarska Factory, formerly the Raphael Krispin and Sons Factory, is a small
tannery.. It employs approximately 60 workers and produces leather for soles and
hides for vamps.
30. A small sawmill is located in the industrial quarter of Sliven. It uses lumber from
the Balkan Mountain chain located to the north of the city.
31. Sliven has no power plant and receives its electric energy from Yambol and Dimitrov-
grad.
32.. The Durzhavna Bolnitsa (State Hospital), an old hospital, is located in the north-
eastern periphery of Sliven in front of the barracks of the former 11 Infantry
Regiment. It has approximately 100 beds and consists of a square building with a
corridor in the middle. One wing is approximately 60 meters long.
33. A new civilian hospital is under construction because t,e present facilities are
not adequate to meet the needs of Sliven and its suburbs. The new building is in
the middle of the city in front of the railroad station. Work was begun in 1951
and is scheduled for completion in 19511.
314. Common medicines are not always available in ,liven. Frequently the pharmacies do
not have a supply of medicines, and antibiotics are administered only in the hospi-
tals or upon. authorization of the city health officer. Workers receive free
medical aid, but authorization for surge ma be expected only in far-advanced
cases because of bureaucratic slowness. 25X1
Political Information
35.
Ithe malcontent of the
peop e is cons n ly increasing, not generated in particular by the Communist
dictatorship, but by the difficult living conditions. Salaries are low and the
buying power of wage-earners is sufficient only for the necessities of life. In
meeting friends and acquaintances the residents of Sliver are very cautious, but
after a few words they understand each other's feelings, so that very soon each
gives out .e-.private opinions stating openly his aversion to the regime.' `The
tolerance of such a precarious situation is determined by the impossibility of
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36.
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undertaking and of short action
duration. th1951, present re were two trials is ainstlpea
are rialals against peasants
who refused to send their high agricultural quotas to the State stockpiles and openly
rebelled against the Militia personnel who were ordered to search-the houses and 25X1
arr st t . During the trial, two of the peasants were condemned to death,
but not know whether the sentences were carried out. Each demand for
economic betterment is considered a bourgeois-capitalistic reaction. At a textile
factory meeting, the chief technician Dimitur Randev requested that 25X1
the factory workers be given a percentage of the cloth produced-as an annual-bonus
for their own use as was done prior to World War II. Randev concluded his request
with the statements "In spite of the fact that there was a fascist regime in Bul-
garia prior to the war, this concession was granted." For this request, Randev was
fired from his position as chief technician and forced to work as a common laborer.
Faced with this sort of injustice, the population strongly hopes that-the Western
world will soon intervene in order that they may regain their liberty. The death
of Stalin greatly increased this hope.
a. Georgi Topalov, lawyer, from Sliven, former member of the Agrarian Party; his
wife works as a laundress, in Sliven; and
b. Racho Zanev,, former member of the Communist Party in Sliven and former shook-
worker; arrested in 1951 for political deviationism,
the following political prisoners at Belene forced labor camps
L E G E N D to APPENDIX
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21. DIP Vasil Kolarov glass factory, formerly Belfa Factory.
22. Zavod Elprom, electric light factory.
23. MTS (Mashino 'rraktorno Stantsiya; Machine Tractor Station).
2I.. Training camp for infantry troops.,
25. Training camp--for armored unit troops.
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1.
Command of a large unit and a division.
2.
Barracks of Trudovak units.
3.
Barracks for the former 6 Infantry Regiment.
ti..
New barracks occupied by an armored unit and an auto center unit.
5.
Barracks of the former 11.infantry Regiment.
6.
Airport.
7.
Military hospital.
8.
Old civilian hospital.
8a. New civilian'hospital under construction.
Assemble Sketchs
9. Railroad trunk under construction.
10. Bridge under construction.
30a. Site,of planned bridge.
ha. DIP Sebi Dimitrov, textile factory.
llb. Textile factory, formerly Kalov-Factory.
llc. Georgi Dimitrov Textile Combine.
lid. Abandoned textile factory, destroyed by fire.
12. IX September Textile Factory.
13. Merino Textile Factory.
14. Pobeda Metal Works Factory.
15. Cotton mill, formerly Tenio Petkov Mill,
16. Kozarska Fabrlka, a tannery.
17. Sawmill.
18. Wool mill, formerly Khristo Raykov Mill.
19. Cotton mill, formerly Tenio Petkov Mill.
20. DIP 8 March, hosiery factory.
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The City of Sliven - March 1953
{lll*ltlllll`1~111\l`\\\ll ~~~Iltll~~ \ `
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APPENDIR (Continued)
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APPENDIX (Continued) -9-
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APPENDIX (Continued)
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APPENDIZ (Continued)
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APPENDIX (Continued)
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