LIVING CONDITIONS IN THE PANEVEZYS AREA

Document Type: 
Collection: 
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
Case Number: 
Publication Date: 
October 16, 1953
Content Type: 
REPORT
File: 
AttachmentSize
PDF icon CIA-RDP80-00810A001700160005-1.pdf279.69 KB
Body: 
Approved For Release 2005/08/18 : CIA-RDP80-0081OA001700160005-1 CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY INFORMATION REPORT 25X1 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. 25X1 SUBJECT Living Conditions in the P.anevezys Area 25X1 25X1 Population Changes REPORT NO. DATE DISTR. NO. OF PAGES REQUIREMENT NO. REFERENCES iE October 1953 25X1 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 25X1 Mae only 25X1 25X1 25X1 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 (Note: Washir:tr.. Di:triburi'Appeo`"eel`'F~o'S='R 1 ase''2'(~`05/b"8%fd.': CIA-RDP80-0081OA001700160005-1 Approved For Release 2005/08/18: CIA-RDP80-0081OA001700160005-1 25X1 25X1 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. 25X1 25X1 25X1 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 Approved For Release 2005/08/18: CIA-RDP80-0081OA001700160005-1 Approved For Release 2005/08/18 : CIA-RDP80-0081OA001700160005-1 25X1 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