LIVING CONDITIONS IN THE PANEVEZYS AREA

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00810A001700160005-1
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: October 28, 2002
• Sequence Number: 5
• Publication Date: October 16, 1953
• Content Type: REPORT

Approved For Release 2005/08/18 : CIA-RDP80-0081OA001700160005-1
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
INFORMATION REPORT
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COUNTRY USSR (Lithuanian SSR
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. Code, 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.
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SUBJECT Living Conditions in the P.anevezys Area
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Population Changes
REPORT NO.
DATE DISTR.
NO. OF PAGES
REQUIREMENT NO.
REFERENCES
iE October 1953
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25X1 1. In spring 19+9 many families living around Ribike:n were collected in tk,,,e
Anykscai high school and deported to Siberia. They were given one hour to get
25X1 ready and were encouraged to take whatever hey 'dished, particul:a,:r. ly saw's. and
axes. C{asoline unsalted meat., aria. hides we?e not allowed to be taken.
25X1 many Lithuanians deported. on the same 'da; ? from other
places. Word came later that most. f them had g -Ye -to the area of y ?asnoysrak
25X1 (possibly Krasnoyarsk ?Sray, e Mary died from the told, and most were put to
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work on kolkhozy. Soon 4,fter the deportations, st ebit,ell wer:t axround to the
remaining farmers and invited them, to Join kolkh".y. F- I
place Russians living on farms was between :Ina uI3ka and Yelgava,
possibly at Iecava. Several, kolkhoz;y were occupied by Soviet Mongols sic)"
There were many Soviets in the tczwns. Q:n.o case: of :I. do.
portees t havi ig .returned. from Siberia Ft oy w o unu een "raf"ted into the
Soviet Amy while in Siberia.
Road Trans. ortation
one road was surd ,ced. with stone, the road from
anevezys o Kaunas. It was surfaced with stone chips and wan very duet'y.
All other roads around, Ranevezys were sand or gravel and were in poor
condition when it rained. Roavy vehicles got sti}d,, and the Soviet tractors were
not able to travel on the roads because of their narrow wheels; the bearings
burned out under the strain. The German Ls,nn-.Bulldog tractors had wider wheels
and cou1, use the roads, but 6,11 the tractors had lugs instead of tires, so
that they ruined the roads. Roads around Siauliai were ruined by the Soviet
armored forces stationed there. Road signs were in Russian and Lithuanian, 'with'
the Russian first in large letters and the Lithuanian below in r f,ller letters.
one case when the Russian form of a town ' n me was used.-
Mitava, for Yelgava. The same sign system was used on.railtload stations. Signs
pointing the way to a factory were usually in Russian only; street signs in
Panevezys were in Lithuanian only. The traffic signs in Lithuania were the same
as those` used in Germany.
STATE X ARMY x INAVY x
AIR T
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4. Tractors carried no license plates u A man who owned a. Lc~,z ,~ uli.dog tractor
sold it in 1950 for 7,000 rubles and bought another as scrap fore 2,000 rubles.
For 2,000 rubles' worth of repairs he put it into operating condition. A
tractor cylinder cot about 21000 rubles and a piston, 1,000 rubles. Charcoal
was used to start the tractor, since gasoline was not exa:ilsble. Doering
tractors were seen on the roads and also Soviet tractors with 35 hp. The Lanz-
Bulldog had 25 hp. Other vehicles seen on the roads were ar * jeeps, two-axle
Dodge trucks; German-made army vehicles such as the Opel, D ', and. 1'3W carp
Moskvich'and Pobeda cars; and a few motorbikes. The Moskvich cost 8,000 rubles,,
and a 125 acm motorbike cost 1,000-1,200 rubles. Bicycles were rprei peen and
cost slightly less than the 125 ccm motorbike.
The air
force units at Panevezys got their fuel by tank car on a spur line running to
the airfield, and the MTS had a five-ton tank truck which brought fuel from some
other town. Factory vehicles received their gasoline supplies on aveekly basis..
The only way to get diesel fuel,for a private tractor was to purchase it illegally
from the MTS or airmen, the latter being a more likely source. Lubricating oil
was also. purchased on the black market and was of very poor qu ,lity with much
sediment.
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Unit
Price (in rubles)
Rubber boots (worn out in a month)
pair
100
Work shoes
pair
150
Canvas (brezer r) shoes, poor rubber sole
pair
50,
Good shoes, crepe sold, Czech made
pair
W0
Man's suit, good quality
2,000
Butter (on market or in a shop)
kg
28
Sugar, in shop (doting shortages of sugar, prices
on the black market rose to 25 rubles per kg)
kg
10
Bread, in shop ( poor quality, full of water)
kg
.2
Urban Economic and Living Conditions
5. In Panevezys there were a brewery, sugar factory, slaughterhouse a..nd c .nned. meat
plant, and several sawmills. He average earnings of an unskilled worker were
300 rubles a month. North of,R ,Paa.nevezys railroad station was a settlement
in which most of the workers owned their own shacks. Some of them owned small
plots of ground and did some fta,rmi.ng. A tax of 60 rubles a year had to be paid
for each fruit tree a person owned. .he rooms of these houses were small and
poorly furnished. The walls were wh.itewalh.ed. and unpapered. , There were two
rooms and a kitchen in the houses. For heating there wds a big tin store covered
with clay, and the chimney went out through e hole in the roof. Wood was used
for fuel. There were no waterpipes in the house, but there was a well in the
yard. The electric current was 2207 and coat 30 to 40 kopeks per :kw:h in 1950,
but in 1951 the price was 12 kopeks per kwh. Usage was limited and excess usage
resulted in the current being cut off for a while. A.40-watt bulb cost 5 rubles;
electric irons and cookers were sold in the shops, but no vacuum cleaners were
seen. Electric wiring was poorly done and once a horse stepped into a pool of
water and was electrocuted by current which had escaped from an uninsulated wire.
The State paid the yrner 500 rubles for lose of the horse. I Ia loud-
speaker through which the local relay station could be heard; such a radio cost
75 rubles, plus a monthly fee of ten rubles. An ordinary radio coat 300 to 350
rubles. Most people visited the public baths, since houses contained no bathing
facilities. There were two public baths in Panevezysj a aahower cost 3 rubles and
a bath cost more.
6. In 1951, the following prices were charged in Panevezys
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Unit
Pric
e in _r cables )
Bread,(on market (made by farmers)
kg
5
Veal,
on market
kg
6-8
Eggs,
in summer on the market
each
50 kopeks
Eggs,
in winter on the market
each ._up
to 120
Beer in a restaurant
glass
3
Alcohol (schna;ps), in restaurant, State
monopoly
liter
4o
Alcb of (samogon) on the black market,
prepared from sugar beets
liter
12
Musical records
each
6
Camera, Agfa, box camera, used, on market
each
100
(source purchased exactly the same make
Agfa box-camera in Germany for 14 DM)
Moskvich car
each
8,000
Motorbike, 125 cem,, Soviet make
each
1,000-1,200
Rural Living and Economic Conditions
7. Farmers had to give up their cows and horses when they joined a. kolktor, =znd
had about a half hectare of lend for their own use. Each family Taas given one
cow, but had to deliver 300 liters of milk.-to the State annually. A. kolkhoznik
had to deliver 30 eggs per chicken, 250 kg of potatoes, and 15Q kg of rye grain
from his private production. Meat had to be delivered for each pig owned.
Farmers had enough to eat at first, but in 1950 the food situation became worse
because of bad weather and the fact that much farm produce waa sent to the USSR
proper. Bred, and sugar became scarce in the entice. The kol oa;y didn't have
enough horses to do the work, and the army confiscated come of the horses anyway.
In 1930-1951 horses were being sold because of the fodder shortage, a:nt a good
3-year-old cost 600 rubles. Some horses sold, for as little as 100 rubles in this
period. The attempt to repilace horses by machines was not enttralysuccessful
because the combines, threshed while the grain was wet and the grain rotted in
storage. The tractors were not in good condition:, and spare party were not available;
a tire was available on the black market for 1,000 rubles, though: most tractors had
lug wheels. The Soviet tractors used more fuel than the aer ;n lAm -;Bulldog and
their ball-bearings burned out rapidly. Prewar Swedish Munktel threshing
machines prewar Doering tractors, and, a prewar British ' ie,cka on stationery
motor were other machinery used on kolkhozy.
Approved For Release 2005/08/18 : CIA-RDP80-0081OA001700160005-1